The morning journal-courier., 1908-12-09

NNpuLllNHA lkbIl DNNtIIIi HGE'y
 
 short time franchises for all corpora tons engaged in public business; in- aludlng the corporations which get power from water rghts. There should bo national as we'll as state guardianship of mines and forests. The labor Legislation hereinafter re- ferred 10 should concuTently be en- acted into law.
 To accomplish this, means of course certain increase in the use of--not the creation of--power by the central government The power already eS- ists; 1t does not have to be created; the only question is whether it shall be used or left idle-and meanwhile the corporations over which the power ought to be exercised will not remain idle Let those who object to this in- crease in the use of the only power available, tho national power, be frank, and admit openly that they propose to abandon any effort to con trol the great business corporations and to exercise supervision over the accumulation and distribution of wealth for such supervision and con trol can only come through this par ticular kind of increase of power We no more believe in that empiriclsm which demands absolutely unre- strained indiWdualism than we do In that emplricism which clamors for deadening socialism which would de- stroy all individual initiative and would ruin the country with com pleteness that not even an unrestrain- ed individualism itself could achieve. The danger to American democracy lies not in the least In the concen- tration of administrative power in re- sponsibe and accountable hands It lies in having the power insutIlciently concentrated. so that no one can be held responsible to the people for its use. Concentrated power Is palpable, visible, responsible, easily reached, quickly held to account Power scat tered through many administrators, many legislators, many men who work behind and through legislators and administrators, is impalpablo, is un- seei, is Irresponsible, can not be
 
 Democracy is in peril wherever the administration of political power is scattered among n variety of men who work in secret, whose very names are unknown to the common people. It is not in peril from any man who derives authority from the people, who exercises 1t fin sight of the people, and who is from time to time compel led to give an account of its exercise to the people.
 Labor.
 There are many matters affecting la bor and the status of tho wageworker to which l should like to draw your attention, but an exhaustive discussion Of the problem in all its aspects Is not now necessary This administration 8 nearing It's end: and, moreover, under our form of government the solution of the problem 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 l hope that our people will more and more keep them in mind. blind and ignorant re- sistance to every effort for the reform of abuses and for the readjustment of society to modern industrial conditions represents not true conservatism but an indictment to the widest radical ism for wise radicalism and wise con servative go hand in hand, one bent on progress the other bent on seeing that ,l, in An t. q direction. I believe in steady effort, or perhaps 1t would be more accurate 'to say in steady efforts in many dif- ferent directions, to bring about a condition of affairs under which the men who work with hand or with brain, the laborers, the superintend- ents, the men who produce for the market and the men who find a market for the articles produced, shall own a far greater share than at present of the wealth they produce. and be enabled tc invest 1t in the tools and instruments by which all work is carried on AS far as possible l hope to see frank recognition of the advantages conferred by machinery organization, and dlvls- ion of labor, accompanied by an effort to bring about larger share in the ownership by wageworker of railway mill and factory In farming, this sim. ply means that we wish to see the farmer own his own land; we do moi wish to see the farms so large thai they become the property of absentet landlords who farm them by tenants nor yet so small that the farmer be- comes like European peasant Again the depositors in our savings bank, now number over one-tenth of our on. tire population. These are all capital fists, who through the savings bank, loan their money to the workers -tha, is, in many cases to themselves -tC carry on their various industries, Tho more we increase their number, tho more wo Introduce the principles of co operation into our Industry. EverS increase in the number of small stock holders in corporations Is a good thing for the same reasons; and where tht employees are the stockholders the re suit is particularly good Very mucf of thls movement must be outside O anything that can he accomplished by legislation; but legislation can do { good deal. Postal savings banks vii make 1t easy for the poorest to keel their savings in absolute safety Tn, regulation of the national highwayl must be such that they shall serve al people with equal justice Corporate finances must be supervised So as (, make 1t far safer than at present fo the man of small means to invest hi money In stocks. There must be pro hlbition of child labor, dimIuutiou O woman labor, shortening of hours Of al mechanical labor; stock waterinj ,t..,II h.. .N,nbII,tI,n 1IJ atop1 uptyt