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OBSimViaTl StJIIlL.E2M112TVT-,noV 8th, 1004, E ! President Eoosovelt's message has been delivered to congress. Its main features are as follows: ! The enlargement of scope of the functions of the national government required by oar development as a na tion Involves, of course, Increase of ex pense, and the period of prosperity through which the country Is passing justifies expenditures for permanent Improvements far greater than would be wise In bard times, but abundant revenues and a large surplus always Invite extravnganee, and constant eare should be taken to guard against un necessary Increase of the ordinary ex penses of Bovernment,' 'Capital" and Laber. i The relations of capital and labor, and especially of organized capital and organised labor, to each other and to the public at large come second In Im portance only to the Intimate questions of family life. Our peculiar form of government with its sharp division ef authority between the nation and the several states, has been on the whole far more advantageous to our develop ment than a more strongly centralized covernment. But it Is undoubtedly re sponsible for much of the difficulty of meeting with adequate legislation the - -tfew problems presented by the total cbnnen In Industrial conditions on this continent during the Inst liulf century. In actual practice It has proved ex ceedingly difficult, und In many cases impossible, to get unanimity of wise ncllon among the various states on these subjects. From Hie very nature of the case this Is cspcclnlly true of the luws affecting the employment of capital in huge masses. With regard to labor, the problem Is no less Important, but It Is simpler. As long as the states retain the primary control of the police power the circum stances must be altogether extreme rwhlch require interference by the fed eral authorities, whether in the way of safeguarding the rights of labor or in the way of seeing thut wrong is not done by unruly persons who shield themselves behind the name of labor. If there is resistance to the federal courts. Interference with the mails or interstate commerce or molestation of federal property, or If the state authori ties in sonic crisis which they are un nlilc to face call for help, then the fed eral government may interfere; but, though such interference may be caus ed by n condition of things arising out of trouble connected with some ques tion of labor, the Interference itself simply takes the form of restoring or der""without regard to the questions which have caused the breach of or der. In the District of Columbia and In the territories the federal law cov ers the entire field of government But the labor question Is only acute In populous centers of commerce, manu factures or mining. Nevertheless both In the enactment and in the enforce ment of law the federal government within it restricted sphere should set an example to the state governments, specially in a matter so vital as this affecting labor. Labor Unions, I bellove that under modern indue tflal conditions it is often necessary an oven where not necessary It is yet ot ten wise that there should be organiza tion of labor In order better to secure the rights of the Individual wagework er. All encouragement should be given to any such organization so long as It Is conducted with a due and decent re gard for the rights of others. There are In this country some labor unions which have habitually and other labor onions which bare often been among the most effective agents in working for good citizenship and for uplifting the condition of those whose welfare should be closest to our hearts. But When any labor union seeks Improper ends or seeks to achieve proper ends by Improper means all good citizens, and more especially all honorable pub lic servants, must oppose the wrongdo ing as resolutely as they would oppose the wrongdoing of any great corpora Won. Violence, brutality or corruption ' should not for one moment be tolerat- i ed. I Entire Right to Organise. f Wageworkers have an entire right I to organize and by all peaceful and honorable means to eudoavor to per '1 auadc their fellows to join with them In organizations. They have a legal right, which, according to clrcum atances, may or may not be a moral right, to refuse to work In company with men who decline to Join their or ganizations. They have under no clr- AMafannAB il.n wlnl.f tl , n IT. T.1 1 f Ia ri lence urion those, whether capitalists N or wageworkers, who refuse to support insir orguuir.auous or who eme- wiui those with whom they are at odds, for mob rule is Intolerable in any form. The wageworkors are peculiarly enti tled to the protection and the encour agement of the law. Wherever the na tional government has power there should be a stringent employer's liabil ity law, which should apply to the gov ernment Itself where the government is an employer ef labor. Praventloa of Railroad Aeeldeats. i The ever increasing casualty list up on our railroads is a matter of grave public concern and urgently calls foi icttca tethsxojurms, tumuMJ PRESIDENT'SM ESSAG a law reqtilrlnglfie Adbjftlo'tf'of