The Muskogee cimeter. [volume] (Muskogee, Indian Territory, Okla.) 1901-19??, 1908-12-11

strongly advocate that instead of an un-
wise effort to prohibit all combinations,
there shall be substituted a law which
shall expressly permit combinations
which are in the interest ot the public,
but shall at the same time give to some
agency in the national government full
power of control and supervision over
them.
The railways Of the country should be
put completely der the interstate com
merce commission and removed from
the domain of the antitrust law. The
power of the commission should be made
thoroughgoing, so that II could exercise
complete supervision and control over
the issue of securities as well as over
the raising and lowering of rates. As
regards rates. at least. this power should
be summary. . . Rates must be made
as low as is compatible with giving prop
er returns to all the employees of the rail
road, from the highest to the lowest.
and proper returns to the shareholders,
but they must not for instance be re-
duCed I'm such fashion as to necessitate
a cut in the wages of the employees
the abolition of the proper and legitimate
profits OF honest shareholders.
Interests Of the Waueworker.
Turning to conditions affecting the
wageworker and the man of small
means, the president says:
easy for the poorest to keep their saw
ings in absolute safety. The regulation
of the national highways must be such
that they shall serve all people with
equal justice. Corporate finances must
be supervised so q to make IL far safer
than at present for the man of small
means to invest his money in stocks.
There must be prohibition of child la
Dor, ,.minution of women labor short
ening OF hours OF all mechanical labor;
stock watering should be prohibited,
and stock gambling so far as is posSi-
bic discouraged. There should be
progressive inheritance tax on large
fortunes. Industrial education should
be encouraged. AS far as possible we
should tighten the burden OF taxation
on the small man. There should no
longer be any paltering with the
question of taking care of the
wageworkers who under our pres
ent industrial system, become killed,
crippled, or worn out part of the
regular incidents of a given busi-
ness. AS far as concerns those
who have been worn out call your
attention to the fact that definite
steps toward providing old-age pen
slons have been taken in many OF our
private industries These may be in
definitely extended through voluntary
association and contributory schemes.
or through the agency of savings
banks, as under the Massachusetts
plan.
Urgent Need Of Reform.
Our present system, or rather no sys.
TEN, works dreadful wrong, and is OF
benefit to only one class of people-the
lawyers. When a workman is injured
what he needs is not an expensive and
doubtful lawsuit, but the certainty Of
relief through immediate administra-
tive action. No academic theory
about freedom OF contract" or "consti-
tutional liberty to contract" should be
permitted to interfere with this and
similar movements.
/ renew my recommendation that
the principle OF the eight-hour day
should as rapidly and as far as practi-
cable be extended to the entire work
being carried on by the government;
the present law should be amended to
embrace contracts on those public
works which the present wording Of
the act seems to exclude.
| renew my recommendation made in
| a previous message that half-holidays
| be granted during summer 20 all wage
| workers in government employ
Judges Too Poorly Paid.
Coupled with a eulogy of the ju-
urges that, beginning with the SUI
preme court, the judges should have
| their salaries doubled.
AS was to be expected, the attitude
assumed by certain labor leaders dur
ing the recent election comes in for
bitter criticism. The president as
serts that demands made on congress
for legislation were unjust and i'm
practical and could but work harm to
the cause Of labor. While declaring
that our judicial system is sound and
effective at core, the president says:
There are certain decisions by various
courts which have been exceedingly det-
| rmental to the rights of wage workers.
| This is true OF ali decisions that decide