The Stigler Beacon. (Stigler, Okla.), Vol. 5, No. 28, Ed. 1 Friday, February 7, 1908 Page: 3 of 8
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Oklahoma Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Gateway to Oklahoma History by the Oklahoma Historical Society.
- Highlighting
- Highlighting On/Off
- Color:
- Adjust Image
- Rotate Left
- Rotate Right
- Brightness, Contrast, etc. (Experimental)
- Cropping Tool
- Download Sizes
- Preview all sizes/dimensions or...
- Download Thumbnail
- Download Small
- Download Medium
- Download Large
- High Resolution Files
- IIIF Image JSON
- IIIF Image URL
- Accessibility
- View Extracted Text
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
r'V-JJ
v -
iy
t
5 t
PRESIDEI1T URGES
HEW LEGISLATION
Rl HOT MESSAGE
BIQ CORPORATIONS SCORED BE-
CAUSE OF ATTITUDE TO-
Ward government'
EMPLOYERS’! LIABILITY LAW
Chief Executive Declares Act Needs
Immediate Revision— Righting
of Injunction Abuses la - -C
Urged' " '' -
To the Senate and House of- Represen-
tatives: The recent decision of the su-
ftreme court In regard to the employers’
lability act the experience of the Inter-
state Commerce Commission and of the
department of justice In enforcing the In-
terstate commerce and antitrust laws
end the gravely significant attitude
toward the law and its administration
recently adopted by certain heads of
- great corporations render It desirable
that there should be additional legisla-
tion as regards certain of the relations
between labor and capital and between
the great corporations and the public
The supreme court has decided the em-
ployers’ liability law to be unconetitu-
tlonal because its terms apply to em-
ployes engaged wholly in intrastate com-
merce as well as to employes engaged in
interstate commerce By a substantial
majority the court holds that the con-
gress has power to deal with the ques-
“on n 80 far as interstate commerce
is concerned
As i regards the employers’ liability law
f advocate its immediate reenactment
limiting its scope so that it shall apply
- only to the class of cases as to which the
court says it can constitutionally apply
but Strengthening its provisions within
this scope Interstate employment being
thus covered by an adequate national
the of intrastate employment
will be left to the action of the several
states With this clear definition of
responsibility the states will undoubtedly
give to the performance- of their duty
within their field the consideration the
Importance of the subject demands -
Compensation for Employes
Hurt in Government 8ervice
- I also very urgently advise that a com-
prehensive act be passed providing for
compensation by the government to all
employes injured in the government ser-
vice Under the present law an injured
workman in the employment of the gov-
ernment has no remedy and the entire
burden of the accident falls on the help-
less man his wife and his young chil-
dren This 1s an outrage It is a matter
of humiliation to the nation that there
should not be on our statute books a pro-
vision to meet and partially to atone for
cruel misfortune when It conies upon
a man through no fault of his own while
faithfully serving the public In elo oth-
er prominent Industrial country in the
world could such gross Injustice occur:
for almost all civilized nations have en-
acted legislation embodying the complete-
recognition of the principle which places
the entire trade risk for industrial acci-
dents - (excluding of course accidents
due-to -willful misconduct by the em-
ploye) on the Industry as represented
- by the employer which in this case is
the government' In ail these countries
the principle applies to the government
- just as much as to the private employer
-under ho circumstances should the In-
jured employe or his surviving depend-
ents be required to bring suit against the
government nor should there be the re-
quirement that in order to Insure re-
covery negligence in some fo"m on the
part of the government should be shown
Our proposition is not to confer a right
' of action upon the government employe
but -to secure him suitable provision
against injuries received in the course
of his employment The burden of the
trade risk should be placed upon the
government Exactly as the workingman
is entitled to his wages so he should be
entitled to Indemnity for the injuries sus-
tained in the natural course of his labor'
The rates of compensation and the regu-
lations for its payment should be specl-
- fled in the law and the machinery for
determining the amount to be paid should
in each case be provided in such manner
that the employe Is properly represented
- without expense to him - In other words
the compensation should be paid auto-
matically while the application -of the
law in the first Instance should be vested
in the department of commerce and labor
The law should apply to all laborers me-
chanics and other civilian employes of
the government of the United States
Including those in the service of the
