Pauls Valley Sentinel (Pauls Valley, Indian Terr.), Vol. 2, No. 38, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 7, 1905 Page: 9 of 22
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PRESIDENT OUTLINES
ISSUES OF THE DAY
Important Recommendations as to Legislation Made
in Annual Message to Congress—Large Part of
Document Devoted to Corporations and Railroad
Rate Legislation—Relations of Labor -ir d Capital
Dealt With Fully.
The message of President Roose-
velt, read at the first session of the
Fifty-ninth Congress, congratulates
the people on the continued prosper-
ity of the nation. The close relation-
ship and mutual dependence upon
each other of capital and labor are
pointed out, and the message con-
tinues:
Corporations.
Yet, while not merely admitting, but In-
sisting upon this, it is niso Hue that
where there is no governmental restraint
or supervision some of the exceptional
men use ineir energies not in ways that
are for the common good, but in ways
which tell against this common good.
The fortunes amassed through corporate
organization are now so large and vest
such power in those that wield them, as
to make it a matter of necessity to give
to the sovereign—that is, to the Govern-
ment, which represents the people as a
whole—some effective power of supervis--
Ion over their coiporate use. In Older to
Insure a healthy social and industrial life,,
every big corporation should be held re-
sponsible by, and be accountable to, some
sovereign strong enough to control Its
conduct. I am in no sense hostile to cor-
porations. This is an age of combination,
and any effort to prevent all combina-
tion will be not only useless, but in the'
end vicious, because of the contempt for.
law which the failure to enforce law in-
evitably produces. We should, moreover,
recognize in cordial and ample fashion the
Immense good effected by coiporate
agencies In a country such as ours, and
the wealth of intellect, energy, and fidel-
ity devoted to their service and there-
fore normally to the service of the public,
by their officers and directors. The cor-
poration has come to stay, just hs the'
trade union has come to stay. Each can
do and has done great good. Each should
be favored so long as It does good. Hut
each should be sharply checked where it
acts against law and justice.
The President shows the impossi-
bility of the individual stales deal-
ing successfully with corporation
greed, and the necessity of conferring
power upon the general government
even to the extent of a proper amend-
ment to the constitution. He says:
The Department of Justice has for the
last four years devoteu more attention
to the enforcement of the anti-trust legis-
lation than to anytldng else. Much lias,
been accomplished; particularly marked
lias been the moral effect of the prosecu-
tions; but it Is increasingly evident that
there will be a very insufficient beneficial
result in the way of economic change.
The successful prosecution of one device
to evade the law Immediately develops
another device to accomplish the same
purpose. What is needed Is not sweeping
prohibition of every arrangement, good or
bad. which may tend to restrict competi-
tion, but such adequate supervision and
regulation as will prevent any restriction
of competition from being to the detri-
ment of the public—as well us such
•upervlslon and regulation as will pie-
vent other abuses in no way connected
with restriction of competition
The first consideration to be kept in
mind is that the power should be affirm-
ative and should be given to somu ad-
ministrative body created by the Congress.
If given to the present Interstate Com-
merce commission or to a reorganized
Interstate Commerce commission, such
commission should be made unequivocally
administrative. I do not believe In the'
government interfering with private busi-'
ness more than Is necessary. 1 do not
believe in the government undertaking
any work which can with propilely be
left In private hands, liut neither do 1'
believe In the government flinching frori
overseeing any work when it becomes
evident that abuses are sure to obtain
therein unless there is governmental
supervision. It Is not my province to
indicate the exact terms of the law which
ghould be enacted; but I call the attention
pf the Congress to certain existing con-!
dlttons with which It is desirable to deal.