a block signal system has beedtproposed to the congress. I earnestly concur In that recommendation and would also point out to the congress the urgent need of legislation In the Interest of the publii safety limiting the hours of labor for railroad employees in train service up on railroads engaged in Interstate com merce and providing that only trained and experienced persons be employed in positions of responsibility connected with the operation of trains. The safety appliance law, as amend ed by the act of March 2, 1908, has proved beuellclul to railway employees, und In order thut its provisions may be properly curried out the force of in spectors provided for by appropriation should be largely Increased. This serv ice bus passed the experimental stage and should receive generous recogni tion by the congress. Unionism In Government Offlceta. There Is no objection to employees ot the government forming ot" belonging to unions, but the government can nei ther discriminate tor nor discriminate against nonunion men who are in its employment or who seek to be em ployed uudea.lt. Moreover, It is a very grave impropriety, for government em ployees to baud themselves together for the purpose of extorting Improperly blgh salaries from the government Especially is this true of those within the classified service. The letter car riers, both municipal and rural, are as a whole an excellent body of public servants. They should be amply paid. But their payment must be obtained by arguing their claims fairly and hon orably before the congress and not by banding together for the defeat ef those congressmen who refuse to give promises which they cannot In con science give. The administration has taken steps to prevent and punish abuses of this nature, but It will be wise for the congress to supplement this action by legislation. Bureau of Labor. Much can be done by the government in labor matters merely by giving pub licity to certain conditions. The bureau of labor has done excellent work of this kind in many different directions. I shall shortly lay before yon In a spe cial message the full report of the In vestigation of the bureau of labor Into the Colorado mining strike, as this is a strike in which certain very evil forces, which are more or less at work every where under the conditions of modern Industrialism, became startling! prom inent. It is greatly to be wished that the department of eommerce and la bor, through the labor bureau, should compile and arrange for the congress a list of the labor laws of the various states and should be given the means to investigate and report to the con gress upon the labor conditions In the manufacturing and mining regions throughout the country, both as to wages, as to hours of labor, as to the labor of women and children and as to the effect in the various labor centers of immigration from abroad. In this Investigation especial attention should be paid to the conditions of child labor and child labor legislation in the several states. Corporations. When we come to deal with great corporations the need for the govern ment to act directly is far greater than in the case of labor, because great cor porations can become such only by en gaging in Interstate commerce, and In terstate commerce Is peculiarly the field of the general government It is an absurdity to expect to eliminate the abuses in great corporations by state aotlon. It is difficult to be patient with an argument that such matters should be left to the states, because more than one state pursues the policy of creat ing on easy terms corporations which are never operated within that state at all, but In other states whose laws they Ignore. The national government alone. can deal adequately with these great corporations. To try to deal with them In an intemperate, destruc tive or demagogic spirit would in all probability mean that nothing what ever would be accomplished, and with absolute certainty that if anything were accomplished it would be of a harmful nature. The American peo ple need to continue to show the very qualities that they have shown that is, moderation, good sense, the earnest desire to avoid doing any damage and yet the quiet determination to proceed, step by Rtep. without halt and without hurry, In eliminating or at least in minimizing whatever of mischief or of evil there Is to interstate i commerce in the conduct of great corporations. They are acting In no spirit of hostility to wealth, cither individual or cor porate. They nre not against the rich man any more than against the poor man. On the contrary, they are friend ly alike toward rich man and toward poor man, provided only that each acts in a spirit of Justice and decency to ward his fellows. Great corporations are necessary, and only men of great and singular mental power can man age such corporations successfully, and such men must have great re wards. But these corporations should be managed with due regard to the Interest of the public as a whole. Where this can be done under the pres ent laws it must be done. Where these laws come short others should be enacted to supplement them. Bureau of Corporation. The