Panama canal commission and of the in-
sular governments
The same ' broad principle ‘ which
should apply to the government
should - ultimately be made appli-
cable to all private employers Where
the nation has the power it should
enact laws to this effect Where the
states alone have the power they should
enact the laws It is to be observed
that an employers’ liability law does not
' really mean mulcting employers In dam-
ages It merely throws upon the em-
ployer the burden of accident Insurance
against injuries which arc sure to occur
It requires him either to bear or to dis-
tribute through insurance the loss which
can readily be borne when distributed
but which if undistributed bears with
frightful hardship upon the unfortunate
victim of accident In theory if wages
were always freely and fairly Adjusted
they 'would alwavs Include an allowance
as against the risk of injury Just as
cerWtnly as the rate of interest for mon-
ey Includes an allowance for insurance
against the risk of loss In theory if
employes were all experienced business
men they would employ that part of
’ tholr wages which is received because of
the risk of Injury to secure accident
Insurance But as a matter of fact It
Is nntrract1cat to expect that this will
' 1 -'employes
in my mind that it has sometimes been
used heedlessly and unjustly and that
some of the injunctions Issued inflict
grave and occasionally irreparable wrong
upon those enjoined
It is all wrong to use the Injunction
to prevent the entirely proper and legiti-
mate actions of labor organizations In
their struggle for industrial betterment
or under the guise of protecting property
rights unwarrantably to Invade the fun-
damental rights of the Individual It is
futile to concede as we all do the right
and the necessity of organized effort on
the part of wage-earners and yet by in-
junctive process to forbid peaceable ac-
tion to accomplish the lawful objects for
which they are organised and upon
which their success depends The fact
that the punishment for the violation
of an Injunction must to make the order
effective necessarily be summary ana
without the Intervention of a jury makes
Its issuance in doubtful cases a danger-
ous practice and in itself furnishes a
reason why they process should be sur-
rounded with safeguards to protect in-
dividuals against being enjoined from ex-
ercising their proper rights Reasonable
notice should be given the adverse party
This matter is daily becoming of graver
Importance and I can not too urgently
recommend that the congress give care-
ful consideration to the subject If some
way of remedying the abuses is not found
the feeling of Indignation against them
among large numbers of our citizens will
tend to grow so extreme as to produce
a revolt against the whole use of the
process -of injunction The ultra-conservatives
who object to cutting out the
abuses will do well to remember that if
the popular feeling does become strong
many of those upon whom they rely to
defend them wilt be the first to turn
against them Men of property can not
afford to trust to anything Bave the spirit
of Justice and fair play for those very
public men who while it is to their In-
terest defend all the abuses committed
by capital and pose as the champions of
conservatism will the moment they
think their Interest - changes take the
lead in Just such a matter as this and
pander to what they esteem popular feel-
ing by endeavoring for instance ef-
fectively to destroy the power of the
courts In matters of injunction and will
even seek to render nugatory the power
to punish for contempt upon which pow-
er the very existence of the orderly ad-
ministration of justice depends -It
is my purpose as soon as may be to
submit some further recommendations in
reference to our laws regulating labor
conditions within the sphere of federal
authority- A very recent decision of the
supreme court of the United States ren-
dered since this message was written
in the case of Adair vs United States
seemingly of far-reaching import and
of very serious probable consequences
has modified the previously entertained
views on the powers of the congress In
the premises to such a degree as to make
necessary careful consideration of the
opinions therein filed before it is pos-
sible defintely to decide in what way to
call the matter to your attention
Asks Federal Supervialon
'of Interstate Carriers
Not only should there be action on cer-
tain laws affecting wage-earners there
should also be such action on laws bet-
ter to secure control over the great busi-
ness concerns engaged In interstate com-
merce and especially over the great com-
mon carriers The Interstate Commerce
Commission should be empowered to
pass upon any rate or practice on its
own initiative Moreover it should - be
provided that whenever the commission
has reason to believe that a proposed ad-
vance in a rate ought not to be made
without investigation it should have au-
thority to issue an order prohibiting the
advance pending examination by the
commission
