River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1912-08-08


Constructive Control of Trusts.
In addition to punishment for wrong
doing by the trusts, the imperative
demand is effective and coropIete reg
ulation. "The present conditions OF
business cannot be accepted as salts
factory" The reason for this is ex-
planned, in Mr.. Roosevelt's opinion, by
the fact that chose dealing with the
subject have attempted to divide into
two camps, each as unwise as the
other" The tendency of those now
in control of the Republican party Is
to give special privileges to "big busi-
ness" and to correct the evil OF such
a course when they become crying,
by sporadic lawsuits under the
antitrust law. The tendency OF
the Democrats, judged both by
their record in congress and BY
the Democratic platform, is to
abolish all business of any size or ef-
ficiency, on the ground that all big
ness is badness, and littleness and
weakness a sign of virtue. Whit is
needed is action directly the re-
verse of that thus confusedly indl-
Gated"
There should be applied to all indus
trial concerns engaged In Interstate
commerce in which there is either mo-
nopoly or control OF the market the
principles already adopted in reg
ulating transportation concerns en-
gagged in such commerce. The anti
trust law should be kept on the stat
ute book to be invoked against every
big concern tending to monopoly or
guilty of anti-social practices AT
the same time a national Industrial
commission should be created winch
should have complete power TO regu-
late and control all the great indus
trial concerns engaged in interstate
business-which practically means all
of them in this country. This COM
mission should exercise over these IN
dustrial concerns like powers to those
exercised over the railways by the IN
terstate commerce commission and
over the national DanEs by the comp
troller of the currency, and addition
al powers if found necessary"
When corporations not submitting
themselves to the regulation OF the
commission or clearly evading or vio-
lating it's orders are prosecuted I'M
der the antitrust law and convicted,
the commission should have the duty
of seeing chat the decree of the court
is put into effect completely. Only
in this way can there be avoided
such gross scandals as those attend
ant upon the present administrations
prosecution of the Standard Oil and
| the tobacco trusts" q prosecution
which has merely resulted in in
creased prices to the public. injury to
the small competitor, and actual flnan-
cial benefit to the trusts themselves"
Justice to Wage-Workers.
| Mr.. Roosevelt presented an adj
vanced and comprehensive plan to in
sure the rights and better conditions
| for labor. He proposed several specific
methods for preserving and improv
ing 'our human resources, and there.
fore our labor power" Wage scales
and other labor data should be made
public; all deaths, injuries, and dis
eases due to industrial operation
should be reported to the authorities;
wage commissions should be estab-
lished In the nation and state to de-
termine the minimum wage scale in
different industries; the federal gov
eminent should investigate all indus
tries with a view to establishing
standards of sanitation and safety;
there should be mine and factory In
spection according to standards fixed
| by interstate agreement or by the
federal government; national and
state legislation should establish
standards of compensation for indus
trial accidents and deaths and for dis
eases clearly due to industrial con-
ditions; for the adoption by law of
fair standard of compensation for
casualties resulting fatally which
shall clearly fix the minimum COM
pensation in all cases; the monetary
equivalent of living wage varies ac-
cording to local conditions, but should
be sufficiently high to make morality
possible and to provide for education,
recreation, proper care of the chill
| dren, maintenance during sickness,
and reasonable saving for old age;
excessive hours OF labor should be
prohibited for all wage-workers, and
night labor Of women and children
should be forbidden; one day of rest
in seven should be provided by law;
continuous twenty-four-hour labor
should be divided into three shifts of
eight hours by law; tenement-house
| manufacture should be entirely pro-
hibited, and labor camps should be
| subject to governmental sanitary reg
ulation; all industries employing wom-
en- and children should be specially
| subject to government inspection and
| regulation; insurance funds against
sickness, accident, invalidism, and old
/ age should be established by a charge
either in whole or in part upon the
industries; the suffrage should be
granted to women, IL for, no other rea-
son, to enable workingwomen to COM
bine for their own protection by the
use OF the ballot.
The Farmer.
'sThe country life commission should
be revived with greatly increased
power: its abandonment was severe
blow to our people. The welfare Of
| the farmer, is basic need of this