The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1908-04-30
PRESIDENTS
MESSAGE
Mr.. Roosevelt Sent a Special
Message to Congress Monday.
SOME NEEDED LEGISLATION

Labor Organizations Two of His
Topics-ChiId Labor Law for Dis.
trict of C0lumbia-FavOrs Postal
Savings Banks
On Monday afternoon President
Roosevelt sent a special message to
Congress in which he outlined many
of his views and suggested some
needed legislation that should be en-
acted by this Congress. We give
below a portion of the message:
Text of the Message.
In my message to the Congress of
March 25, 1908, | outlined certain
| measures which | believe the major
ity of our countrymen desire to have
enacted into law at this time These
| measures do not represent by any
| means all that | would like to see
done if an earnest effort toward this
end is made
Since | wrote this message an en-
ployers' liability law has been enact
ed which, it is true, comes short of
what ought to have been done, but
| which does represent a real advance
| Apparently there is good ground to
hope that there will be further legis-
lation providing for recOmpensing all
employees who suffer injury while
engaged in the public service; that
thprn will no child 10 hnr 10,
ed for the District of Columbia; that
the Waterways Commission will be
continued with sufficient financial
support to increase the effectiveness
OF its preparatory work; that steps
Will be taken to provide for such in
vestigation into tariff conditions, by
the appropriate committee of the
House of Representatives and by
government experts in the executive
service, as will secure the full in
formation necessary for immediate
action in revising the tariff at the
hands of the Congress elected next
fall; and finally, that financial legis-
lation will be enacted providing for
temporary measures for meeting any
IlouOlC lIlClI llICiy dI ioC III Tic HcAI
year or two and for a commission of
experts who shall thoroughly investi-
gate the whole matter, both here
and in the great commercial cOun-
tries abroad, so as to be able to
recommend legislation which will put
our financial system on an efficient
and permanent basis. 1t is much to
be wished that one feature of the
financial legislation of this session
should be the establishment of pos
tai savings banks. Ample apppro-
priation should be made to enable the
Interstate Commerce Commission to
carry out the very important feature
of the Hepburn law which gives to
the commission supervision and con-
troll over the accounting systems of
the railways. Failure to provide
means which will enable the commits
sion to examine the books of the
railways would amount to an attack
on the law at it's most vital point,
and would benefit as nothing else
could benefit, those railways which
are corruptly and incOmpetently
managed. Forest reserves should be
established throughout the Appa-
lachian Mountain region wherever
| it can be shown that they will have a
direct and real connection with the
conservation and improvement of
navigable rivers.
There seems, however, much doubt
about two of the members | have
recommended: the measure to do
away with abuse of the power of in
junction and the measure or group of
measures to strengthen and render
both more efficient and more wise
the control by the National govern
ment over the great corporations
doing an Interstate business.
First, as to the power of injunc
ton and of punishment for contempt.
| before another judge. AS regards
| In contempt cases, save where imme-
diate action is imperative, the trial
should be before another judge. AS
regards injunctionS, some such legis-
lation as that l have previously
recommended should be enacted
They are blind who fail to realize
the extreme bitterness caused among
large bodies of worthy citizens by
the use that has been repeatedly
made of the power of injunction in
labor disputes. Those in whose judg
ment we have most right to trust are
of the opinion that while much of
the complaint against the use of the
injunction is unwarranted, yet that
it is unquestionably true that in a
number of cases this power has been
used to the rave injury of the rights
of laboring men.
Every far-sighted patriot should
protest first of all against the
growth in this country of that evil
thing which is called ''c1ass con-
sciousness. The Demagogue, the
sinister or foolish Socialist visionary
who strives to arouse this feeling of
class consciousness in our working
people, does foul and evil thing;
: for he is no true American, he is no
, self-respecting citizen of this Repub-
lie, he forfeits his right to stand
with manly self-reliance on foot
ing of entire equality with all other
citizens, who bows to envy and greed
who erects the doctrine of class