Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1908-12-10
ROOSEVELT TO
THE LAWMAKERS
President Says Financial Stand
ing of Nation Is Excellent
Taxes Reduced.
Repeats Recommendations Re-
garding Corporations Doing
Interstate Business.
Many Matters Affecting Labor
Are Called to the Atten=
ton OF Congress.

| The financial standing of the nation
| at the present time is excellent, anu
| the financial management OF the ma
TONS interests by the government our
| ing the last seven years has SHOWN
most satisfactory results. But our cur
rency system is imperfect, and 1t is
earnestly to be hoped that the cur
rency commission will be able to pro
pose a thoroughly good system which
| will do away with the existing de1ects.
During the period from July 1, 1901
| to Sept. 80, 1908, the balance between
the net ordinary receipts and the net
ordinary expenses of the government
showed a surplus of nearly $10O,000,00O
Of receipts over expenditures, reduc-
ton Of the interest bearing debt by
| $50 900 000 in spite of the eXtraordl-
nary expense of the Panama canal, ana
a saving of nearly nine millions on the
annual interest charge. There nave
been no new taxes; on the contrary,
some taxes have been taken off; there
has been a reduction of taxation.
AS regards the great corporations
engaged in interstate business, and es-
pecially the railroads, I can only re-
peat what I have al
Corporations ready again and
again said in my
messages to congress. / believe that
under the interstate clause of the con-
stitution the United States has COM
| plete and paramount right to control
all agencies of interstate commerce,
and I believe that the national govern
ment alone can exercise this right with
wisdom and effectiveness, so as both
| to secure justice from, and to do JUS
| tice to, the great corporations which
are the most important factors in mod
ern business. l believe that it is worse
| than folly to attempt to prohibit all
| l. &C., bTrf no Shnr
man antitrust law. because such
| law can be enforced only imperfectly
and unequally, and it's enforcement
| works almost as much hardship as
good. l strongly advocate that instead
of an unwise effort to prohibit all COM
| binations, there shall be substituted q
| law which shall expressly permit COM
| binations which are in the interest of
| the public, but shall at the same time
| give to some agency of the national
| government full power of control and
| supervision over them. One Of the
chief features of this control should be
securing entire publicity in all matters
which the public has a right to know,
and furthermore, the power, not by
| judicial, but by executive action, to
prevent or put a stop to every form Of
| improper favoritism or other wrong
| doing.
| The railroads Of the country should
| be put completely under the interstate
| commerce commission and removed
from the domain of the antitrust law.
| The power Of the commission should be
! made thoroughgOing, so that it could
| exercise complete supervision and con-
| troll over the issue of securities as we'll
as over the raising and lowering of
rates. AS regards rates, at least, this
power should be summary. The power
| to Investigate the financial. operations
and accounts of the railways has been
one of the most valuable features in
recent legislation. Power to make
combinations and traffic agreements
should be explicitly conferred upon the
railroads, the permission Of the COM
mission being first gained and the COM
bination or agreement being published
| in all its details. In the interest Of
| the public the representatives Of the
| public should have complete power to
| see that the railroads do their duty by
| the public, and as a matter of course
| this power should also be exercised so
as to see that no injustice is done the
| railroads. The shareholders, the en-
| ployes and the shippers all have inter
| estS that must be guarded. It is to
| the interest Of all of them that no
| sWindling stock speculation should be
| allowed, and that there should be no
! improper issuance Of securities. There
must be no defrauding Of investors,
| oppression Of farmers and business
men who ship freight, or callous dis
| regard of the rights and needs of en-
| ployes. Rates must be made as low as
| is compatible with giving proper re-
| turns to the shareholders; but they
| must not, for instance, be reduced in
| such a fashion as to necessitate a cut
| in the wages Of employees or the aboli-
| ton Of the proper and legitimate
N.Y. &c Of ncf .hor
Telegraph and telephone companies
| engaged in Interstate business should
be put under the jurisdiction OF the in
| terstate commerce commission.
The fight against adequate govern
ment control and supervision Of indi-
| vidual, and especially of corporate,
! wealth engaged in interstate business
| is chiefly done under cover; and espe-
| cially under cover of al appeal to
| states rights. Forty or fifty separate
| state governments cannot exercise con-
| troll over corporations doing business
| in most or all OF them. Such divided
authority cannot regulate commerce
with wisdom and effect The central
| government is the only power which.
without oppression, can thoroughly and
adequately control and supervise the
| large corporations. There is legisla-
ton which the federal government
alone can enact and which is absolute
| ly vital in order to secure the attain
ment of our purpose. Many laws are
needed. There should be regulation
| by the national government of the
| great interstate corporations, including
| 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 franchises for all corpora
| tons engaged in public business, in
| Guiding the corporations which get
| power from water rights. There should
| be national as well as state guardian
ship of mines and forests The labor
| legislation hereinafter referred to
| should concurrently be enacted into
| law.
To accomplish this, means, of course
| a certain increase in the use of-not
| the creation of-power, by the central
government. The power already ex-
| lists; 1t does not have to be created !;
! the only question is whether it shall
| be used or left idle--and meanwhile
the corporations over which the power
| ought to be exercised will not remain
idle.
Many matters affecting labor and the
status Of the wage worker are called
| to the attention OF
Labor. congress by the presi-
| dent. A steady effort
should be made, he says, to bring about
a condition of affairs under which the
men who work with hand or with brain
| shall own a far greater share than at
present of the wealth they produce
| AS far as possible he hopes to sec q
frank recognition of the ADVANTAGES
| conferred by machinery, organization
| and division of labor, accompanied by
an effort to bring about larger share