bureau of corporations has made careful preliminary investigation of many Important corporations. It will make a special report on the beef in dustry. Tbe policy of the bureau Is to ac complish, the Dumoiea of Its ctaatloa by co-operation, not "aiifuSfbh'I's'm; by making constructive legislation, not destructive prosecution, the Immediate object of Its Inquiries; by conservative investigation of law and fact and by refusal to' issue Incomplete and hence necessarily Inaccurate reports. Its pol icy being thus one of open Inquiry into, and not attnek upon business, the bu reau has been able to gain not only tbe confidence; but, better still, tbe co-operation, of men engaged in legitimate business. The bureau offers to the congress the means of getting at the cost of pro auction of our various greut staples of eommerce. . Of necessity tbe careful Investigation of speclul corporations will afford tbe commissioner knowledge of certain business facts, tbe publication of which might be an Improper Infringement of private rights. Tbe method of making public the results of these investiga tions affords, under tbe law, a means for the protection of private rights. The congress will have all facts except such as would give to another cor poration. Information which would in jure the legitimate business of a com petitor and destroy the Incentive for Individual superiority and thrift." The bureau lias also made exhaustive examinations Into the legal condition under which corporate business is car ried on In tbe various states, Into all Judicial decisions on tbe subject and Into the various systems of corporate taxation In use. I call special attention to the report of the chief of the bureau, and I earnestly ask that the congress carefully consider the report and rec ommendations of tbe commissioner on this subject. The business of Insurance vitally af fects the great ninsg of the people of the United States and Is national and not local In Its application. It Involves a multitude of transactions among the people of the different states and be tween American companies and for eign governments. I urge that the con gress carefully consider whether tbe power of tbe bureau of corporations cannot constitutionally be extended to cover Interstate transactions in insur ance. Rebates. Above all else we must strive to keep the highways of commerce open to all on equal terms, and to do this It la nec essary to put a complete stop to all re bates. Whether tbe shipper or the rail road la to blame makes no difference, The rebate must be stopped, tbe abuses of the private car and private terminal track and side track systems must be Btopped, and the legislation of tbe Fifty-eighth congress which declares It to be unlawful for any person or corpora tion to offer, grant give, solicit accept or receive any rebate, concession or discrimination in respect of the trans portation of any property In interstate or foreign commerce whereby such property shall by any device whatever be transported at a less rate than that named In tbe tariffs published by the carrier must be enforced. While I am Of the opinion that at present it would be undesirable if it were not impracti cable finally to clothe the Interstate commerce commission with general au thority to fix railroad rates, I do be lieve that as a fair security to ship pers the commission should be vested with the power where a given rate has been challenged and after full hearing found to be unreasonable to decide, sub ject to Judicial review, what shall be a reasonable rate to take its place, tbe ruling of the commission to take effect Immediately and to obtain dnlesa and until It is reversed by the court of re view. Steamship companies engaged in in terstate commerce and protected in onr coastwise trade should be held to a strict observance of the Interstate1 com merce act. The president here discusses the city of Washington, making numerous recommendations looking to Its better government He asks that laws be passed preventing overcrowding In tbe tenement districts, for the abolition of blind alleys and the proper housing of the poor. He also recommends changes in the criminal code, and would have wife beaters corporally punished. Irrigation. During the two and a half years that bave elapsed since the passage of the reclamation act rapid progress has been made in tbe surveys and exami nations of the opportunities for recla mation in tbe thirteen states and three territories of the arid west Construo tlon has already been begun on the lar gest and most Important of tbe irriga tion works, and plans are being com pleted for works which will utilize the funds now available. The forest policy of the government is Just now n subject of vivid public Interest throughout the west and to the people of the United Stales In general. The forest reserves tlfcinselves are of extreme value to the present as well as to the future welfare of all the western public land stales. They pow erfully affect the use nud disposal of the public lauds. They arc of spe cial importance becnuse they pre serve the water supply und the supply of timber for domestic purposes and so promote settlement