I would not be understood as expressing
an opinion that any or even a majority
of these advances are improper Many
of the rates in this country have been
abnormally low The operating expenses
of our railroads notably the wages paid
railroad employes have greatly increased-
These and other causes may In
any given case Justify an advance in
rates and if so the advance should be
permitted and approved But there may
be and doubtless are cases where this
is not true and our law should be so
framed that the government as the rep-
resentative of the whole people can pro-
tect the individual against unlawful ex-
action for the use of these public high-
ways The Interstate Commerce Com-
mission should be provided with the
means to make a physical valuation of
any road as to which it deems this valu-
ation necessary In some form the fed-
eral government should exercise super-
vision over the financial operations of
our Interstate railroads- In no other way
can justice be done between the private
owners of those properties and the pub-
lic which pay their charges When once
an inflated capitalization has gone upon
the market and has become fixed in
value its existence must be recognized
As a practical matter it is then often
absolutely necessary to take account of
the thousands of innocent stockholders
who have purchased their stocjc in good
faith The -usual result of such inflation
is therefore to Impose upon the public
an unnecessary but everlasting tax
while the Innocent purchasers of the
stock are also harmed and only a few
speculators are benefited Such Wrongs
when once accomplished can with dif-
ficulty be undone but they can be pre-
vented with safety and with justice
When combinations of interstate railways
must obtain government sanction when
it is no longer possible for an Interstate
railway to issue stock or bonds save in
the manner approved by the federal gov-
ernment when that government makes
sure that the proceeds of every stock
and bond issue go into the improvement
of the property and not the enrichment
of some individual or syndicate when
whenever it becomes material for guid-
ance in the regulative action of the gov-
ernment the physical value of one of
these properties is determined and made
known — there will be eliminated from
railroad securities that element of un-
certainty which lends to them their spec-
ulative quality and which has contributed
much to the financial stress of the re-
cent past
Would Permit Pooling '
of Railroad Interests
In this connection I desire to repeat my
recommendation that railways be per-
mitted to form trafflo associations' fpr the
fiurpose of conferring about and agree-
ng upon rates regulations and practices
affecting- Interstate business In which the
members of the association- are mutually
interested This does not mean that they
should be given the right to pool their
earnings or their traffic The law re-
quires that rates shall be so adjusted ns
not to discriminate— between individuals
localities or different species of traffic
Ordinarily -rates by all competing lines
must be the same As applied to prac-
tical conditions the railway operations
of this country can not be conducted ac-
cording to taw without what is pi
conferpo2"i an
for such real good can come only by a I
thorough and continuing supervision over I
the acts of the combination in all Its
parts so an to prevent stock watering 1
improper forms of competition and In
short wrongdoing generally The law
saouid correct that portion of the Sher-
man Act which prohibits all combinations
of tie character above described whether
fhfy he reasonable or unreasonable but
this should be done only as part of a
general scheme to provide for this ef-
fective and thoroughgoing supervision by
the national government of all thfl oper-
ations of the big interstate business con-
cerns 1 do not know whether It Is possible
but If possible it is certainly desirable
that in connection with measures to
restrain stock watering and overcapital-
ization there should be meacures taken
to prevent at least the grosser forms of
gambling in securities and commodltieSr
such as making large sales of what men
dO not rinntiPua UmnnAwIniy" ihA
ket
ntafliii large saies oi
t possess and “cornering” the mar-
Legitimate purchases of commodl-
f)n n f Otnni- A oiaHlaS f AP 1T1
Atgiumate purchases or commuui
ties and of stocks and securities for in-
vestment have no connection whatever
with purchases of stocks or other securi-
ties or commodities on a margin for
speculative and gambling purposes
There is no moral difference between
gambling at cards or in lotteries or on
the race track and gambling in the stock
market One method is Just as perni-
cious to the body politic as the other in
kind and in degree the evil worked Is
far greater But It is a far more difficult
subject with which to deal The great
bulk -of the business transacted on the
exchanges Is not only legitimate but is
necessary to the working of our modern
industrial system and extreme care
