Perth Amboy evening news., 1908-03-25
ROOSEVELT URGES LAWS GIVING
EQUAL JUSTICE TO EVERY MAN
Special Message
to Congress
day.
REVISE TARIFF
'pecial By United Press Wire:


WASHINGTON. Mar. 25:-Presi
dent Roosevelt, today, sent specia
message to congress urging actor
on several important matters. 1t Il
more conservative than his previou.
one. 1t was well received. The mes
sage In full is as follows:
To the Senate and House of Rep
resentatives:
measures as to which / think there
should be action by Congress before
the close OF the present session
There IL ample time for their con,
sideration. AS regards most il moi
all OF the matters, bills have beer
introduced into one or the other oi
the two Houses. and 1t is not toe
much to hope that action will h4
taken one way or the other on these
bills at the present session. In lns
message at the opening of the pres.
ent session, and, indeed, In various
messages to previous Congresses,
have repeatedly suggested action on
most Of these measures
Child labor should be prohibited
throughout the nation. At least a
model child-labor bill should be pass
ed for the District of Columbia. II
Is unfortunate that in the one place
solely dependent upon Congress for
its legislation there should be no law
whatever to protect children by for
bidding or regulating their labor.
/ renew my recomm endation for
the immediate reenactment of an en-
ployers' liability law, drawn to con-
form to the recent decision Of the
Supreme Court. Within the limits
indicated by the court, the law should
be made through and comprehensive,
and the protection 1t affords should
embrace every class of employe to
which the power Of the Congress can
extend.
In addition to liability law pro-
tecting the employees of common car
riers, the Government should show
it's good faith by enacting a further
law giving compensation to its own
employees for injury or death incur
red In its service. 1t is reproach to
US as Nation that in both Federal
and State legislation we have afford
ed less protection to public and pri-
vate employees than any other indus
trial country of the world.
/ also urge that action be taken
along the line of the recommends
tions l have already made concern
ing in5uncttOns In labor disputes.
No temporary restraining order
should be issued by any court with
out notice; and the petition for a
permanent Injunction upon which
such temporary restraining order has
been issued should be heard by the
court issuing the came within a rea-
sonable time-say, not to exceed a
week or thereabouts from the date
when the order was issued. 1t is
worth considering whether 1t would
not give greater popular confidence in
the impartiality of sentences for con-
tempt II it was required that the is
sue should be decided by another
Judge than the one issuing the in
junction, except where the contempt
is committed in the presence of the
court, or in other cases of urgency.
l again call attention To the urgent
need of amending the interstate
commerce law and especially the
antitrust law along the lines indi-
Gated in my last message. The inter-
law should be amand-
ed so as to give railroads the right
to make traffic agreements, subject
to these agreements being approved
by the Interstate Commerce Commits
sion and published in all of their
details. The Commission should also
be given the power to make public
and to pass upon the issuance of all
securities hereafter issued by rail-
roads doing an interstate-commerc
business.
A law should be passed providing
In effect that when a Federal court
determines to place a common car
rier or other public utility concern
under the control of a receivership.
the Acknowledgement should have
the right to nominate at least one of
the receivers; or else in some other
way the interests OF the stockhold-
ers should be consulted, so that the
management may not be wholly re-
delivered to the man or men in the
failure OF whose policy may have ne
cessitated the creation of the receiv-
ershtp. Receiverships should be
used, not to operate roads, but as
speedily as possible to pay their debts
and return them to the proper own
ers.
In addition to the reasons l have
already urged on your attention, II
has now become important that there
should be an amendment of the anti
trust law, because of the uncertainty
as to how this law affects combina-
tions among labor men and farmers
If the combination has any tendency
to restrict interstate commerce. AL
of these combinations, If and while
existing for and engaged in the pro.
motion OF innocent and proper pur-
poses, should be recognized as legal
As have repeatedly pointed out, this
antitrust law was most unwisely
drawn statute. II was perhaps in.
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