The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1908-12-10


4 Government control and super
4 OF individual, and especially of
crate, wealth engaged IN inter
business is chiefly done under
Ajst, and especially under cover of
real to States rights. 1t is not
h O2freQuent to read In the same
denunciation OF predatory
tistered by special privilege
(vritf at OF both the public welfare
OF the land, and denuncia-
P1iQ II Capitalization in the Central
- rnment Of the power to deaf with
centralized and organized wealth.
proposal to make the National
=. .-ernment supreme over, and there
e to give 1t complete control over,
age railroads and other instruments
&c interstate commerce is merely
coposal to carry out to the letter
ne of the prime purposes, if not the
rhine purpose, for which the Consti-
ution was founded.
e Many laws are needed. There
should be regulation by the National
Government OF the great interstate
corporations, including a simple
method of account keeping, publicity,
supervision of the issue of securities,
abolition of rebates and of special
privileges. There should be short
time franchises for all corporations
engaged in public business; includ-
ing the corporations which get power
from water rights. There should be
National as we'll as State guardian
ship OF mines and forests.
There are many matters affecting
labor and the status of the wage
worker to which should like to draw
your attention, but an exhaustive dis
cussion of the problem in all its as
poets is not now necessary. This
administration is nearing it's end;
and, moreover, under our form of
government the solution of the prob
lem depends upon the action of the
States as much as upon the action Of
the Nation. Nevertheless, there are
certain considerations which I wish
to set before you, because 1 hope
that our people will more and more
keep them in mind A blind and ig-
norant resistance to every effort for
the reform of abuses and for the read
Justment of society to modern indus
trial conditions represents not true
conservatism but an Indictment to the
widest radicalism: for wise radical
ism and wise conservatism go hand
in hand, one bent on progress, the
other bent on seeing that no change
is made unless in the right direction
We should put a premium upon thrift,
hard work and business energy, but
these qualities cease to be the main
factors in accommodating a fortune
long before that fortune reaches n
point where it would be seriously af-
fected by any inheritance tax such as
propose. IT is eminently right that
the Nation should fix the terms upon
which the great fortunes are inherit
ed. They rarely do good and they Of
ten do harm to those who inherit
them in their entirety.
The President then devotes a chap
ter to protection for wagework-
ers." He says there should be no pal
tering with the question of taking
care OF those who become crippled or
worn out in our industrial system
He urges proper employers liability
laws. He also calls attention TO the
steps toward providing old-age pen
sions that have been taken by many
private industries. He urges Con-
gress to pass a comprehensive en-
ployers' liability law for the District
of Columbia
The President devotes much space
to the subject of the courts. First he
urges increased pay for our judges
and then says:
1t is earnestly to be desired that
some method should be devised for
doing away with the long delays
which now obtain in the administra-
ton of Justice, and which operate
with peculiar severity against persons
of small means, and favor only the
very criminals whom it is most desir-
able to punish. These long DELAYS in
the final decisions of cases make in
the aggregate a crying evil. and
remedy should be devised. Much of
this intolerable delay is due to i'm
proper regard paid to technicalities
which are a mere hindrance to JUS
tice. In some noted recent cases this
over-regard for technicalities has re-
suited in striking denial of Justice
and fragrant wrong to the body poll
tic.
There are certain decisions by va
rious courts which have been exceed
ingly detrimental to the rights of
This is true of all the
decisions that decide that men and
women are, by the Constitution,
guaranteed their liberty" TO con-
tract to enter dangerous occupation,
or to work an undesirable or impro-
per number of hours, or to work in
unhealthy surroundings, and there
fore can not recover damages when
manned in that occupation, and can
not be forbidden to work what
the Legislature decides is an excessive
of hours, or 10 carry on the
work under conditions which the
Legislature decides to be unhealthy.
There is also, l think, ground for
the belief that substantial njustice is
often suffered by employees in conse-
quence of the custom of courts issu-
ing temporary injunctions without
notice to them, and furnishing them
for contempt of court in instances
as matter of fact, they have
no knowledge of any proceedings.
The power of injunction is a great
equitable remedy, which should on no
account be destroyed. But safeguards
should be erected against it's abuse
For many of the shor .comings OF
Justice in our country our people as q