1" my judgment the most Important pro-
vision which such law should contain
Is that conferring upon some competent
administrative body the power to decide,
upon the case being brought before it.
whether a given rate prescribed by a rail-
road Is reasonable and just, and If It Is
found to be unreasonable and unjust,
then, after full investigation of the com-,
plaint, to prescribe the limit of rate
beyond which it shall-not be lawful to go
—the maximum reasonable rate, as It is,
commonly called—this decision to go into
effect within a reasonable time and to
obtain from thence onward, subject to
review by the courts. It sometimes liap-,
pen* at present, not that a rate is too
high but that a favored shipper is given'
too low a rate. In such case the commls-
alon would have the right to fix this'
already established minimum rale as
the maximum and it would need
only one or two auch decisions'
by the commission to cure railroad com-
panies of the practice of giving Improper
minimum rates. I call your attention to
the fact that tny proposa.1 is not to give
the commission power to initiate or
originate rates generally, but to legulate
a rut# already fixed or originated by tlie
roada, upon complaint and after Inveatl-
gatloft
Continuing, the President earnestly
disclaims any spirit of hostility to
the railroads, pointing out the bene-
fits to be derived by the fair-dealing
roads in the even-handed administra-
tion of justice. In this both the hon
est railroad man and the honest ship-
per alike would be benefited. Ending
the subject, the President says:
The question of transportation lies at
the root of ail Industrial success, and the
revolution In transportation wnich has
taken place during the last half century
has been the most important tacior in the
j growth of the new industrial conditions,
j Most emphatically vie do not wish to see
I the mail ol great talents lefused the re-
I ward for his talents. Still less do we wish
to see him penalized; but we do desire to
see the system of railroad transportation
so handled tliat the strong man shall be
given no advantage over the weak man.
! We wish to insure as fair treatment tor
the small town as for the big city, for the
small shipper as for the big shipper. In
the old days the highway of commerce,
whether by water or by a road on land,
whs open to all; it belonged to the public
and tnc tratfcc along it was free. ,-it
present the lailway is this highway, and
we must do our best to see that it is kept
open to all on equal terms. Unlike the
i old highway it is a very difficult and
complex thing to manage, and it is tar
better that It should be managed b>
private Individuals than by the govern
ment. But it can only be so managed on
condition that justice is done the public.
It Is because, in my judgment, public
ownership of railroads Is highly undesir-
able and vArnld probably lu this country
rntall far-reaching disaster, that I wish
to see such supervision and regulation
of them In the Interest of the public as
will make it evident that there is no need
for public ownership. The opponents at
government regulation dwell upon the
difficulties to be encountered and the
intricate and Involved nature of the prob-
lem. Their contention is true. It Is a
complicated and delicate problem, and all
kinds of difficulties aie sure to arise in
connection with any plan of solution,
while no plan will bring all the benefits
hoped for by Its more optimistic adher-
ents. Moreover, under any healthy pian,
the benefits will develop gradually and not
rapidly. Finally, we must cVaily under-
stand that the public servants who are
to do this peculiarly responsible and
delicate work must themselves be of the
highest type loth as regards integrity and
efficiency. They must be well paid, for
otherwise nble men can not in the long
run be secured; and they must possess
a lofty piobity which will revolt as quick-
ly at the thought of pandering to any
gust of popular prejudice against rich
men as the thought of anything even
remotely resembling subserviency to rich
men
The necessity for safety appliances
on railroads, recommended In the
President's message to the last Con-
gress, is emphasized, together with
the necessity for a law regulating the
hours of labor of railroad men.
On the labor question, the mes-
sage says:
There has been demand for depriving
courts of the power to issue injunctions
In labor disputes. Such special limitation
of the equity powers of our courts wou d
bo most unwise. It Is true that some
Judges have misused this power; but this
does not justify a denial of the power
any more than an Improper exercise of
the power to call a sliike by a labor
leader would justify the denial of the right
to strike. The remedy is to regulate the
procedure by requiring the Judge to give
due notice to the adverse parlies before
granting the writ, the hearing to be ex
parte if the adverse parly does not ap-
pear at the time and place ordered.
What is due notice must depend upon the
facts of the case; It should not bo used
as u pretext to permit violation of law,
or the Jeopardizing of life or property.
Of course, this would not authorize the
issuing of a restraining order or injunc-
tion In any case In which It is not already
authorized by existing law.
