The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, December 05, 1901, SUPPLEMENT, Image 9
HH|By{ecomm2i;dai!on:
asas-ination
Revi. ws the Sad Misj^SBnDS^B^V
iiat brought Him to the
B^&MH^^^Vtial Cha:r ? Work ot the
MHpS^BSH^Vt Departments Reviewed?
BEr9|^^^Biy and Navy ? RecommenB
KB Oeneral Peace and Pros?3Qjfefe0^D-Civil
Service.
HBgjKllowing is the first annual roesHEH^e
of President Roosevelt to the
Bra^Koagress of ilic United States, with
the exception of a few unimportant
M paragraphs:
g& Introduction?Assassination of Prcsi|||
tient McKiulcy?Anarchy.
gli To the Senate and House of Reprt-sentatives:
Tto ,T?/n?. ?. 1,1? ?v:_
I A. 41^- wus*vc.? u^LUlUR'b lillS jCdl IJIIder
the shadow of a great calamity.
On the sixth of September, President
MeKinley was shot by an anarchist
while attending the Pan-American Kxixhiition
at Buffalo. and died in that
lily on the fourteenth of that mouth,
ft Of the last seven elected Presidents.
Be is the third who liaa been murderId.
and the bare recital of this fact is
Sufficient to justify grave alarm among
111 loyal Aractican citizens. Morcoter
Ibe circumstances of this, the third
Issasninatlon of an American President
pave a peculiarly sinister significance.
Both President Lincoln and President
Garfield were killed by assassins of
types unfortunately not uncommon in
history; President Lincoln falling the
lictim to the terrible passions arcusej*
fty four year3 of civil war. and President
Garfield to the revengeful vanity
If a disappointed office-seeker. Pie.Vrlent
MeKinley was killed by an utterly
depraved criminal belonging to that
body of criminals who object to all
governments, good and bad alike, who
lare against any form of popular liborjLy
if it is guaranteed by even the most
just and liberal laws, and who are as
hostile io the upright exponent of a free
people's sober will as to the tyrannical
and irresponsible despot.
Tt is not too much to say that at the
time of President McKinley's death he
was the most widely loved man in ail
the United States; while we have r.ev<?r
h had any public man of his position who
I has been so wholly free from the bitter
P animosities incident to public life. Hie
J^^lgjyiyl^ojyjonentJ^^er^heflrstto
bear the hearties t^UhTmoIt gefcerou
tribute to the broad kindliness of nn
ture, the sweetness and gentleness o
character which so endeared him to hi
close associates. To a standard of loft;
integrity in public life he united th
tender affections and home virtue
which are all-important In the make
tip of national character. A gallant sol
dler in the great war for the Union, b
also shone as an example to all on
people because of hia conduct In th
most sacred and intimate of home re
latlons. There could be no persona
hatred of him. for he never acted wit]
aught but consideration for the welfar
of others. No one could fail to respee
him who knew him in public or prlval
' life. The defenders of those murderou
criminals who seek to excuse the!
criminality by asserting that it Is exer
clsed for political ends, inveigh agtur.3
wealth and irresponsible power. Ku
for this assassination even this has
apology cannot be urged.
President McKimey was a man tmoderate
means, a man whose V.oel
sprang from the sturdy tillers of th
soil, who had himse'f belonged amonj
the wage-workers, who had entered th
army as a private-soldier. Wealth wa
not struck at when the President wa
assassinated, but the honest toil whicl
is content with moderate gains aTter ;
lifetime of unremitting labor, large!;
In the service of ihe public. Still i?s
was power struck at in the sense th.r
power is Irresponsible or centered ;i
the hands of any one individual. Tlii
blow was not aimed at tyranny o
wealth. It was aimed at one of tb<
strongest champions the wage-worke
has ever had; at one of the most faith
ful representatives of the system o
public rights and representative gov
eminent who has ever risen to public
office. President McKinley filled ths
political office for which the entire pen
onrt nn President?IlOt e-'t-J
pic * UU,
Lincoln himself?was ever more car
nestly anxious to represent the wcl
thought-out wishes of ihe people: h'
one anxiety in every crisis was to keci
In closest touch with the people?1<
find out what they thought and to ee.
deavcr to give expression to thd
thought, after having endeavored t<
guide that thouehf aright. He had jus
been re-elected to the Presidency be
cause the majority of our citizens, tin
majority of our farmers and wage
workers, believed that he had faith
fully upheld their interests for Ton;
years. They felt themselves in closi
and intfrnate touch with him. The.'
felt that he represented sc well and sc
honorably all their ideals and aspira
tions that they wished him to conticuf
for another four years to reprc3en
them.