would have to be taken not to Interfere
with this business in doing away with
the bucket shop” type of operation We
should study tooth the successes and the
failures of foreign legislators who not-
ably in Germany have worked along this
line so as not to do anything harmful
Moreover there is a special difficulty in
dealing with this matter by the federal
government in a federal republic like
ours But If it is possible to devise
a way to deal with it the effort should be
made even if only in a cautious and
tentative way It would seem that the
federal government could at least act
by forbidding the use of the malls tele-
graph and telephone wires f for mere
gambling in stocks and futures Just as
it does in lottery transactions -
Santa Fe President Had
' Guilty Knowledge of Rebating
I inclose herewith a statement issued
by the chief of the bureau of corpora-
tions (Appendix 1) in answer to certain
statements (which I also inclose) made
by and on behalf of the agents of the
Standard Oil corporation (Appendix 2)
and a letter of the attorney-general (Ap-
pendix 3) containing an answer to cer-
tain statements also inclosed made by
the president of the Santa Fe Railway
Company (Appendix 4) The Standard
Oil corporation and the railway company
have both been found guilty by the
courts of criminal misconduct both have
been sentenced to pay heavy fines and
each has issued and published broadcast
these statements asserting their inno-
cence and denouncing as Improper the
action of the courts and juries in con-
victing them of guilt These statements
are very elaborate are very Ingenious
and are untruthful in important par-
ticulars The following letter and in
closure from Mr Heney sufficiently illus-
trate the methods of the high officials of
the Santa Fe and show the utter falsity
of their plea of - ignorance the similar
plea of the Standard Oil being equally
without foundation:
"Department of Justice Office of the
United States Attorney District of Ore-
1 gon
’’Portland January 11 1908
“The President Washington D C
"Dear Mr President: I understand that
Mr Ripley of the Atchison Topeka &
Santa Fe Railway system has comment-
ed with some severity upon your attitude
toward the payment of rebates by certain
transcontinental railroads and that he
has declared that he personally never
knew anything about any rebates being
granted by his road I in
close you herewith copy of a letter from
Edward Chambers general freight traffic
manager of the Atchison Topeka & San-
ta Fe Railway system to Mr G A
Davidson auditor of the same company
dated February 27 1908
“This letter does not deal with inter-
state shipments but the constitution of
the state of California makes the pay-
ment of rebates by railroads a felony
and Mr Ripley has apparently not been
above the commission of crime to secure
business Tou are at liberty to use
this inclosure in any way that you think
it can be of service to yourself or the
public
' "Sincerely yours
"FRANCIS 3 HENEY”
“San Francisco February 27 1907
"Dear Sir: I hand you herewith a file
of papers covering the movement of fuel
oil shipped by the Associated Oil Com-
pany over our line from January 1 1906
up to and including November 15 1906
- "We agreed with the Associated Oil
Co’s negotiations with Mr Ripley Mr
Wells and myself that in consideration
of their making us a special price on oil
for company use which is covered by a
contract and the further consideration
that we would take a ccicaln quantity
thev would In turn ship trom Bakersfield
over our find to San Francisco Bay
points a certain minimum number of bar-
rels of fuel oil at rate of 25 cents per
barrel from Bakersfield exclusive of the
switching charge
"These statements cover the movement
except that they have included Stockton
which is not 'orrect as it is not a bay
point and could not be reached as con-
veniently by water We have paid them
on account of this movement $7239 which
should be ' deducted from the total of
movement shown in the attached papers
“I wish vou would arrange to make up
a statement check the same and refund
to the Associated Oil Company down to
the basis of 25 cents per barrel from Ba-
kersfield where they art the shippers re-
gardless of who is consignee as all their
fuel oil is sold delivered The reason
for making this’ deal In addition to what
I have stated is that the Associated Oil
Company have their own boats and carry
oil from fields controlled by themselves
along the coast near San Luis Obispo to
San Francisco at a much lower cost than
the special rate we have made them and
in competition with the Union Oil Com-
pany and the Standard Oil Company it
whs necessary for them to sell at the
San- Francisco Bay points on the basis
of the cost of water transportation from
the coast fields They figured they could
only afford to pay us the 25 cents per
barrel if by doing this they sold our
company a certain amount of fuel oil
otherwise the business covered bv t’ -attached
papers would haver
boat from the roast flej’’
“I am wrlti
that the?'
