The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1908-12-08

diction of the interstate commerce
commission.
1T 10 very earnestly to be wished
that, our people, through their rep
resentatives, should act in this mat
ter. 1t is hard to say whether most
damage to the country at large
would come from entire failure on
the part of the public to supervise
and control the actions of the great
corporations, or from the exercise
OF the necessary governmental
power In way which would do in
Justice and wrong to the corpora
tions.
"The war we wage must be
waged against misconduct, against
wrongdoing wherein 1t is found;
and we must stand heartily for the
rights of every decent man,
whether he be man of great
wealth or man who earns his live
lihood as a wageworker or a tiller
of the soil. ST.
There should be regulation by
the national government of the
great interstate corporations, in
GLIDING a simple method of account
keeping, publicity, supervision OF
the issue of securities, abolition Of
rebates and of special privileges.
There should be short time fran
chises for all corporations engaged
in public business; including the
corporations which get power from
water rights. There should be
national as we'll as state guardian
ship of mines and forests. The
labor legislation hereinafter re-
ferre5tto should be concurrently be
enacted into law.
ITO accomplish this, means of
course a certain increase in the use
of--not the creation of--power, by
the central government. The power
alseady exists; it does not have to
be created; the only question is
whether it shall be used or left idle
and meanwhile the corporations
over whihc the power ought to be
exercised will not remain idle.
Give Labor Bigger Share.
IF believe in a steady effort, or
perhaps Il woald be more accurate
to say in steady efforts in many
different directions, to bring about
a condition of affairs under which
the men who work with hand or
with brain, the laborers. the super
intendents, the men who produce
for the market and men who find
market for the articles produced,
shall own far greater share than
at present of the wealth they pro-
duce, and be enabled to invest 1t
in the tools and instruments by
which all work is carried on. AS
far as possible hope to see frank
recognition of the advantages con-
ferred by machinery, organization
and division of labor, accompanied
by an effort to bring about larger
share in the ownership by wage
worker of railway, mill and factory.
In farming, this simply means that
we wish to see the farmer own his
ow inland; we do not wish to see
the farms so large that they be-
come the property of absentee land
lords who farm them by tenants,
nor yet so small that the farmer be-
comes like a European peasant.
Employers Liability.
"There is one matter with which
the congress should deal at this
session. There should no longer be
any paltering with the question Of
taking care of the wage workers
who, under our present Industrial
system, become killed, crippled or
worn out as part of the regular
Incidents of a given business. The
majority of wage workers must
have their rights secured for them
by state action; but the national
government should legislate In
thoroughgoing and far reaching
fashion not only for all employees
OF the national government, but for
all persons engaged In interstate
commerce. The object sought for
could be achieved to measurable
degree, as far as those killed or
crippled are concerned. by proper
employers liability laws.
'As far as concerns those who
have been worn out, l call attention
to the fact that definite steps
toward providing old age pensions