And this was the man at whom tin
assassin struck! That there might be
nothing lacking to complete the Jula3
like infamy of his act, he took advan
tage of an occasion when the President
was meeting the people generally: ant
J * ? " tha turii nnt.
aavanci:is ^=> ?? ^
stretched to him in kindly and brother
ly fellowship, he turned the noble am
generous confidence of the victim int.
an opportunity to strike the fatai blowThere
is no baser deed in all the aiicalj
of crime.
The shock, the rrlef of the country
are bitter in the minds of all who sow
the dark day3. while the President ye!
hovered between life and death. At las!
the light was .^tilled in the kiDdly eveaiid
the breath went from the lips thai
even in mortal a?ony uttered no worth
save of fo-givene&s to his murderer o]
love* for his friends and of unfaltering
trust in the will of the Mcst High
Such a death, crowning the glory o:
s to Congress Concerning
-egislaticn.
"ilea a life, loaves us with infinite eor-j
I row, but with such cruie iu wna: a-j
; had accomplished and in his own per-;
a oial character, that we feel the iilow
not as struck at him. hut as struck at
'.he Nation. We mourn a good and
great President who is dead; but while
w.; mourn we are lifted up by the
splendid achievements of his life and
| the grand heroism with which he met,
! -lis death.
When we turn from the man to the,
Nation, the harm uone is so great as io
j excite our gravest appiehensions ami
1 to demand our wisest and most resolute
action. This'criminal was a pnies-.
; sed anarchist, inflamed by the teachings
of professed anarchists, and probably
also by the reckless utterances of
| these who. on the stump and in ttie
public presets, appeal to the dark and
j evil spirits of malice and greed, envy
and sullen hatred. The wind is sown
ed by the men who preach such rioe!
nines, and they cannot escape their
share of the rcspons bility for the
, whirlwind that Is reaped. This applies
! alike to the deliberate demagogue, to
the exploher of sensationalism, and
to the crude and foolish visionary win.*,
for whatever reason, apologizes for
crime or excite aimless discontent.
The blow was aimed not at this
President, but at all Presidents !at
every symbol of government. President
McKinley -vis as emphatically the
embodiment of the pcular will of the
Nation expressed through the forms of
law as a New England town meeting
is in similar fashion the embodiment
cf the law-abiding purpose anJ practice
of the people of the town. On do
conceivable theory could the murder of
the President be accepted as du? to protest
against "inequalities in the social
order," save as the murder of all the
freemen eng^god in a town meeting
could be accepted as a protest against
that social inequality which puts a
malefactor in jail. Anarchy h? no more
an expression of "social discontent"
than picking pockets or wife-beating.
The anarchist, and especially the anarchist
in the I'nited States, is merely
one type of criminal, more dangerous
than any .other because he represents
the same depravity in a greater degree.
The man who advocates anarchy directly
or indirectly, in any shape or fashion.
or the man who apologizes for
anarchists and their deeds, makes himself
morally accessory to murder be ore
the fact. The anarchist Is a criminal
whose pt vied instincts lead him to
prefer cetrfusioh and chaos to the most
beneficent form of social order. His
protest of concern for workingmeu la
outrageous in its impudent falsity; for
if the Political institutions ef this cops.
try do not afford opportunity to every
l"' honest and intelligent ion of toll* then
f the door of hope is forever closed
8 against Him. The anarchist is everyy
where ntfcjierely the enemy of system
0 and of progress, but the deadly fo? of
8 liberty. If ever anarchy Ls triumphant.
Its triumph will last for but one red
* moment, to be succeeded for ages by
e; the gloomy night of despotism.
r For the anarchist himself, whether
e, he preaches or practices his doctrines,
'"| we need not have one1 particle more
j concern than for any ordinary murder*
er. He is not the victim of social or
?j political inj"et?ce. There are no
ll wrongs to r?mf?iy in ni-s case. me
? cause of his T'minallty is to be found
3; in his own evil passions and in th? evil
rj conduct of those who urged him cn.