The administration and those who sup-
port lt views are not only not engaged
In an assault on property but are stren-
uous upholders of the rights of property
Under no circumstances would we
countenance attacks upon law-abiding
property or do aught but condemn those
who hold up rich men as being evil men
because of their riches On the contrary
our whole effort is to insist upon con-
duct and neither wealth nor property nor
any other class distinction as being the
proper standard by which to Judge the
actions of men For the honest man of
great wealth we have a hearty regard
just as we have a hearty regard for the
honest politician and honest -newspaper
But part of the movement to uphold hon-
esty must be a movement to frown on
dishonesty We attack only the corrupt
men of wealth who find in the purchased
politician the most efficient instrument of
corruption and in the purchased newspa-
per the most efficient defender of cor-
ruption Our main quarrel is not with
these agents and representatives of the
interests They derive their chief power
from the great sinister offenders who
stand behind them They are but pup-
Fets who move as the strings are pulled
t Is not the puppets but the strong cun-
ning men and the mighty forces working
for evil behind and through tne puppets
with whom we have to deal We seek to
control law-defying wealth in the first
place to prevent its doing dire evil to
the republic and in the next place to
avoid the vindictive and dreadful radir
calism which if left uncontrolled it Is
certain in the end to arouse Sweeping
attacks upon all property upon all men
of means without regard to whether they
dp well or ill would sound the death-
knell of the republic: and such attacks
become inevitable If decent citizens per-
mit those rich men whose lives are cor-
rupt and evil to domineer In swollen
pride unchecked and unhindered over
the destinies of this country We act in
no vindictive spirit and we are no re-
specters of persons If a labor union
does wrong we oppose It as firmly as
we oppose a corporation which does
wrong and we stand equally stoutly for
the rights of the man of wealth and fof
the rlghta of the wage-worker We seek
to protect the property of every man who
acts honestly of every corporation that
represents wealth honestly accumulated
and honestly used We seek to stop
wrongdoing and we desire to punish the
wrong doers only so far as is necessary
to achieve this end
Campaign of Lawbreaker
Against Government’s Policy
There are ample material rewards for
those who serve with fidelity the mam-
mon of unrighteousness but they are
dearly paid for by the people who per-
mit their representatives whether in pub-
lic life In the press or in the colleges
where their young men are taught to
preach and to practice that there is one
law for the rich and another for the poor
The amount of money the representatives
of certain great moneyed interests are
willing to spend can be gauged by their
recent publication broadcast throughout
the papers of this country from the At-
lantic to the Pacific of huge advertise-
ments attacking with envenomed bitterness-’
the administration’s policy of
warring against successful dishonesty
and by their circulation of pamphlets and
books' prepared with the same object
while -they likewise push the circulation
of the writings and speeches of men who
whether because they are misled or be-
cause seeing the light they yet are Will-
ing to sin against the light serve these
their masters of great wealth to the cost
of the plain people The books - and
pamphlets the controlled newspapers the
speeches by public or private men to
which I refer are usually and especially
in the Interest of the Standard Oil Trust
and of certain notorious railroad com-
binations but they also defend other in-
dividuals and corporations of great
wealth that have been guilty of wrong-
doing It is only rarely that the men re-
sponsible for the wrongdoing themselves
speak or write Normally they hire oth-
ers to do their bidding or find others who
will do it without hire From the railroad-rate
law to the pure-food law every
measure for honesty In business that has
been passed during the last six years has
been opposed by these men on its pas-
sage and In its administration with every
resource that bitter and unscrupulous
craft could suggest and the command of
almost unlimit-d money secure But for
the last year the attack has been made
with most bitterness upon the actual ad-
ministration -of the law especially
through the department of Justice but
also - through the Interstate Commerce
Commission and the bureau of corpora-
tions The extraordinary violence of the
assaults upon our policy contained in
these speeches editorials articles ad-
vertisements and pamphlets and the
enormous sums of money spent in these
various ways give a fairly accurate
measure of the anger and terror which
our public actions nave caused the cor-
rupt men of vast wealth to feel in the
very marrow of their being The attack
is sometimes made openly against us for
