Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1908-04-28
ANOTHER MESSAGE.


sage 10 Congress yesterday evening.
The message was not read, however,
until today. In the main the document
is Tecapitulstion of other messages
which have recently been sent in by the
executive.
Among other things Mr.. Roosevelt
says thar while the employer lisbilily
law which has been enacted comes short
of what should have been done, ii never
theless represents an advance.
The President again recommends the
enactment of child labor law in the
District Of Oolumbis; the continuance
of the waterways commission by pro-
vidiDg sufficient financial support 10
render its work effective; means to be
provided for carrying out the important
features Of the Hepburn law; the estsb-
Iishment Of forest reserves throughout
the Appalachian Mountain region
sbridgement Of the posers Of injunction
protests against what be calls "clss'
cousciousness;" also against demsgcgues
and foolish socialistic visionaries;' the
the Strengthening OF the antitrust law.
The president gives resume of in
terstste legislation, and among Other
things ssys "Power should urquestion'
ably be lodged somewhere 10 the execu'
tive branch of the government 10 permit
combinations which will further the
public interest; but it must always be
remembered that, as regards The great
and wealthy combinations through
which most of the interstate business Of
today is done, the burden Of proof should
be on them to show that they have
right to exist. No judicial tribunal has
the knowledge or the experience to
determine in the first place whether
given combination is advisable or neces'
sary in the interest Of toe public. Some
body, whether a commission, ora bureau
under the Department of Commerce Snd
Labor, should be given this power.
Ny personal belief is tina. ultimately we
shall have to adopt national il corpO-
ration law, though l am well aware
that this may be impossible at present
Over the actions of the executive bjdY
in which the power is placed The couris
shonld possess merely power OF review
analogous to that obtained in coDnec-
ton with the work of the Interstate
Commerce Commission at present. To
confer this power would not be a leap
in the dark; 1t would merely be 10 carry
still further the theory 0f effective gov
ornamental control of corporations which
was responsible for the creation OF the
Interstate Commerce Commission and
for the enlargement of it's powers, and
for the creation OF the Bureau Of Oorpo-
rstions."
The president enters into an exhaus-
tive review OF national and State legis-
Istion on interstate commerce lines, and
he makes certain recommendations
wnich he thinks may bring about better
relations between capital and labor.
In concluding the president says:
"Amoug the many kinds Of evil, ciaI,
industrial, and political, which is our
duty as a nation sternly to combat, there
il O. one a. the same time more base and
more dangerous than the greed which
treats the plain and simple rules Of
honesty with cynical contempt il they
interfere with making prof.; aud as q
nation we can not be held euiltess If we
condone such action. The man who
breaches hatred of wealth honestly &C.
quired, who inculcstes envy and ,slCusly
and slanderous i'll will toward those OF
his fellows who by thrift, energy, aud
industry have become men Of means, is
a menace to the community. But bis
counterpart in evil is to be found in that
particular kind OF mul i-milio1sire who
is almost The least envisble, and is
certainly one OF the least admirable, of
all our cilizahs; man Of whom it has
beer well said that his face has grown
hard and cruel while his body has grown
soft; whose son is fool and his daughter
foreign princess; whose nominal
pleasures are at best those Of tastelsss
and extravsgsut luxury, and whose real
delight whose real life work, is the &C
emulation and use Of power in its most
sordid and least elevatiDg form. Ia the
chaos Of an absolutely unres 'ricted COM
mercial individuslism under modern con-
ditions, this is type that becom, prom
inent in the physical chaos Of the dark
sge'. We are striving for legislation TO
minimize tn abuses which give Il is type
it's fOurishing prominence, partly Tor the
sake of what can be accomplished By the
legislation itself, and partly because The
lfgitlation marks our participation 10
great and stern moral movement to bring
our ideals and our conduct into measur-
able accord"