:! not in any failure by others or by the
'! State to do iustV ; to him or his. Ho i3
l a malefact' .id nothing else. He is
' ; no shape or way, a "pro.
,u 01 wciai .rndltions." save as a
. j highwayman is "produced" by the fart
^ j that an unarmed man happens to have
I a purse. . 1: is a travesty upon the gr-Mi
f and holy names of liberty and freedom
; to permit them to be invoked in such
* a cause. No man or body of men
"i preaching anarchistic doctrines should
'j he allowed at large any more than if
J: preaching the murder of some specil d
ci private individual. Anarchistic speech.
| es. writings, r.nd meetings are cssea'j
tially seditious and treasonable.
R! 1 earnestly recommend to the Cin,i
j gress that ir. the exercise of its wise
e discretion It should take into considrrr;
aiion the coming to this country of an.;
archist.s or persons professing princif
pies hostile to all government and jitsttfvlncr
tho mnrtlpr of thnsp nlace 1 ill
c authority. Such individuals as those
t who an1 not long ago gathered in open
. meeting to glorify the murder of King
i Humbprt of Italy perpetrate a crime,
. i and the law should ensure their rigorI,
our. junishrnent. They end those like
3 them shculd be kept out of this enn j
try; and if found here they should be
3 promptly deported to the country
. whence they came; and far-reaching
r provision should be made for the pun5
ishment of those who stay. No ma.ter
calls more urgently for the wisest
. i thought of the Congress.
3 The Federal courts should be given
-j jurisdiction over any man who kills cr
- attempts to kill the President or any
r man who by the Constitution or by,
; laws is in line of succession for the
i Presidency, while the punishment for
> an unsuccessful attempt should be pro.
portioned to the enormity of the t.f?
fence against our institutions.
t Anarchy is a crime against tiltwhole
human race; and all man-kind
> should band against the anarchist. Hid
, crime should be made an offence
against the law of nations, like pir.vy
. and that form of manstcaling known
i as the slave trade; for it is of
I blacker Infamy than either, it snouki
. be so declared by treaties among all i
. civilized powers. Such treaties would
I give to the Federal Government the
J power of dealing with the crime.
A grim commentary upon the folly,
| of the anarchist position wa.s affo;ded<
by the attitude of the law toward this
very criminal who had .iust taken the
' life cf the Picsident. The neople would
I have torn him limb from limb if it had
; not been that the law he defied was at
; once invoked in his behtlk Ro
' from his deed being eommit'ed on bo;
half of the people against the govern)
ment, the government was obliged at
lr once to exert its full police power 10
' save him from instant death at the1
j hands of the people. Moreover, hisj
SPPPL
worked net the slightest dislocation
in our governmental system, and
the danger of a recurrence of such
deed?, no matter how great it might
grew, would work only In the direction
of strengthen.ng and giving harshness
to tli" lorco. of order. No man will
ever be restrained from becoming President
by any fear as to his pers u-..i!
saf :y. if the risk to the President's I
life became creat. it would mean thai
the oificc weuId more and more conn1
to be 11* I jI by men of a spirit wh'.i n
would make them rcc-oiute and merciless
in dealing with every friend of d'.s
order. This great country will not Uh
in:o anarchy, and if anarchists shouid
ever become a seiious menace to its
institutions, they would not merely Ip
stamped cut,but would involve in thnir
own ruin every active or passive .sympathizer
with their doctrines. The
American people are slow to wrath,
but when their wrath is once kindled
it burns like a consuming tlame.
Confidence Restored.
During the last five years business
confidence has been restored, and the
Nation is to be congratulated because,
of its present abounding prosperity.;
Such prosperity can never be crearcil
by law alone, although it is easy enough j
to destroy it by mischievous laws. If!
the hand of the Lord is heavy upon!
any country, if flood or drought comes, |
human wisdom is powerless to avert!
the calamity. Moreover, no law can
guard us against the consequences of |
orti own lolly. The men who are idic ?.r j
eiKiuIous. the men who seek gains j
not by genuine work with head or j
hand but by gambling in any form, are
always a .source of menace not only to:
themselves but to others. If the busi-j
mss world loses its heal, it loses what'
legislation cannot supply. Fundamentally
the welfare of ua h c.tizen, an 1
therefore the welfare of the aggr-gUej
of citizens which makes the Nation,
ni'ic t cct iiTNrtn 1???1
v . v.ci II/.uii 111 HI* i iuui lui in nua i
energy, resolution intelligence. Nothing
tan take the place of this individual
capacity; but wise legislation aa.l
honest and intelligent administration ,
can give it the fullest scope, the "largest
oppon unity to work to good effect. j
Corporate Capital.