enforcing the law and sometimes with a
certain cunning for - not trying to en-
force it in some other way than that
which experience shows to be practical
One of the favorite methods of the lat-
ter class of assailant is to attack the ad-
ministration for not procuring the im-
prisonment Instead of the fine of offend-
ers under these anti-trust laws The man
making this assault is usually either a
prominent lawyer or an editor who takes
his policy from the financiers and his
arguments from their attorneys If the
former he has defended and advised
many wealthy malefactors and he knows
well that thanks to the advice of lawyers
like himself a certain kind of modern
corporation has been turned into an ad-
mirable instrument by which to render it
well-nigh impossible to get at the head
of the corporation at the man who is
really most guilty When we are able
to put the real wrongdoer in prison this
is what we strive to do this is what we
have actually done with some very
wealthy criminals who moreover repre-
sented that most baneful ef all alliances
the alliance between the corruption of
organized politics and the corruption of
high finance This is what we have done
in the Gaynor and Greene case in the
case of the misapplication of funds In
connection with certain great banks in
Chicago in the land-fraud cases where
as in other cases likewise neither the
highest political position nor the posses-
sion of great wealth has availed to save
the offenders from prison The federal
government does scourge sin it does bid
sinners fear for it has put behind the
bars with impartial severity the powerful
financier the powerful politician the ’'rl
land thief the rich contractn
matter how high their
whom criminal mi
All theJ
curing by speech editorial book or
pamphlet the defense by misstate-
ments of what they have done and
yet when public servants correct their
misstatements by telling the truth they
declaim against them for breaking
silence lest "values be depreciated
They have hurt honest business men
honest working men honest farmers
and now they clamor against the truth
being told
The keynote of all these attacks
upon the effort to secure honesty in
business and In politics is well ex-
pressed In brazen protests against any
effort for the moral regeneration of the
business world on the ground that It is
unnatural unwarrantetd and injurious
and that business panic is the neces-
sary penalty for such effort to secure
business honesty The morality of
such a plea is precisely as great as if
made on behalf of the men caught in
a gambling establishment when that
gambling establishment is raided by
the police If such words mean any-
thing they mean that those whose sen-
timents they represent stand against
the effort to bring about a moral re-
generation of business which will pre-
vent a repetition of the insurance
banking and street railroad scandals in
New York a repetition of the Chicago
& Alton deal a repetition of the com-
b on between certain professional
f'oliticians certain professional labor
eaders and certain big financiers
from the disgrace of which San Fran-
cisco has Just been rescued a repeti-
tion of the- successful effort by the
Standard Oil people to crush out every
competitor to overawe the common
carriers and to establish a monopoly
which treats the public with a con-
tempt which the public deserves so
long as it permits men of such prin-
ciples and sentiments to avow and act
on them 'with Impunity The outcry
against stopping dishonest practices
amol? wrongdoers who happen to be
wealthy Is precisely similar to'the out-
cf y raised against every effort for
cleanliness and decency In city gov-
ernment because forsooth it will
hurt business” The same outcry is
made against the department of Jus-
tice for prosecuting the heads of colos-
sal corporations that has been made
against the men who In San Francisco
have prosecuted with Impartial sever-
ity the wrongdoers among business
men public officials and labor leaders
alike The principle Is the same in
the two cases Just as the blackmail-
eran“ prhe giver stand on the same
evil eminence of infamy so the man
who makes an enormous fortune by
corrupting legislatures and municipal-
ities and fleecing his stockholders and
the public stands on the same moral
level with the creature who fattens on
the blood money of the gambling house
and the saloon Moreover In the last
analysis both kinds of corruption are
far more intimately connected than
would at first sight appear! the wrong-
doing is at bottom the same Corrupt
business and corrupt politics act and
react with ever increasing debase-
ment one on the other the corrupt
head of a corporation and the corrupt
labor leader are both in the same de-
gree the enemies of honest corpora-
tions and honest labor unions the re-
bate taker the franchise trafficker
the manipulator of securities the pur-
veyor and protector of vice the black-
ma ward boss the ballot-box stuff-
er the demagogue the mob leader the
hired bully and man-killer— all alike
