Woodruff County news. [volume] (McCrory, Ark.) 1901-1910, 1908-12-10

of the national highways must be such
that they shall serve all people with
equal justice. Corporate finances must
be supervised so as to make it 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, G-minution of women labor, short
en1ng of hours of all mechanical labor;
stock watering should be prohibited,
and stock gambling so far as is posi-
BILE 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 as part of the
regular incidents of a given bust
ness. AS far as concerns those
who have been worn out 1 call your
attention to the fact that definite
steps toward providing old-age pen
sions 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.
Our present system or rather no sys.
tenn, 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.
l 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
1 renew my recommendation made in
a previous message that half holidays
be granted during summer to all wage
workers in government employ
Judges Too Poorly Paid.
Coupled with a eulogy of the jul
dietary of the nation the president
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-
rimental to the rights of wage-workers.
This is true of all decisions that decide
that men are, by the constitution, guar
anteed their liberty" to contract to enter
a dangerous occupation, or to work an
undesirable or improper number of hours,
or to work in unhealthy surroundings;
and therefore cannot recover damages
when MANNED in that occupation, and
cannot be forbidden to work what the
legislature decides is an excessive num-
Der of hours. or to carry on the work
under conditions which the legislature
decides to be unhealthy.
There is also, I think, ground for the
belief that substantial injustice is often
suffered by employees in consequence OF
the custom of courts issuing temporary
injunctions without notice to them, and
Furnishing them for contempt of court in
instances where matter of fact,
they have no knowledge of any proceed
ings Organized labor is chatting
under the unjust restraint which
comes from repeated resort to this
plan Of procedure.
Injunction Must Remain.
The power of injunction is a great
equitable remedy, which should on no
account be destroyed But safeguards
should be erected against its abuse.
In substance, provision should be made
that no Injunction or temporary re-
straining order issue otherwise than on
notice. except where irreparable injury
would otherwise result: and in such case
hearing on the merits of the order
should be had within a short fixed pc
Rod, and, If not then continued after
hearing, it should forthwith lapse. De-
cisions should be rendered Immediately,
and the chance of delay minimized in
every way Moreover I believe that the
procedure should be sharply defined. and
the judge required infinitely to state the
particulars both of his action and of his
reasons therefor. so that the congress
can if 1t desires examine and investigate
the same.
Harm Worked by Law.
Discussing measures necessary for
the proper control of giant corpora
lions operating in defiance of law, the
president says:
Real damage has been done by the
manifold and conflicting interpretations
OF the interstate commerce law. Con-
troll over the great corporations doing
interstate business can be effective only
If it is vested with full power in an
administrative department a branch of
the federal executive. carrying out a
federal law; it can never be effective If
a divided responsibility is left in both
the states and the nation; 1t can never
be effective if left in the hands of the
courts to be decided by lawsuits
The courts hold a place of peculiar and
deserved sanctity under our form of gov
eminent. Respect for the law is essen
tial to the permanence of our institu-
tons; and respect for the law is largely
conditioned upon respect for the courts
1t is an offense against the republic to
say anything which can weaken this re-
spect, save for the gravest reason and in
the most carefully guarded manner. In no
other nation in the world do the courts
WELD such vast and far-reaching power
as in the United States. All that is nee
essary is that the courts whole
should exercise this power with the far
sighted wisdom already shown by those