Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1908-12-08

small means TO invest his money In
stocks. There must be prohibition
of child labor. diminution of woman
labor, shortening of hours of all me.
chanical labor; stock watering should
be prohibited, and stock gambling so
inheritance Tax.
far as Is possible discouraged. There
should be a progressive inheritance
tax on large fortunes. Industrial edu.
cation should be encouraged. AS far
as possible We should tighten the
burden of taxation on the small man.
We should put premium upon thrift,
hard work, and business energy; but
these qualities cease to be the main
factors IN accommodating fortune
long before that fortune reaches a
point where It would be seriously ar.
fectcd by any inheritance tax such
as | propose. II Is cminently right
that the Nation should fix the terms
upon which the great fortunes are
Inherited. They rarely do good and
they often do harm to those who in.
herit them In their entirety.
The above Is the merest sketch.
hardly even sketch In outline, of
the reforms for
PROTECTION FOR which We should
WAGEWORkER work. But there
Is one matter
with which the Congress should deal
at this session. There should no long.
or be any paltering with the question
Of taking care of the wageworkers
who. under our present Industrial sys.
TEN, become killed, crippled, or worn
cut as part of the regular incidents
of a given business. The majority of
wageworkors must have their rights
secured for them by State action: but
the National Government should legis.
late In thoroughgoing and far.reach.
ing fashion not only for all employees
of the National Government, but tor
all persons engaged in interstate com.
mcrce. The object sought for could
he achieved to a measurable degree.
as far as those killed or crippled are
concerned, by proper employers II.
ability laws. AS far as concerns those
who have been worn out. ] call your
attention to the fact that definite
steps toward providing old-age pen.
sions havc'been taken In many of our
private Industries. These may be In.
definitely extended through voluntary
association and contributory schemes.
or through the agency of savings
banks, as under the recent Massachu-
sets plan. To strengthen these prac.
teal measures should be our imme.
diatc duty; II Is not at present nee
cssary to consider the larger and
more general governmental schemes
that most European governments have
found themselves Obliged to adopt.
Our present system, or rather no
system. works dreadful wrong. and
Is OF benefit to only one class OF PEG.
lawyers. When a workman
Is injured what he needs is not an
expensive and doubtful lawsuit, but
the certainty of relief through imme.
diate administrative action. The mum.
her OF accidents which result In the
death or Gripping OF wageworkers,
In the Union at large, is simply ap.
palling; In very few years It runs
up total far In excess of the aggre.
gate OF tho dead and wounded in any
modern war. No academic theory
about freedom of contract" or ICON.
stitutional liberty to contract" should
be permitted to interfere with this
ana similar movements. Progress in
civilization has everywhere meant
and regulation of contract.
call your especial attention to the
bulletin Of the Bureau of Labor which
gives a statement Of the methods of
treating the unemployed In European
countries, as this Is a subject (which
In Germany, for instance, Is treated
In connection with making provision
Ior worn out and crippled workmen.
Pending thoroughgoing investiga.
ton and action there is certain Iegis.
Iation which should be enacted at
once. The law, passed at the last
session OF tho Congress, granting com.
pensation to certain classes OF en-
ployees of the Government, should be
extended to include all employees of
The Government and should be made
more liberal In It's terms. There ia
no good ground for the distinction
made In the law between those en-.
gagged In hazardous occupations and
those not so engaged II man is
injured or killed In any line of work,
II was hazardous In his case. Wheth-
err ] per cent or 10 per cent OF those
following a given occupation actually
suffer injury or death ought not TO
have any bearing on the question of
their receiving compensation. II is a
grim logic which says to an injured
employee or to the dependents OF one
killed that he or they are entitled to
no compensation because very few
people other than he have been injur.
ed or Killed In that occupation. Per.
maps one OF the most striking omis.
slons In the law Is that II does not
embrace peace officers and others
and others whose lives may be sacri.
need In enforcing the laws OF the
United States. The terms of the act
compensation should be
made more liberal than In the present
act A years compensation is not
adequate for wage-earner's family
In the event of his death by accident
IN the course of his employment. And
IN the event of death occurring, say,
ten or eleven months after the accl.
hent, the family would only receive
as compensation the equivalent of
cne or two months earnings. In this
respect the generosity of the United
States towards its employees com.
Dnrps most unfayorah ly With tho, ~