Carson City daily appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1907-1930, 1916-12-05

SHouiu 1 NldNS ~, SAoI dHy hidh III any
occupation should be obliged by law
to continue in an employment which
he desired to leave. To pass a law
which forbade or prevented the in
dividual workman to leave his work
before receiving the approval of So
ciety in doing so would be to adopt
a new principle into our jurisprud-
ence which l take it for granted we
are not prepared to introduce. But
the proposal that the operation of
the railways of the country shall not
be stopped or interrupted by the
concerted action of organized bodies
of men until a public investigation
shall have been instituted which
shall make the whole question at is
Sue plain for the judgment of the
opinion of the nation is not to pro-
pose any such principle. 1t is based
upon the very different principle that
the concerted action of powerful
bodies of men shall not be permit
ted to stop the industrial processes
of the nation, at any rate before the
nation shall have had an opportunity
Ito ~acquaint itself with the merits of
the case as between employee and
employer, time to form its opinion
upon an impartial statement of the
merits and opportunity to consider
all practicable means of Cancellation
or arbitration. Lean see nothing in
that proposition but the justiiable
safeguarding by society of the nee
essary processes of its very life.
There is nothing arbitrary or unjust
in it unless it be arbitrately and I'M
Justly done. 1t can and should be
done with a full and ~scrupulous re-
gard for the interests and liberties Of
all concerned as we'll as for the per-
manent interests of society itself.
Three matters of capital importance
await the action Of the senate which
have already been acted upon by the
house of representatives.; the bill
which seeks to extend greater free
dom of combination to those engag-
ed in promoting the foreign com-
merce of the country than is now
thought by some to be legal under
the terms of the laws against no.
nopoly; the bill amending the present
organic law of Porto Rico; and the
bill proposing a more thorough and
systematic regulation of the expendi-
ture of money in elections, common
ly called the Corrupt Practices act.
| need not labor my advice that these
measures be enacted into law. Their
urgency lies in the manifest circum-
stances which render their adoption
at this time not only opportune but
necessary. Even delay would serious
ly leopard the interests of the coun-
try and OF the government.
Immediate passage of the bill to
regulate the expenditure OF money
in elections may seem to be less nee
essary than the immediate enactment
" tIC LII LlSoSulNS ~ L
refer; because at least two years will
elapse before another election in
which federal offices are to be filled;
but it would greatly relieve the pub.
lie mind if this important matter
were dealt with while the circum-
stances and the dangers to the public
morals of the present method of OBJ
tanning and spending campaign funds
stand clear under recent observation
and the methods of expenditure can
be frankly studied in the light OF
present experience; and a delay
would have the further very serious
disadvantage of postponing action
until another election was at hand
and some special object connected
with it might be thought to be I'm the
mind of those who urged it. Action
can be taken now with facts for
guidance and without suspicion OF
partisan purpose.
l shall not argue at length the de-
STABILITY of giving a freer hand IN
| the matter of combined and concert
ed effort to those who shall under
take the essential enterprise of build
ing up our export trade. That enter
prise will presently, will Immediate
ly assume, has indeed already assum-
ed, a magnitude unprecedented in our
experience. We have not the neces-
sary instrumentalities for its prose-
%cution; it is deemed to be doubtful
whether they could be created upon
an adequate scale under u present
laws. We should clear away al
legal obstacles and create a basis of
undoubted law for it which will give
freedom without permitting unregu-