work at the same web of corruption -and
all alike should be abhorred by
honest men
The
business” which Is hurt by the
movement for honesty Is the kind of
business which in the long run it
pays the country to have hurt It Is
the kind of business which has tended
to make the very name "high finance" a
term of scandal to which all honest
American men of business should Join
in putting an end The special plead-
?rs business dishonesty in denounc-
ing the present administration for en-
forcing the law against the huge and
corrupt corporations which have defied
the lpw also denounce it for endeavor-
lng to secure sadly needed labor legis-
lation such as a far-reaching law mak-
ing employers liable for injuries to
their employes
"Business” Hurt by Movement
for Honesty Should Be Crushed
It is meet and fit that the apologists
for corrupt wealth should oppose every
effort to relieve weak and helpless peo-
ple from crushing misfortune brought
upon them by injury In the business
from which they gain a bare livelihood
The burden should be distributed It
is hypocritical baseness to speak of a
girl who works in a factory where the
dangerous machinery is unprotected as
having the ‘right" freely to contract
to expose herself to dangers to life and
limb She has no alternative but to
suffer want or else to expose herself to
such dangers and when she loses a
hand or is otherwise maimed or disfig-
ured for life it Is a moral wrong that
the whole burden of the risk necessarily
incidental to the business should be
placed with crushing weight upon her
weak shoulders and all who profit by
her work escape scot-free This is
what opponents of a just employers’
liability law advocate and it is con-
sistent that they should usually also
advocate immunity for those most dan-
gerous members of the criminal class
— the criminals of great wealth
Our opponents have recently been
bitterly criticising tle two judges re-
ferred to in the accompanying commu-
nications from the Standard Oil Com-
pany and the Stata Fe railroad for hav-
ing imposed heavy fines on these two
corporations and yet these same crit-
ics of these two judges exhaust them-
selves In denouncing the most re-
spectful and cautious discussion of
the official action of a judge which re-
sults in Immunity to wealth and power-
ful wrongdoers or which renders nuga-
tory a temperate effort to better the
conditions of life and work among
those of our fellow countrymen whose
need is greatest Most certainly it be-
hooves us all to treat witl the utmost
respect the high office of judge and
our judges as a whole are brave and
upright men Respect for the law
must go hand in hand with respect for
the Judges and as a whole it is true
now as in the past that the judges
stand in character and service above
all other men among their fellow-
servants of the public There is all
the grehte--t'cc tl — -
in -
above have achUA great fortunes can
only be justified by the advocacy of a
system of morality which would also
justify every form of criminality on the
part of a labor union and every form
of violence corruption and fraud from
murder to bribery and ballot-box stuff-
ing in politics we are trying to secure
equality of opportunity for all and the
struggle for honesty is the same whether
It is made on behalf of one set of men
or of another -
Laws Must Continue to Be
Administered with Even Hand
The laws must in the future be ad-
ministered as they are now being ad-
ministered so that the department of
justice may continue to be what it now
Is in very fact the department of jus-
tice where so far as our ability permits
Justice is meted out with an even hand
to great and small rich and poor weak
and strong Moreover there should be
no delay in supplementing the laws now
on the statute books by the enactment of i
further legislation as outlined in the I
message I sent to congress on its assem-
bling Under the existing laws much J
very much has been actually accom-
very much has been actually accom
plished during the past six years and it
has been shown by actual experience
that they can be enforced against the
wealthiest corporation and tne richest
and most powerful manager or manipu-
lator of that corporation as rigorously
and fearlessly 'as against the humblest
offender Above all they have been
enforced against the very wrongdoers
and agents of wrongdoers who have for
so many years gone scot free and flouted
the laws with impunity against great
law-defying corporations of Immense
wealth which until within the last half
dozen years have treated themselves and
have expected others to treat them as
being beyond and above all possible
check from law
It is especially necessary to secure to
the representatives of the national gov-
ernment full power to deal with the great
corporations engaged In Interstate com-
merce and above all with the great in-
terstate common carriers Our people
should clearly recognize that while there
are difficulties In any course of conduct
to be followed in dealing with these great