The tremendous and highly complex 1
industrial development which went on
with ever accelerated rapidity during,
the latter half of the nineteenth con-1
fury brings uh face to face, at th* be-!
gtnnlag of the twentieth, with very
serious social piobiems. The old laws,
and the old customs which had almost
serious soc ial problems. Tho old laws,
tho binding force of law, were or.c?
cjuite sufficient to regulate the accumulation
and distribution of wealth. Since
the industrial changes which have so
enormously increased the productive
power of mankind, they are no longer
.sullieiont.
The growth of citie3 ha3 gone on beyond
comparison faster than the growth
of the country, and the upbuilding
of the great industrial centers nas
meant a startling increase, not merely
in the aggregate of wealth, but in the
number of very large individual, andj
especially of very large corporate, for- i
tunes. TUe creation or tnese great cor-1
porate fortunes baa not been due to j
the tariff aor to any other government-]
al action, but to natural causes in the
business world, operating in other
countries as they operate in our own.
The process has aroused much antagonism,
a great part of which la
wholly without warrant. It is not true
that as the rich nave grown richer the
poor have grown poorer. On the contrary,
never before has the average
man, the wage-earner, the farmer, the
small trader, been so well off as in this
country and at the present time. There
have been abuses connected with the
accumulation of wealth; yet It remains
true that a fortune accummulated in
legitimate business can be accumulated
by the person specially benefited only
ou condition of conferring immense incidental
benefits upon others. Successful
enterprise, of the type which benefits
all mankind, can only exist if the
conditions are such as to offer great
prizes as the rewards of success.
The captains of industry who have
driven the railway systems across this
continent, who have built up our commerce,
who have developed our manufactures,
have on the wnole done great
good to our peoples. Without them the
. material development of which we are
justly proud could never have taken
place. Moreover, we should recognize
the immense importance to this material
development of leaving as unhampered
a3 is comaptible with the public
good the strong and forceful men upon
| whom the success of business operations
inevitably rests. The slightest
study of business conditions will satisfy
anyone capable of forming a judgment
that the personal equation i? the
most important factor in a business
operation; that the business ability of
the man at the head of any business
concern, big or little, is usually the factor
which fixes the gulf between striking
success and hopeless failure.
An additional reason for caution in
dealing with corporations is to bo found
in the international commercial conditions
of today. The same business
conditions which have produced tfoei
great aggregations or corporate and individual
wealth have made them very
potent factors in international coimner-'
cial competitions. Business conotuns
which have the largest means at I hoi;
I disposal and are managed by the abie.-t'
men are naturally those which take the
lead In the strife for commercial supremacy
among the nations of the
world. America has only just begun;
to assume that commanding position |
in the international business worl.l.
which we believe will more and more'
be hers. It is of the utmost importance
that this position be not jeoparded,
especially at a time when the overflowing
abundance of our own natural resources
and the skill, business energy,
and mechanical aptitude of our people
??' ? nMicrn mnrUpfs pssonfial.
Hill rvvr 1U1V1{,U
such conditions it would ho most un-1
wise to cramp or to fetter the youthful!
strength of our Nation.
Moreover, it cannot too often he
pointed out that to strike with igncr-1
ant violence at the interests cf one set i
of men almost inevitably endangers J
the intersts of all. The fundamental;
rule in our national life?the rule'
which underlie? all others?is that, on J
the whole, and in the Ion? run. we!
shall po up or down together. There;
are exceptions: and in times of pros-1
pcrity some will prosper far more, and
in times of adversity some will sudorfar
more, than others; hut speaking'
generally, a period of pood times means
that ail share more or less in them, and
in a period of hard times all f-s! the
stress to a greater or less degree, it
surely ought cot to be nece.-sary to eu-1
EMEMT.
ter into any proof of this statement;1
the memory of the lean yoais whi -h
be,tan in 1893 is still vivid, and we can,
contrast them with the conditions in1
this very year which is now rlos ug.:
Disaster to great business enterprises
can never have its effects lini.t*.d .oj
the men at the top. It spreads the
out, and while it is bad for everybody!
i: is worst for those farthest rlown.j
The capitalist may be shorn of his lux-!
uries: but the wag> worker may be de-j
priveil cf even bare necessities.