In any great labor disturbance not only
are employer and employe interested, but
also a thild party—the general public.
Evety considerable labor difficulty In
which Interstate commerce is Involved
should be Investigated by the governmeqt
and the facts officially reported to the
public.
The question of securing a healthy, self-
respecting, and mutually sympathetic at-
titude as between employer and employe,
capitalist ond wage-worker, is a difficult
one. All phases of the labor problem
prove difficult when approached. But the
Underlying principles, the root principles,
in accordance with which the problem
must be solved are entirely simple. We
caa get Justice and light dealing only If
W41 must face accomplished facts, and the
pryiclple of treating a man on his worth
as a man rather than with reference to
his social position, his occupation, or the
class to which ha belongs. There are
selfish and brutal men In all ranks of life.
If they are capitalists their selfishness
anal brutality may take the form of hard
indifference to sufTering. greedy disregard
of every moral restraint Which irtlerfeies
with the accumulation of wealth, and
cold-blooded exploitation of the weak; or,
if they are laborers, the form of laziness,
of sullen envy of the ron e fortunate, and
of willingness to perform deeds of mur-
derous violence. 8uch conduct is Just
us 1 epreheuslhle In one case as In the
other, and all honest and farseelng men
should Join in warring against It wherever
it becomes manifest. Individual capital-
ist and individual wage worker, corpora-
| lion and union, are alike entitled to the
protection of the law. and must alike
I obey tlie law. Moreover, in addition to
mete obedience to the law. each man,
if he be a really good citizen, must show
broad sympathy for his neighbor and
genuine desire to look at any question
arising between them from the standpoint
of that neighbor no less than fiorn his
own; and to this end it is essential that
capitalist and wage worker should con-
sult freely one wl i the other, should each
strive to bring closer the day when both
shall realize that they are properly pitH-
neis and not enemies. To approach the
questions which Inevitably arise between
them solely from the standpoint which
treats each side in the mass as the en-
emy of tlie other side in the mass is both
wicked and foolish. In the past the most
dheful among the Influences which have
brought about the downfall of republics
has ever been the growth of the class
spirit, the growth of the spirit which
tend^i to make a man subordinate the wel
faie of the public as a whole to the wel-
faro of the particular class to which he
belongs. This inevitably brings about a
tendancy to treat each man not on his
merits as an individual, but 011 his posi-
tion as belonging to a certain class In
tiie community, if such a sun It giows up
In this Republic It will ultimately prove
fulfil to us. as in the past it ha.-, proved
fatal to every community in which it has
become dominant. Unless we con-
tinue to keep a quick and lively
sense of the great fundamental
trutli that cur concern Is wtth the individual
worth of lie individual man, this govern-
ment cannot permanently bold the place
which It has achieved among the nations. The
vital Hues of cleavage auioug our people do
not correspond, and indeed run at right all-
eles to, the lines of cleavage wblcli divide
occupation from occupation, which div.de
wage-workers from capitalists, farmers from
bankers, men of small means from men of
large means, men who live iu the towns from
Ben who live iu the couutry; for the vital
lino of cleavage is the line which divides the
honest man who tries to do well by his
neighbor from the dishonest man who does ill
by his neighbor. In o'.her words, the stand-
ard we ghoul! establish is the standard
of conduct, not the standard of occupation,
of means or of social pos:tion. It is the
man's moral quality, bis attitude toward the
great questions which concern all humanity,
his cle. 3llnes3 of life, his power to do his
duty toward himself and toward others, which
really count; and if we substitute for the
standard of personal Judgment which treats
cach man according to his merits, another
standard In accordance with which ail men
0. ono class are favored and all men of an-
other class discriminated against, we shall do
irreparable damage to the body politic. I be-
lieve that our people are too sane, too self-
respecting, too lit for self-government, ever
to adopt such an attitude. This government
la not and nover shall be government by a
plutocracy. This government Is not and
never shall be government by a mob. It
Fhall continue to be in the future what It
has been in the past, a government based on
the theory that each man, rich or poor, is to
u treated simply and solely on his worth as
a man, that r.ll his personal and property
rights are to be safeguarded, and that he Is
neither to wrong others nor to suffer wrong
from others.