corporations these difficulties must be
faced and one of three courses followed
The first course is to abandon all ef-
fort to oversee and control their actions
In the interest of the general public
and to permit a return to the utter lack
of control which would obtain if they
were left to the common law I do not
for one moment believe that our people
would tolerate this position The ex-
traordinary growth of modern industrial-
ism has rendered the common law which
grew up under and was adapted to deal
wth totally different conditions In many
respects inadequate to deal with the new
conditions These new conditions make it
necessary to shackle cunning as in the
past we have shackled force The vast
individual and corporate fortunes the
vast combinations of captal which have
marked the development of our industrial
system create new conditions and neces-
sitate a change from the old attitude of
the state and nation toward the rules
regulating the acquisition and untram-
meled business use of property in order
both that property may be adequately
protected and that at the same time
those who hold it may be prevented from
wrongdoing
The second and third courses are to
have the regulation undertaken either
by the nation or by the states Of
course in any event both tire national
government and the several state gov-
ernments must do each its part and
each can do a certain amount that the
other cannot do while the only really
satisfactory results must be obtained
by the representatives of the national
and state governments working heart-
ily together within their respective
spheres But In my judgment
thoroughgoing and satisfactory con-
trol can in the end only be obtained by
the action of the national government
for almost all the corporations of
enormous wealth — that is the corpora-
tions which it is especially desirable to f
control — are engaged in interstate com- j
merce and derive their power and f
their importance not from that por-'
tion of their business which is intra-
state but from the interstate business
It is not easy always to decide just ''
where the line of demarcation between
the two kinds of business falls' This
line must ultimately be drawn by the ’
federal courts Much of the effort to j 1
secure adequate control of the great
corporations by state action has been
wise and effective but much of it has
been neither for when the effort la
o‘
made to accomplish by the action
the state what can only be accomi '
plished by the action of the nation the
result can only be disappointing and to
the end the law will probably be d-
dared unconstitutional Bo likewise f
in the national arena we who believe
in the measures herein advocated are
hampered and not aided by the extrem-
ists who advocate action so violent
that It would either be ‘useless or else
would cause more mischief than it
would remedy
We have just passed through two
’months of acute financial stress At any
such time it is a sad fact that entirely
innocent people suffer from no fault
of their own and every one must feel
the keenest sympathy for the large
body of honest business men of hon-
est investors of honest wageworkers
who suffer because involved in a crash
for which they are in no way respon-
sible At such a time there is a natu-
ral tendency on the part of many men
to feel gloomy and frightened at the
outlook but there Is no justification -for
this feeling There is no nation so
absolutely sure of ultimate success
as ours Of course we shall suc-
ceed Ours is a nation of masterful
energy with a continent for Its do-
main and it feels within its veinri’ the
thrill which comes to those who know
that they possess the future We are
not cast down by the fear of failure
We are upheld by’ the confident hope
of ultimate triumph The wrongs that
exist are to be corrected but they In no
way justify doubt as to the final out-
come doubt as to the great material- ’
prosperity of the future or of the lofty 1
spiritual life which is to be built upon
that prosperity as a foundation No
misdeeds done in the present must be
permitted to shroud from our eyes the
glorious future of the nation but be--cause
of this very fact it behooveb
never to swerve from our resolute pur- Y °
pose to cut out wrongdoing and uphold J
what is right i
I do not for a moment believe that the
actions of this administration have
on business distress so far as
du® to local and not world-wide
the actions of any par- '
La it is due to the specu-
ant dishonesty of a
”lth who seek to
' f fleets of their
x its results
sought
' L But
(
J
V '
vi
Vi u
I
J 2
i f i
7:
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Matching Search Results
View two places within this issue that match your search.Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Hogan, R. The Stigler Beacon. (Stigler, Okla.), Vol. 5, No. 28, Ed. 1 Friday, February 7, 1908, newspaper, February 7, 1908; (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1977850/m1/3/?q=communication+theory: accessed July 4, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.