The mechanism cf modern business1
is so delicate that extreme care must
be taken not to interfere with it in a
spirit of rashnc.-s or ignorance. Many
of those who have made it their vocation
to denounce the great industrial
combinations which a:e popularly, alf
hr.np'h u.ir)i tnrhnti>ul inacouracV.
known as "trusts," appeal especially
to hatred and fear. Tht?se are precisely
the two emotions, particularly when
combined with ignorance, which unfit
men tor the exercise of cool and steady
judgment. In facing new industrial
conditions, the whole history of the
world shows that legislation will generally
be both unwise and ineffective unless
undertaken after calm inquiry and
with sober self-restraint. Much of the
legislation directed at the trusts wen 11
have been exceedingly mischievous had
it not also been entirely ineffective?. In
accordance with a well-known som'.logical
law, the ignorant or reckless agitator
has been the really effective
friend of the evils which he has been
nominally opposing. In dealing with
business interests, for the Government
to undertake by crude and ill-considered
legislation to do what may turn out
to be bad, would be to incur the risk of
such far-reaching national disaster that
it would be preferable to undertake
nothing at all. The men who demand
the impossible or the undersirable
serve as the allies of the forces with
which they are nominally at war, for
they hamper those who would endeavor
to find out in rational fashion what
the wrongs really are to what extent
and In what manner it is practicable
to apply remedies.
All this is true; and yet it is also tpue
that there are real and grave evils, one
of the chief being over-capitalization
because of its many baleful conseo.ucnces;
and a resolute and practical effort
must be made to correct three evils.
There is a widespread conviction in
the minds of the American people that
the great corporations known as 'rusts
are in certain of their features and tendencies
hurtful to the general wal'are.
This sprinets from no spirit of envy or
uncharitableness, nor lack of pride in
the great industrial achievements tr.at
have placed this country at the head
of the nations struggling for commercial
supremacy. It does not rest upon
a lack of intelligent appreciation of the
necessity of meeting changing and
changed conditions of trade with new
methods, nor upon ignorance of the fact
that combination of capital In the effort
to accomplish great things is necessary
when the world's progress demand*
that great things be done. It is based
upon sincere conviction that combination
and concentration should be, not
prohibited, but supervised and wit.tin
reasonable limits controlled; and in
my judgment this conviction is right.
" "It it no llriltittofl dgoff- pwpmj
rights or freedom of contract to reqnlrf
that when men receive from Govern
ment the privilage of doing business
under corporate form, which frees them
from Individual responsibility, and cn
ables them to call into their enterprises
i the capital of the public they shall d(
so upon absolutely truthful representations
as to the value of the propertj
In which the capital is to be invested
Corporations engaged in interstati
commerce should be regulated if thej
! are found to exercise a license working
to the public injury. It should bt
as much the aim of those who seek foi
social betterment to rid the business
i world of crimes of cumming as to rit
; the entire body politics of crimes of vie
lence. Great corporations exist onl>
because they are created and safe
'guarded by our Institutions; and It is
therefore our right and our duty to set
i that they work in harmony with these
I institutions.
J The first essential in determinirg
how to deal with the great industrial
combinations is knowledge of the facts
' ?publicity. In the interest of the public.
the Government should lnve the
right to inspe t and examine the workings
of the great corporations engaged
in interstate business. Publicity is the
only sure remedy which we can invoice.
What further remedies are needed in
the way of governmental regulation, or
taxation, can only be determined after
publicity has been obtained, by process!
of law ,and in the course of administration.
The first requisite is knowledge,
full and complete?knowledge
which may be mada public to the
| world.
j Artificial bodies, such as corporations
and joinf stock or other associations,
depending upon any statutory law for
i their existence or privileges, should be
subject to proper governmental supervision.
and full and accurate information
as to their operations should be
made public regularly at reasonable intervals.
