The Newport miner. [volume] (Newport, Wash.) 1899-current, 1908-02-06
HISLATEST MESSAGE
OUR PRESIDENT TELLS Con-
RESS HIS VIEWS.
Bad Laws Need Fixing-TeIIs of Vast
Sums Used by the Rich to Beat the
courts-Urges Legislation to Help
the EmpIoye-Goes After the Rail-
roads Methods.


law-breaking trusts, supported fearless
federal judges, demanded recompense
OF employees unavoidably injured
while in the service of corporations
and denounced attacks by predatory
wealth upon law enforcement in
message to congress Friday. Few pub
lie utterances have attracted atten-
ton or earned appreciation of con-
gressmen more than this one. One of
his most significant utterances fol-
lows:
Under no circumstances would we
countenance attacks upon law-abiding
property or do aught but condemn
those who hold up rich men as being
evil men because of their riches. On
the other hand, our whole effort is
to insist upon conduct, and not
| wealth nor property nor any other
class distinction, as being the proper
standard by which to Judge the &C
tons of men. For the honest men of
great wealth we have hearty regard,
| just as we have hearty regard for
the honest politician and honest news
paper. But part of the movement to
| uphold honesty must be movement
to frown on dishonesty. We attack
| only the corrupt men of wealth, who
find in the purchased politician the
most efficient instrument of corrup-
| ton and in the purchased newspaper
| the most efficient defender of corrup-
ton. Our main quarrel is not with
these agents and representatives of
interests. They derive their chief
power from the sinister offenders who
| stand behind them. They are but
| public puppets which move as the
| strings are pulled.
ut is not the puppets, but the strong,
the cunning men and the mighty
forces working for evil behind and
through the puppets, with whom we
| have to deal. We seek to control law
defying wealth in the first place to
prevent it's doing dire evil to the re-
! public and in the next place to avoid
the vindictive and dreadful radicalism
which, if left uncontrolled, is certain
| in the end to arouse sweeping at
tacks upon all property and all men
| of means without regard to whether
| any do well or ill. This would sound
the death knell of the republic; and
such attacks become inevitable if de-
cent citizens permit those rich men
whose lives are corrupt and evil to
domineer in swollen pride, unchecked
and unhindered, over the destinies of
this country.
1--WE act in no vindictive spirit and
we are no respecter of persons. If a
labor union does wrong we oppose it
as firmly as we oppose a corporation
which does wrong; we stand stoutly
for the rights of men of wealth and
for the rights of wageworkers. We
seek to protect the property of every
man who acts honestly, of every cor
pOratiOn that represents wealth hon.
estly accumulated and honestly used.
We seek to stop wrongdoing, and we
desire to punish the wrongdorers only
SO far as is necessary to achieve this
end.'
The president demands that employ
ers have due regard for the safety of
| their workmen, and strong emphasis
is laid upon the need of legislation
that will recompense the manned and
the helpless families of those slain.
Following is a pertinent paragraph of
his address,:
ut is hypocritical baseness to speak
of girl who works in factory where
the dangerous machinery is @unpro-
tected as having the right freely to
contract to expose herself to the dan
gers of life and limb. She has no al
tentative but to suffer wont or else to
expose herself to such dangers, and
when she loses hand or is otherwise
MANNED or disfgured for life it is a
moral wrong that the whole burden of
the risk necessarily incidental to the
business should be placed with crush
ing weight upon her weak shoulders,
and all who profit by her work es-
cape Scot free. This is what oppo-
nents of just employers liability law
advoca e, and it is consistent that they
| should Usually also advocate immunity
for those most dangerous members
of the criminal class-the criminals of
great wealth" y
In Wake of the Message.
| House applauds remarkable docu-
ment; senate receives it coldly.
President Ripley of the Santa Fe
| railroad denies that he was party
| to the secret rate on Oil in California.
Charge by railroad official that
damaging letter given publicity was
stolen from the Santa Fe Offices.
Rumor of Extra Session.
| There is an impression, based on ex-
cellent foundation, that President
Roosevelt is considering calling con-
gress in extraordinary session this
summer if it adjourns without attempt
ing to safeguard what he considers
the welfare of the people. If this step
| is taken it will mean that congress
may be kept in session during the
entire time of the nominating conven-
L