under the reclama tion act Indeed they are essential tc the welfare of every one of the great Interests of the west I bave repeatedly called attention to tbe confusion which exists in govern ment forest matters because the work is scattered among three independent organisations. As I have recommend ed, all the forest work of the govern ment should be concentrated in the de partment of agriculture, where tbe larger part of that work Is already done, . Tjit Ctpxon of the Colorado stould be made a national paflt'ind the national park system should In dud tbe Yosemite and as many as possible of tbt groves of giant trees In California. Penslaas. The veterans of tbe civil war hart claim upon the nation such as no Otter body of our citizens possess. Tbe pension bureau has never in Its history bam managed In a mors satisfactory manner than Is now the case. Consular Service; Our consular system needs Improve ment Salaries should be substituted far fees, and tbe proper classification, grading and transfer of consular of ficers should be provided. I am not prepared to say that a competitive sys tem of examinations for appointment would work well, but by law It should be provided that consuls should be familiar, according to places for which they apply, with the French, German or Spanish language and should pos sess acquaintance with the resources of tbe United States. It is desirable to enact a proper na tional quarantine law. I call your attention to the great extravagance in printing and binding government publications and especially to the fact thut altogether too many of these publications are printed. Currency. The attention of the congress should be especially given to the currency question and that the standing commit tees on the matter In the two houses Charged with the duty take up the mat ter of our currency and see whether It Is not possible to secure an agreement In the business world for bettering the system. The committees should con sider the question of the retirement of the greenbacks and tbe problem of se curing In our currency such elasticity as Is consistent with safety. Every silver dollar should be made by law re deemable In gold at the option of the holder. Merchant Marine. I especially commend to your immedi ate attention the encouragement of our merchant marine by appropriate legis lation. The growing Importance of the orient as a field for American exports drew from my predecessor, President Mc Klnley, nn urgent request for Its spe cial consideration by the congress. Tbe importance of securing proper information and data with a view to the enlargement of our trade with Asia is undiminished. Our consular repre sentatives in China have strongly urged a place for permanent display of American products in some prominent trade center of that empire, under gov ernment control and management, as an effective means of advancing our export trade therein. I cnll the atten tion of the congress to the desirability of carrying out these suggestions. Immigration and Xatarallsatloa. In dealing with tbe questions of Im migration and naturalization It Is in dispensable to keep certain facts ever before tbe minds of those who share in enacting the laws. First and fore most, let us remember that the ques tion of being n "good American has nothing whatever to do with a man's birthplace any more than it has to do with bis creed. In every generation from tbe time this government was founded men of foreign blrtrb have stood in the very foremost rank of good citizenship, and that not merely in one but in every field of American activity. There Is no danger of having too many immigrants of the right kind, but the citizenship of this country Should not be debased. It is vital that we should keep high the standard of well being among our wageworkers, and therefore we should not admit masses of men whose standards of liv ing and whose personal customs and habits are such that they tend to lower tbe level of the American wageworker, and above all we should not admit any man of an unworthy type. Similarly we should take tbe greatest care about naturalization. Fraudulent naturaliza tion, the naturalization of improper persons, Is a curse to our government and It is the affair of every honest voter, wherever born, to see that no fraudulent voting is allowed, that no fraud in connection with naturaliza tion Is permitted. Rerlilon of Naturalisation Laws. There should be a comprehensive re vision of the naturalization laws. The courts having power to naturalize should be definitely named by national authority, the testimony upon which naturalization may be conferred should be definitely prescribed, publication of Impending naturalization applications should be required In advance of their hearing in court the form and word ing of all certificates Issued should be uniform throughout the country, and the courts should be required to make returns to the secretary of state at stated periods of all naturalizations conferred. Not only are the laws relating to naturalization now defective, but those relating to citizenship of the United States ought also to be made the sub ject of scientific Inquiry with a view