The largo corporations, commonly
c.'.lled fusts, though organized in one
Stcte, a ways do business in many
States, often doing very little business
in the State where they are incorporated.
There Is utter lack of uniformity
in the State laws about them; and as
110 State has any exclusive interest in
or power over their acts, it has in practice
proved impossible to get adequate
regulation through State action. Th ?reforc,
in the interest of tne whole people.
the Nation should, without inter
fering with the power of the states in
the matter itself, also assume power of
supervision ami regulation over all corporations
doing an interstate business.
This is especially true where the corporation
derives a portion of Its wealth
irorn the existence of some monopolistic
element or tendency in Its business.
There would be no hardship in
such supervision; banks are subject to
it. and in their case it is now accepted
as a simple matter of course. Indeed,
it is probable that supervision of corporations
by the National Government
need not go so for as is now the case
with the supervision exercised over
them by so conservative a State as
Massachusetts, in order to produce exrnrnt
of the eight-hour law easy and
rertain. In all industries carried on directly
or indirectly for the United
States Government women and chil
dron %GhouId to protected from execs- ; h
ccilent results. u
When the Constitution was adopter], h
at the end of the eighteenth century, u
no human wisdom could foretell the r
sweeping changes, alike in indi:str:::l o
and political conditions, which were :o u
take place by the beginning of Hie. ;t<
twentieth century. At that time It was |t<
accepted as a matter o: course thai the a
several States were the proper author:- b
ties to regulate, so far as was then ?<
necessary, the comparatively insigniti- :
ennt and strictly localized corporate c
bodies of the day. The conditions are
now wholly different and wholly dlf- u
; ferent action is called for. I believe a
that a law can bo framed which will c
enable the National Government *o ex- n
crcise control along the lines above in- 1)
dicat-'d; profiting by the experience h
gained through the passage end admin- P
istration of the Interstate-Commerce a
Act. If, however, the judgment of the a
Congress is that it lacks the constitu- t
tional power to pass such an act, then j a
a constitutional amendment should be . g
submitted to confer the power. j ^
There should be created a Cabinent !T
officer, to bo known as Secretary of j n
Commerce and Industries, as provided ! t
in the bill introduced at the last ses- o
sion of the Congress. It should be his t
province to deal with commerce in iti t
broadest sense; including among m3ny t
other things whatever concerns labor <3
and all matters affecting the great s
business corporations and our mer- t
chant marine. t
| The course proposed is one phase of n
what should be a comprehensive and
far-reaching scheme of constructive is
steamship for the purpese of broaden- ,c
ing our markets, securing our business ! i
interests on a safe basis, and mak'ng ] t
firm cur new position in the interna- I a
tional Industrial world; while scrupu- 1
lously safeguarding the rights of f
wage-worker and capitalist, of investor 1
and private citizen, so as to secure v
equity as between man and man in this d
I Republic. t
I
The Farmer and Wage-Worker. (
With the sole exception of the farm- c
ing interest, no one matter is of such t
vital moment to our whole people as j <
| the welfare of the wage-workers. If ! e
the farmer and the wage-worker are ; t
well off. it Is absolutely certain that all i f
others will be well off too. It is there- 1 e
fore a matter for hearty congratulation r
that on the whole wages are higher to- j
day in the United States than ever be- t
fore in our history, and far higher than f
in any other country. The standard of t
living is also higher than ever before, j
Every effort of legislator and adminis- t
trator should be bent to secure the c
permanency of this condition of things ;a
and its improvement wherever pos- ?
sible. Not only must our labor be pro- J
tected by the tariff, but it should alsp It
be protected so far as it is possible ' t
from the presence in thi3 country of | j
any laborers brmigbt over by contract, j c
or of those who, coming freely, yet rep- c
resent a standard of living so depressed r
that they can undersell our men in the t
labor market and drag them to a lower i
, leveL I regard It aa necessary, with |
r this end in view, "to re-enact 'liliBlWP'
ately the law excluding Chinese laborers
and to strengthen It wherever -iecessary
In order to make its enforcement
entirely effective.
