The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1908-04-04
President URGES
REFORM Legislation

antitrust law.
He said that the suggestions he Of
fered are tentative to conform with
the recent supreme court decision.
"The government should show good
faith" the message continues, "by en-
acting further laws giving compensa-
ton to its own employees for injury
and death incurred in its service.
lnjunctions in Disputes.
II also urge action along the line al
ready made concerning injunctions in
labor disputes. No temporary restrain
ing order should be issued by any
court without due notice. A petition
for a permanent Injunction should be
heard within a reasonable time, say
not to exceed a week, or thereabouts.
1T is important that trade agree
ments should exist between employer
and employee where they are just and
fair. A strike is a clumsy weapon
used in adjusting the. wrongs done
labor. We should extend, as far as
possible, process of Cancellation and
arbitration as a substitute for strikes.
But strikes themselves are and
should be recognized as entirely legal.
The right of employers to combine and
contract with one another and with
their employees should be explicitly
recognized. So should it be right for
employees to combine and contract
with one another and with their en-
ployers and seek peaceably to per-
suade others to accept their views on
striking for the purpose of obtaining
from their employers satisfactory
terms for labor.
Blacklist and Boycott.
Nothing should be done to legalize
the blacklist or boycott that would be
illegal under the common law.
1--WE. have the right to expect action
on financial legislation before the close
of congress from the attention that
both houses are giving the matter 1t
is urgently necessary there should be
such legislation.
Action should be taken to establish
postal savings banks, as they are i'm
peratively needed as benefit to the
wage earners and men of small means.
They would be valuable adjunct to
the whole financial system.
Revision Of Tariff.
"The time has come when we should
prepare for the revision of the tariff
1t seems to me that before the present
session closes some provision should be
made for the collection of material
which would enable the congress elect
ed next fall to act Immediately on the
matter after it comes into existence
This necessitates some action by the
present congress, as this congress is
in shape for directing the proper COM
mittees to gather the necessary infor-
nation.
Our forests need every protection.
One method of protecting them would
be to put on the free list wood pulp
with a corresponding reduction in pa
per made from wood pulp.
Waterways Commission.
ample provision should be made
for the establishment of a permanent
waterways commission. Congress
should recognize in the fullest fashion
the subject of the conservation of our
natural resources which are literally
vital to the future of the nation. Nu-
merous bills granting water power
rights on navigable streams have been
introduced, but none of them gives the
government the right to make reason
able charges for the valuable privi.
leges granted, nor do they set a def
mite limit. I shall be obliged here
after, in accordance with my policy
stated in recent message, to veto
any water power bill that does not
provide time limit and does not give
the president or any secretary con-
cerned the right to fix and collect such
a charge as is found to be just and
reasonable in each case"