to probable further legislation. The pow er of the government to protect the in tegrity of the elections of its own offi cials Is Inherent and has been recog nized and affirmed by repeated dec larations of the supreme court. There la no enemy of free government more dangerous and none so Insidious as the corruption of the electorate. I rec ommend the enactment of a law direct ed against bribery and corruption In federal elections. Delays In Criminal ProaeeuUona. . Jto.auhlrct.il batter , worths tee a tehllon of The congress fhan 'that por tion of the report of the attorney gen eral, dealing with the long delays and the great obstruction to Justice experi enced In the cases of Beavers, Green und ilaynor und Benson. Were these isolated und special cases I should not fall your attention to them, but the dif ficulties encountered as regards these men who liuve been Indicted for crimi nal practices are not exceptional. They are precisely similar In kind to what occurs again and again In the case of criminals who have sufficient means to enable them to take advantage of a system of procedure which hug grown up In the federal courts and which amounts in effect to making the luw easy of enforcement against the man who has no money and difficult of en forcement, even to the point of some times securing Immunity, as regards the man who has money. At present the Interests of tbe Innocent man are amply safeguarded, but the Interests of the government that Is, the Interests of honest administration; that Is, the Interests of the people are not recog nized as they should be. The president discusses the progress of the territories of Alaska. Hawaii and Porto Hlco, with recommendations lor changes in tbe present system of government of tbe hist named. lie de sires to see a delegate from Alaska In congress. Foreign Poller. The steady aim of this nation, as of all enlightened nations, should be to strive to bring ever nearer the day when there shall prevail throughout the world the peace of justice, but there are kinds of peace which are highly undesirable, which are in the long run as destructive as any war. The goul to Bet before us as a nation, the goal which should be set before all mankind, Is the attainment of the peace of Justice, of the peace which comes when each nation is not merely safeguarded In Its own rights, but scrupulously recognizes and performs Its duty toward others. Generally peace tells for righteousness, but if there is conflict between the two then our fealty is due first to the cause of righteousness. Unrighteous wars are common nnd unrighteous peace Is rare, but both should be shunned. The right of freedom and the responsibility for the exercise of that right cannot be divorced. One of our great poets has well and finely said that freedom is not a gift that tarries long in the hands of cowards. Neither does it tarry long in the hands of those too slothful, too dis honest or too unintelligent to exercise It The eternal vigilance which is the price of liberty must be exercised sometimes to guard against outside foes, although, of course, far more of ten to guard agulust our own selfish or thoughtless shortcomings. It Is our duty to remember that a na tion has no more right to do Injustice to another nation, strong or weak, than an individual has to do injustice to an other individual; that the same moral law applies in one case as in the other. Hut we must also remember that It is as much the duty of the nation to guard its own rights and its own Inter ests as it is the duty of the individual so to do. Until some method Is devised by which there shall be n degree of In tel national control over offending na tions it would be a wicked thing for the most civilized powers, for those with most sense of international obli gations and witli keenest and most gen erous appreciation of the difference be tween right and wrong, to disarm. If the great civilized nations of the pres ent day should completely disarm, the result would mean an immediate re crudescence of barbarism in one form or another. I'nder any circumstances a sufficient armament would have to be kept up to serve the purposes of inter national policaj and until international cohesion and the sense of international duties and rights are far more ad vauced than at present a nation desir ous both of securing respect for Itself and of doing good to others must bave a force adequate for the work which It feels is allotted to It as its part of the general world duty. Therefore it fol lows that n self respecting. Just and furseclng nation should on the one hand endeavor by every means to aid In the development of the various movements which tend to provide sub stitutes for war, which tend to render nations in their actions toward one an other nnd indeed toward their own peoples more responsive to the general sentiment of humane and civilized mankind, nnd, on the other hand, that it should keep prepared, while scrupu lously avoiding wrongdoing Itself, to repel any wrong and in exceptional cases to take action which In a more advanced stage of International rela tions would come under the head of the exercise of the international