The National tJowernmcnt should dej
mand the highest quality of service
; from its employes; and in return it
should be a good employer. If possible |
j legislation should be passed, in connec|
tlon with the Interstate Commerce
, Law, which will render effective the |
; efforts of different States to do away
! with the competition of convict contract
labor in the open labor marker.
So far as practicable under the condition
of Government work, provision,
should bo made to render the enforce- |
sive hours of labor, from night work,
; and from work under unsanitary coni
ditions. The Government should pro!
vide in its contracts that all work !
: should be done under "fair" conditions, '
! and in addition to setting a high stan- '
dard should uphold it by proper in'
spection, extending if necessary to the
subcontractors. The Government1
5 should forbid all night work for women
and children, as well as excessive overJ
time. For the District of Columbia a
good factory law should te passed: and
I as a powerful indirect aid to such laws,
provision should be made to turn the j
I Jnhabitated alleys, the existence cf 1
I which is a reproach to our Capital City. ,
into minor streets, where the inhabi-:
: tants can live under conditious favor- |
i able to health and morals.
j American wage-workers work with |
their heads as well as their hands. [
Moreover, they take a keen pride in I
what they are doing; so that, indepe.tdi
ent of the reward, they wish to turn I
out a perfect job. This is the great se- '
cret of our success in competition with J
j the labor of foreign countries.
The most vital problem with which
this country, and for that
matter the whole civilized world
has to deal, is the problem
which has for one side the betterment
of social conditions, moral and
' physical, in large cities, and for
another side the effort to deal with
. that tangle of far-reaching questions j
: which we group together when we 1
j speak of "labor." The chief factor in
i the success of each man?wage-worker, |
farmer, and capitalist alike?must ever ]
be the sum total of his own individual (
! qualities and abilities. Second only to (
j this comes the power of acting in com- |
I bination or association with others. 'c
j Very great good has been and will be ;
' accomplished by associations or unions ?
'of wage-workers, when managed with |
forethought, and when they combine \
insistence upon their own rights with <
law-abiding respect for the rights of i
others. The display of these qualities
in such bodies is a duty to the Nation r
no less than to the associations them- >
i . " >> it> i
selves, mnany, nitre uiusi aiau m ,
many cases be action by the Government
in order to safeguard the rights 3
and interests of all. Under our Constitution
there is much more scope for
such action by the State and the Ma- i
nicipality than by the Nation. But on ^
points s"ch as those touched on above :
the National Government can act.
When all is said and done, the rule ~
of brotherhood remains as the indispensable
prerequisite to success in th? ,
kind of national life for which we '
strive. Each man must work for him- ?
self, and unless he so works no outside j
-J
dp can avaid him; but each item
rust remember also that he is indeed
is brothci's keeper, an:! that while no>
tan who refuses to walk can be ca-*
:cd with advantage to himself or any-'
no else, vet that each at times stuc*!es
or halts, that each at times nsecld
o have tin helping hand outstte'd?eJ
o him. To bo permanently effectiw^
id must always take the form of
elpmg 2 man to help himself; ana
, 0 can all : sr h -1 :> ourselves by joining
together in Ihe work that Ls oT
ommcn interest to all.
Our present immigration lav/3 ar?
nsatisfaotory. We nce:l ever/ hoaost
ud efficient immigrant fitted to beams
an American citizen, every in*
niprant wiio comes here .o stay. riu>
rings here a strong body, a stoat
eart, a good hea l, and a resoltue jnrose
to do his duty well in every way
md to bring up his children as Ia?biding
and God-fearing members aT
he community. But there should be
. comprehensive law enacted with ilia
bjcct of working a threefold imprtm*nent
over our present system, first.
<;e should aim to exclude absolutely
tot only all persons who .are Kmown to
te believers in anarchistic principle*
r members of anarchistic societies
tut also all persons who are of a Imr
noral tendency or of unsavory repaSa.- ion.
This mean3 that we should re[uire
a more thorough system of I?ipection
abroad and a more rigid syaem
of examination at our imraier*ion
ports, the former being espcitdly
tecessary.
