Mexico Missouri message., 1908-12-10

generosity OF the United states towards
its employees compares most unfavora-
bly, with that OF every country In Eu-
rope-even the poorest
renew my recommendation made IN
a previous message that half-holidaya
be GRANTED during summer TO all wage
workers in government employ
also renew my recommendation that
the principle OF the eight-hour day
should an rapidly and a. far as practi-
cable be extended 70 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 20 exclude.
Would Double Salaries OF judges.
most earnestly urge upon the con-
Ereas the duty Of increasing the totally
Inadequate salaries now given TO our
Judges. on tho whole there 10 no body
OF public servants who do as valuable
work nor whose moneyed reward IL so
Inadequate compared to their work Re-
ginning with the supreme court the
judges should have their salaries dou-
bled II is not befittinE the dignity OF
the nation that It's most honorcd public
servants should be paid sums so small
compared 20 what they would earn In
private life that the performance Of
public service by them implies an ex-
cccdingiy heavy pccuniary sacrifice.
II II earnestly to be desired that some
method should be devised for doing
away with the long delays which now
obtain in the administration OF justice.
and which operate with peculiar sever
ity against persons Of small means, and
favor only the very criminals whom IL
In most desirable to punish These
long delays In the flnal decisions Of
cases make In the aggregate crying
evil. and remedy shouiI be devised.
Much NJ this intolerablo delay Is due
20 improper regard paid TO technical.
ties which are n mere hinderance to
Justice. In some noted recent cases this
ovcr-rcgard for technicalities has re-
suited In a striking denial Of Justice.
and fragrant wrong Co the body polite.
Labor Leaders Criticised.
At the last election certain leaders Of
organized labor made violent and
sweeping attack upon the entire judi
ciary OF the country. an attack couched
in such terms as TO include the most
upright honest and broad-mlnded
Judges. no less than those OF narrower
mind and moro restricted outlook.
Last year. before the house COM
mittee on judiciary. these same
labor leaders formulated their de-
mands specifying the bill that
contained them. refusing all compro-
mise. stating they wished the principle
of that bill or nothing. They insisted
on a provision that in a labor dispute
no Injunction should issue except to
protect a property right and spccifcRl-
ly provided that the right To carry on
business should not be construed as n
property right: and In a second provis-
ton their bill made legal In a labor dis
pute any act or agreement by or be-
tween two or more persons that would
not have been unlawful II done by n
single person. In other words this bill
lcgaliZcd blacklisting and boycotting
In every form, legalizlng. for instance.
those forms OF the secondary boycott
which the anthracite coal strike COM
mission so unrescrvcdly condemned:
while tho right to carry on a business
was explicitly taken out from under
that protection which the law throws
over property. The demand was made
that there should be trial by jury in
| contempt cases. thereby most seriously
| impairing the authority OF the courts.
| All this represented a course OF policy
| which. IL carried out. would mean the
| enthronement OF class privilege In It's
| crudest and most brutal form. and the
| destruction OF one OF the most essen
tinl functions OF the judiciary in all CIV
| iliZed lands.
The violence OF the crusade for this
| legislation. and it's complete failure.
! illustrate two truths which Il is essen
! tial our people should learn. In the
| first place. they ought TO teach the
workingman. the laborer. the wage
| worker. that by demanding what Is Inn
proper and impossible he plays into the
| hands OF his foes. Such crude and
vicious attack upon the courts. even II
| II were temporarily successful. would
| inevitably In the end cause n violent
| reaction and would band the great
mass OF citizens together. forcing them
to stand by all the judges. competent
| and incompetent alike. rather than "a
| no yasha pF
Tho wageworkers. the worklngmen
tho iaboring men OF the country by the
way in which they rcpudiated the ef'
| fort to get them TO cast their votes In
response TO an appeal to class hatred
| have emphasized their sound patriotism
and Amoricanlsm. Such an attitude
Is an object lesson in good citizenship tC
the entire nation.
judicial System Sound.
our judicial system is sound and
effective at core. and It remains
| and must ever be maintained, al
the safeguard OF those principles OF lib
crty and justice which stand at thu
foundation OF American institutions: for
as Burke hnely said. when liberty ant
justice are separated, neither Is safe
There are. however, some members o
the judicial body who have Jagged he
hind in their understanding of thes'
great and vital changes In the bod!
polite. whose minds have never heel
opened 20 the new applications of the ol,
principles made necessary by the ney
conditions. Judges OF this stamp do last
ing harm by their decisions. because the,
convince poor men in need OF protection
that the courts OF the land are pro
foundly ignorant OF and out Of sympath
with their needs and profoundly ignoran
or hostile to any proposed remedy. T
such men II seems a cruel mockery {
have any court decide against them o.
the ground that Il desires 20 preserv
liberty" in a purely technical form. b
withholding liberty in any real and con
Htructive sense.
There are certain decisions by variou
courts which have been exceedingly det
rimentai to the rights OF wage-worlleri
This Ia true Of all decisions that decld
that men are. by tho constitution. guar
anteed their liberty 20 contract 20 ente
n dangerous occupation. or 10 work a
undesirable or improper number OF hour
or TO work in unhealthy surrounding
and therefore cannot recover damage
when MANNED in that occupation an