police. Arbitrntlim Treaties. We are in every way endeavoring to help on, with cordial good will, every movement which will tend to bring us into more friendly relations with the reet of mankind. In purs;i:iiire of this policy 1 shall shortly lay before the sen ate treaties of ail'itiati.m wilh all pow ers which arc wi!lu: to onlcr into those treaties wilh us. It is not possible at this period of the world's development to agree to arbitrate all mutters, but there arc many matters of possible difference lietween us and other na tions which can be thus arbitrated. Furthermore, at the request of the In terparliamentary union, an eminent body composed of practical statesmen from all countries, I have asked the powers to join with this government In a second Hague conference, at which it Is hoped that the work already so hlSSily begun afjhe Hague uu be carried sonic steps further toward completion. This curries out the de sire expressed by the first Hague con ference Itself. Poller Toward other Nations of Wi-atera Hemisphere. It Is not true that the United States feels any land hunger or entertains any projects as regards the other na tions of the western hemisphere save such as are for their welfare. All that this country desires Is to see the neigh boring 'countries stable, orderly and prosperous. Any country whose people conduct themselves woll can count upon our hearty friendship. If a nation shows that It knows how to act with reasonable efficiency and decency In so cial and political matters, If It keeps order and pays Its obligations. It need fear no Interference from the United States, t.'hronlc wrongdoing or an Im potence which results In a general loos ening of the tics of civilized society may In America, as elsewhere, .ulti mately require Intervention by some civilized nation, and In tbe western hemisphere the adherence of the Unit ed States to the Monro doctrine may force the United States, however re luctantly, in flagrant cases of such wrongdoing or impotence, to the exer cise of an international police power. Rights of American Cltlsens Abroad. It is necessary forusflrmlyto Insist up on tin- rights of our own citizens abroad without regard to their creed or race; without regard to whether they were born bete or bora abroad. It has proved very difficult to secure from Hussia the right for our Jewish fellow citizen to receive passports and travel through ltusslan territory. It is a wrong against which we are entitled to protest to refuse him his passport without regard to his conduct and char acter, merely on racial and religious grounds. The NTf, The strong arm of the government In enforcing respect for its just rights In International matters is the navy of t he United States. I most earnestly recommend that there be no halt in the work of upbuilding tbe American navy. We bave undertaken to build the isth mian canal. We have undertaken to sec ure for ourselves our Just share in the trade of the orient. We have un dertaken to protect our citizens from improper treatment in foreign lands. We continue steadily to insist on the application of the Monroe doctrine to the western hemisphere. Unless our attitude in these and all similar mat ters is to be a mere boastful sham we cannot afford to abandon our naval programme. Our voice is now potent for peace and Is so potent because wc are not afraid of war. But our prot estations upon behalf of peace would neither receive nor deserve the slight est attention if we were Impotent to make them good. Continued on third page Revolution Imminent A sure sign of approaching revolt and serious trouble in your system Is nervousness, sleeplessness, or stomach upsets. Electric Bitters will quickly dismember the troublesome causes. It never falls to tone the stomach, regu late the Kidneys and Bowels, stimu late tbe Liver, and clarify the blood. Run down systems benefit particular ly and all the usual attending aches vanish nnder Its searching snd thor ough effectiveness. Electric Bitters is only 50c, sud tbst is returned If it don't give perfect satisfaction. Guar anteed by B E Sedberry & Sons, Drug gists. d o Like a Comet ThisN In ths sky comes the star of heaJtn to the weak and famous remedy weary despon does for the stom ach that which It Is unable to do (or dent dyspeptic curing all t a m IB h Itself, even if but slightly disordered or overburdened. digestive dlseraar. Kodol supplies t h e natural ' juices of difejtion and does the work of the stomach, relaxing the nervous tension, while the Inflsmed muscles and membranes ef that ! organ are allowed to rest and heal. It cures Indigestion, flatulence, palpitation of the heart, nervous dyspepsia and all stomach troubles by cloanalnr, purifying and strengthening the r lands, 1 membranes of the stom ach and digest! ve organs. Koiol Dyspepsia Cure Tier sttrCaSaser Tea, BotUsi only . S 1 .00 Slae soMfaf 1M esses the trial Mm. wake, sails tor lea. tntt hit .Trn CO, CS1UM. FOB SALE BY ALL DRUGGIST. IJ SI ADAMS SlCHlUfitV
Fayetteville Observer [Weekly, 1880-1919] (Fayetteville, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 8, 1904, edition 1
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