The second object of a proper itstmiiraticn
law ought to bo to secure by a
areful and not merely perfunctory eiication
test some Intelligent caparil*
o appreciate American institution*
md act sanely as American citizen*,
rhis would not keep out all anarchists *
or many of them belong to the intcfigent
criminal class. But it wouM
b-hat is also in point, that is. tend to
lecrease the sum of ignorance, so po~
ent in producing the eavv, suspicion,
nalignant passion, and hatred of onler,
jut of which anarchistic sentiment ixtsvitably
springs. Finally, all person*
ihould be excluded who are below at
:ertain standard of econom>c fitness to .
nter our Industrial field as compctiors
with American labor. There should
>e proper proof of personkl capacity to
am an American living and enough
noney to insure a decent start uniur
Vmerican conditions. This would afar*
he influx of cheap labor, and tho resulting
competition which gives ri.*?
o so much of bitterness in America* * V
ndustrial life; and it would dry u*
he springs of the pestilential so-aal
:onuit:ons in our greac emeu,
marchistic organizations hare lifcsir
greatest possibility of growtft.
Both the educational and ecronomk
est3 in a wi3e immigration law should
le designed to protect and elevate the
?endral body politic and soct3L A very
'lose supervision should be exercised
iver the steamship companies which
nainly bring over the Immigrants, and
hey should be held to a: strict accoo*
lability lor any infraction of the law. 4
ftnr Tvriff fivetemThere
is general- acquiescence in
, present tariff system as a national policy.
The first requisite to our prosper- 1
lty is the continuity and stability at
this economic policy. Nothing caull few
more unwise than to disturb the bnaf- 4
ncs8 interests of the couautry by any
general tariff change at this times
Doubt, apprehension, uncertainty areexactly
what We most wish to avoid in
the interest cf our commercial and n?r
terial well-being. Our experience is ffic?
past has shown that sweeping revision*
of the tariff are apt to produce ccwff
tions closely approaching panic im th?~
busincss world. Yet it i3 not enry Jkjssible,
but eminently desirable, to combine
with the stability of our econxa'o
system a supplementary systmxa of rs-'
ciprocal benefit and obligation:
other nations. Such reciprocity is- aa 4
incident and result of the firm c;Cst>lishinent
and preservation of our /.regent
economic policy. It was C33C"'.:'l*
provided for in the present tar in f_ ./.* ">
Reciprocity is best treated r.3 Uie
liandmaitlen of protection. 0.*.r drat
duty is to see that the picfoctlon.
granted by the tariff in every (rut?
where it is needed is maintained, cal
that reciprocity be sought for so far a*
it can safely be done without Injury tc
our home industries. Just how fa- litis?
is must be determined according to 15?
individual case, remembering a'wsys
that every application of our tariff yaficy
to meet our shifting national mcd*
must be conditional upon the card inl
fact that the duties must never be n*dticed
below the point that win covor
the difference between the labor crest
here and abroad. The well-being Tf.'jfm
wage-worker is a prime consider* ?ltm*
of our entire policy of economic
iatlon.
Subject to this proviso of the proper
protection necessary to our industrial
well-being at home, the prindpa? at
reciprocity must command our ke:cr{y
support. The phenomenal growth of
export trade emphasizes the urgency CT
the need for wider markets ani rur *.
liberal policy In dealing with fords*
lations. Whatever is merely petty aott
vexatious In the way of trade restrictions
should be avoided. The cu3toanr?
:o whom we dispose of our surplai *
3roducta in the long run, directly or :?*
directly, purchase those surplus pr?
1?>?" oiwiniT n? snmr>thfn2 Ire re?
l in to uj fcjfiuft v.M ^
turn. Their ability to purchase our prt?lucts
should a3 far as possible bo secured
by so arranging our tariff as to
mable us to take from them llicuot
products which we can use wituoal
larm to our own industries and lihir_
>r the use of which will be of marfcee
Denefit to us.
It is most Important that we shotrf*
naintain the high level of our pre*:nt
prosperity. We have now reached
joint in the development of our :nler:sts
where we are not on'.? able to
upply our own markets but to proluce
a constantly growing surplus far
vhlch we must find markets abroad. To
secure these markets we can utilicas
xisting duties in any case where tbejr
ire no longer ncedeJ for the purpnss
>f protection, or in any case where th? .
rticle is not produced here and tte
iuty is no longer necessary for re in*
me. as giving us something to offer
xthange for what we ask. The et-cdaj
elations with other aa.ior.s which ar^
o desiable will naturally be prouroCoC