Insurance.
The great Insurance companies afford strik-
ing examples of corporations whose business
1 as extended so iar beyond the jurisdiction of
the states which created them as to pre-
clude strict enforcement of supervision and
regulation by the parent States. In my last
annual message I recommended "that the
Congress carefully consider whether the pow-
er of the Bureau of Corporations cannot con-
stitutionally be extended to cover interstate
transactions In insurance." Recent event3
have emphasized the Importance of an early
and exhaustive consideration of this ques-
tion. to see whether it Is not possible to fur-
nish better safeguards than tho several
states have been able to furnish against cor-
ruption of the flagrant kind which has been
exposed.
The Revenues.
Touching the question of tariff and
revenue ,the views of tho President are
as follows:
There is more need of stability than of
tho attempt to attain an ideal perfection in
the methods of raising revenue; and the
shock and strain to the business world cer-
tain to attend any serious change in theso
methods render such change inadvisable un-
less for grave reason. It is not possible to
lay down any general rule by which to do-
t. rmlne the moment when the reasons for
will outweigh the reasons against such a
cnange. Much must depend, not merely on
the needs, but on the desires, of the people
as a whole; for needs and desires are not nec-
essarily Identical. Of course no change ran
be made on lines beneficial to, or desired
by, one section of ono state only. There must
be something like a general agreement among
the citizens of the several states, as repre-
sented In the Congress, that the changc is
needed and desired in the interest of the
people as a whole; and there should then be
a sincere, intelligent, and disinterested effort
to make it In such shape as will combine, so
far as possible, the maximum of good to the
people at large with the minimum of neces-
sary disregard for the special Interests of
localities or classes. But In time of peace
the revenue must on th9 average, taking
a series of years together, equal the expendi-
tures or elso the revenues must be Increased.
Last year there was a deficit. Unless our ex-
penditures can bo kept within the revenues
then our revenue laws must be readjusted.
It Is as yet too early to attempt to outline
what shape such a readjustment should take,
for it Is as yet too early to say whether
there will be need for It. It should be con-
sidered whether it Is not desirable that the
tariff laws should provide for applying a*
against or In favor of any other nation maxi-
mum and minimum tariff rates established by
the Congress, so as to secure a certain reci-
procity of treatment between other nations
and ourselves. Having In view even larger
(opslderatlons of policy than those of e
Dt~r«lv ttojiorpid. patur«. U w014.l1!. lu toy
Judgment, tie well to endeavor to bring about
closer commercial eonnectlons with the other
people of this continent. I am happy to be
able to announce lo you that Russia now
treats us on the most-favored-nation basis.
Currency.
The currency question Is dealt with
as follows:
Every consideration of prudence demands
tho addition of (he element of elasticity to
our currency system. The evil does not con-
sist In «n adequate volume of money, but in
the rigidity of this volume, which does not
respond as it should to the varying needs of
communities and of seasons. Inflation must
be avoided; but souio provision should bo
made that will insuro a larger volume of
money during the fall and winter monlhs
than In tho less active seasons nf Ihe year;
so that the currency will contract against
speculation, and will expand for the nee.-.j
of legitimate business. At present the Tross-
vry department is at Irregularly recurring in-
tervals obliged. In the interest or the busi-
ness world that is. in Ihe Interests nf the
American public—to try to avert financial
crises by providing n remedy which should
bo provided by Congressional octlon.
Federal Elections.
