Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-09-01
Goes on Record in Favor
of Workingmen's
Compensation.
MAKE EMPLOYER PAY
Ex-President, Growing More
Radical, Endorses Whole
InSurgent Platform.

Kansas City, Kan, Sept. 1-Speak-
ing to an audience composed chiefly
of working men In this city. Roose-
velt today heartily endorsed the pas
sage of a federal workingmen's COM
pensation act, which is one Of the
chief planks of the Kansas state plat
form recently adopted. He strenuous
ly denied the allegation of employers
that government control of certain in
dustries will result in a reduction in
wages. The governments aim has
been to secure better conditions of en-
ployment
Would Distribute Burden.
IF man is killed in an industry,
said Roosevelt, instead of leaving his
widow and children bear the whole
burden, / would have it distributed
over the whole industry by making the
employer pay a certain amount of com
pensation. The burden should be dis
tributed when a workingman is in
jured or killed in his employment.
There should be no question of respon.
sibility. He should receive compensa-
tion for the injury he has suffered,
and if he is killed his family should
receive such compensation. 1t should
be the duty of the government to see
that 1t is paid, too"
Lawyers to Get Nothing.
He wanted all compensation to go to
the injured mans family, and not to
lawyer He declared himself in favor
of progressive legislation as regards
control of corporations, but he said
legislation would never avail unless
we have the right. type of men and
women on whose behalf legislation is
invoked Workers must have proper
foresight, thrift and power to work
hard or never make success, and cor
porations cannot be made to employ
a person If he isn't worth employing.
Ends Knnsns Invasion.
Kansas City, Mo, Sept. 1.-Colonel
Roosevelt ended his Kansas invasion
with an address in Kansas City, Kan,
this morning and then crossed the kaw
river to plunge into an active day on
the Missouri side. A giant crowd
greeted Roosevelt upon his arrival at
the union station, thousands coming
from all parts of the southwest to hear
him.
Lively Day for Colonel.
The stop here is to ne between 1915
and 1O:40 D. M, and almost every min
ute is to be occupied with speeches,
receptions and motor rides. AT lunch
con at l o'clock he viii make an infor-
NAL talk At 2:3O he will address the
pupils at the Westport high school.
The Commercial club viii tender him
a dinner at G O'Clock At he will speak
in the convention hail. From Kansas
City Roosevelt will go to Omaha.
Announces Greed.
Osawatomie, Kan, Sept. /. - Theo-
dore Roosevelt announced his politi-
cal creed in his speech at the dedl-
cation of John Browne park here yes
terday. He declared himself In IA
vor of a wide increase in the power
of the national government, so that
it might assume greater activity in
control of the corporations and IN
working out the policies whlch ne
believes should be adopted. He de-
clared for the new nationalism, as
he termed such an increase in gov
ernmental power.
Colonel Roosevelt characterized
the issue of the day as ''the struggle
of free men to gain and hold the
right of self-government as against
the special interests who twist the
methods of free government into ma
chinery for defeating the popular
will.
The issue is Joined, and we must
fight or fall" said he.
Lending Principles.
The ex-president declared himself |
in favor of these principles:
1. Elimination of special inter- |
ests from politics.
2. Complete and effective public |
ity of corporation affairs.
8. Passage of laws prohibiting
che use of corporate funds directly |
,r indirectly for political purposes.
4. Government supervision of the |
capitalization not only of public ser
vice corporations, but of all corpora /
tions doing an interstate business.
5. Personal responsibility of Of
ficers and directors of corporations |
that break the law.
6. Increase in the power of the |
federal bureau of corporations and /
the interstate commerce commission /
to control commissions industry I
more effectively.
z. Revision of the tariff. one