El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-08-06

cess to the books of each corporation
and power to find out exactly how it
treats 1t employees, its rivals, and tie
general public. Any corpo-
commission should not be prosecuted
under the antitrust law as long as it
Obeys in good faith the orders of the
commission. The commission would be
able to interpret in advance to any
honest man asking the Interpretation
what he may do and what he may not
do in carrying on a legitimate bust
ness When corporations not submit
ting themselves to the regulation of
the commission or clearly evading or
violating its orders are prosecuted I'M
der the antitrust law and convicted,
the commission should have the duty
OF seeing that the decree of the court
is put into effect completely" Only in
this way can there be avoided such
gross scandals as those attendant upon
the present administrations prOsecu-
ton of the Standard Oil and the Tobac-
co trusts, a prosecution which II has
merely resulted in Increased prices to
petitor, and actual financial benefit to
the trusts themselves. The Progress
sive proposal is definite, il is prac-
ucable. We promise nothing that we
cannot carry out, we promise nothing
which will jeopardize honest business.
Our proposal is to help honest
business activity, however extensive,
and to see that it is rewarded with
fair return, so that there may be no
oppression either of business men or
the common people We propose to
make it worth while for our business
men to develop the most efficient bus
mess agencies for use in international
trade; for 1t is to the interest of the
whole people that We should do well
pose to make those business agencies
do complete pustice to our own peo-
pie Where these concerns deal with
the neceSsaries of life, the commission
should not shrink, if the necessity is
proved, from going to the extent of
exercising regulatory control over the
conditions that create or determine
1t is imperative to the welfare of
our people that We enlarge and ex-
tend our foreign commerce. We are
prominently fitted to do this because
as a people we have developed high
skill in the art Of manufacturing; our
business men are strong executives,
strong organizers. In every way pos
cooperate in this important matter.
Anyone who has had opportunity to
study and observe firsthand Germany's
course IN this respect must realize
that their policy of cooperation be-
tween government and business has in
comparatively few years made them
4 leading competitor for the commerce
of the world. It should be remembered
that they are doing this on a national
scale and with large units of business, (
while the Democrats would have US
small units of business, which would
be controlled, not by the national gov
eminent, but by 40 conflicting state !
Such a policy it utterly
out of keeping with the progress of |
the times and gives our great COM
mercial rivals in EurOpe-hungry for |
International markets-gOlden oppor- |
tunities of which they are rapidly tax |
ing advantage.
SocfaI and Industrial Justice TO the /
WaEewOrIzers.
Referring to the opening sentence /
Of his address, namely, that we are I
now in the midst of a great economic |
Mr.. Roosevelt presents an 1
advanced and comprehensive plan to l
for labor He gives it the paramount |
place in his speech The first charge {
UPON the industrial craftsmanship of /
the day." he said, is to prevent hu- /
Dhanage and depleted craftsmanship, of /
crippled workers and workers suffer- |
ing from trade diseases, of casual Ia !
Dor of insecure old age, and of house 1
bold depletion due to industrial condi- |
lions are, like our depleted soils, our /
gashed mOuntainsides and flooded riv-
sr bottoms, so many strains upon the |
national structure, draining the re-
serve strength of all industries, and
showing beyond all peradventure the
public element and public concern in
Industrial health" He proposed sew
sral specific methods for preserving
md improving "our human resources,
md therefore our labor power" Wage
scales and other labor data should be
made public; all deaths, injuries. and
diseases due to Industrial operation !
should be reported to the authorities; |
wage commissions should be estab-
ished in the nation and state to de-
ermine the minimum wage scale in /
different industries; the federal gov
rnment should investigate all indus
ries with a view to establishing stand
-rds of sanitation and safety; there
hould be mine and factory inspection
.ccording to standards fixed by inter
tate agreement or by the federal gov
rnment; national and state legislation
hould establish standards of COM
ensatiOn for industrial accidents and
eaths and for diseases clearly due to
Industrial conditions; for the adoption
" law of a fair standard of compen-
alton for casualties resulting fatally
Which shall clearly fix the minimum
compensation in all cases; the mOne-l
airy equivalent of a living wage va
les according to local conditions. but
hOuld be sufficiently high to make /
lOrality possible and to provide for
ducation, recreation, proper care of
he children, maintenance during sick
ess, and reasonable saving for old |
Se- excessive hours of labor should