On the subject of federal elections,
the President says:
In political campaigns in n country as large
and populous as ours it is iuevuable that
there should be much expense of ail entirely
legitimate kind. This, of course, means that
many contributions, and tonic of them of
laree size, must be made, and, as a matter
of fact. In any big political contest sueb con-
tributions are always mad« to both sides. II
Is entirely proper both to give aud receive
tliem. unless there is an improper motive
connected with cither gift or reception. If
they ore extorted by any kind of pressure
or promise, express or Implied, direct pr in-
direct. In tho way of favor or Immunity, then
the giving or receiving becomes not only Im-
proper but criminal It will undoubtedly be
difficult as a matter of practical detail to
shape au act which shall guard with reason-
able certainly against such misconduct; but
if it Is possible to secure by law the full and
verified publication In detail of all the sums
contributed to and expended by the candi-
dates or committees of any political parties
the result cannot bvt be wholesome. All con-
tributions by corporations to anr political
| com mil lee or for any political purpose should
J he forbidden by law; directors should not
| be permitted to uso stockholders' money (or
surh purposes; and, moreover, n prohibition
of ibis kind would be. ns far as it went, an
effective melhod of stopping the evils slnieil
at 111 corrupt practices o. ls. Not only should
both Ihe national and tho several stale legis-
latures forbid any oKicer of a corporation
from using the money of the rorpornllon In
or about any elect on, but they should slso
forbid such use of money I11 connections Willi
any legislation save by tho employment o<
counsel In public manner for distinctly legal
services.
Army ar.d Navy.
The President insists upou the ne-
cessity for a well trained bo^y of sol-
diers as a nucleus lor nn army lu
time of trouble, and that maneuvers
of a practical kind should be under-
! taken to adapt the forces to actual
| conditions of warfare. An increase iu
the artillery force so that the coast
fortifications can be adequately man-
ned is also recommended, wilh lib-
eral appropriations for the building
and bringing to a state of perfection
ol' the United States navy.
Naturalization Laws.
Of our piesent naturalization laws,
the message says:
During lbs past year evidence has accu-
mulated to confirm ibe expressions con-
tained in uiy last two annual messages us
| to the Importance of revising by appropriate
| legislation our system of naturalizing aliens.
I 1 appointed last March a commission to mako
a careful examinalion of our naturalizing
laws, and to suggest appropriate measures
I lo avoid tbe notorious abuses resulting from
the improvident or unlawful granting of cit-
izenship. This commission, composed of nil
officer of the Department of Stale, of the
Depurlment of Justice, and of the Depart-
ment of Commerce and Labor, has dis-
charged the duty Imposed upon It, and has
submitted a report, which will be transmitted
to the Congress for its consideration, and, 1
hope, for its favorable action.
The distinguishing recommendatlc«s of the
commission arc: •
F'r t. A federal bureau of naturalization,
to be established In the Department of Com-
merce and Labor, to supervise (be adminis-
tration of tha naturalization lawn and to re-
ceive returns of naturalizations pending and
accomplished,
Secoud. Uniformity of naturalization cer-
tificates, fees to be charged and procedure.
Third. Mure exacting qualifications for cit-
izenship.
Fourth. The preliminary declaration of In-
tention to be abolished and no alien to be
naturalized unlil at least ninety days after
th" filing of Ins petition.
Fifth. Jurisdiction to naturalize aliens
to be confined to United States district courts
and to such Stale courts as have jurisdiction
in civil actions in which the amount In con-
troversy is unlimited; In cities of over 100,-
000 Inhabitants the United States district
courts to have exclusive Jurisdiction In the
naturalization of the allen residents of such
cities.
Merchant Marine.
Oil the suoject of the merchant ma-
rine, the message says:
To tho spread of our trade lu peace and
tbe defense of our flag In war u great and
prosperous merchant marine Is indispensable.
We should have ships of our own and sea-
men of our own to convey our goods to neu-
:ral markets, and In case of need to rein-
force our battl* line. It cannot but be a
source of regiet and uneasiness to us that
the lines of communlratlon with our sister
republics of South America should be chief-
ly under foreign control. It Is not a good
tiling that American merchants and manu-
facturers should have to send their goods
«nd letters to South America via Europe If
liiey %iah security and dlbpatch. Uvea op
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Shaw & Parham. Pauls Valley Sentinel (Pauls Valley, Indian Terr.), Vol. 2, No. 38, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 7, 1905, newspaper, December 7, 1905; Pauls Valley, Indian Territory. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc110282/m1/9/: accessed April 19, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.