Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1912-08-14

finally in the way of social Justice.
Inc propositions l make constitute
neither anarchy nor Socialism, but, on
the contrary, corrective for Social
ism and an antidote to anarchy"
Constructive Control of Trusts.
IN addition to punishment for wrong
doing by the trusts, the imperative
demand is effective and complete 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 TACT that those 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 bust
ness" and to correct the evil of such
course when they become crying,
by sporadic lawsuits ander 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 eff
nc1ency, on the ground that all big
ness is badness, and littleness and
weakness a sign of virtue. What is
needed is action directly the re-
verse of that thus confusedly indi-
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 national industrial
commission should be created which
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 banks 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 VIC
| lot nm.
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 attend
ant upon the present administration
prosecution of the Standard Oil and
the tobacco trusts" prosecution
which has merely resulted in in
creased prices to the public, injury to
the small competitor, and actual f1nan
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-
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 foI
casualties resulting fatally which
shall clearly fix the minimum com
pensation in all cases; the monetary
equivalent of living wage varies &C
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 Neutrality-suspicious. 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 WON
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, if for no other rea.
son, to enable workingwomen to com.