Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE SUMTER WATCHMAN, Established April, 1850. . 'Be Just and Fear notr-Let all the ends Thou Aims't at be thy Country's, Thy God's and Truth's." THE TRUE SOUTHRON, Established June, 1866 SUMTER. S. C.. WEDNESDAY. DEOEM??R 6, l'iO?. Published Every Wednesday, -BY OSTEEN PUBLISHING COMPANY, SUMTER, S. C. Terms: $1.50 per annum-in advance. Advertisements : One Square first insertion.$1.50 lT Every subsequent insertion. 50 Contracts for three months, or longer will be made at reduced rates. All commvnications which sub? serve private interests will be charged for as advertisements. Obituaries and tributes of respects will be charged for. THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE. It Deals With a Variety of Subjects.. But Dodges the Tariff. jflui Washington, December 5.--At 20 minutes before noon today Assistant Secretaryfto the President Barnes, ac? companied by Executive Clerk Young and a messenger left the White Houst ? in carriages for the capitol, taking with them printed copies of the Pres? ident's message to congress to be read Jk.from the rostrum in the senate and house and distributed among tht members. The reading of the President's mes sage in the house began at 12:23, eight minutes later than in the senate. It will consume three hours in read y The following extracts cover the j most salient points of the message: ||; To the Senate and House of Repre ? sentatives: Thje people of this country continue IL. to enjoy great prosperity. Un doubt ^^ediy there will be ebb and flow in such I prosperity and this ebb and flow will he felt more or less by all members of the community, both Joy the deserv ing^and the undeserving. Against the wrath of the Lord, the wisdofn of man can not avail; in times of flood or drought human i/genuity can but P^paE^al?y repair^ the. disaster. A gen? eral failure of crops would hurt all ot us. Again, if the folly of man mars the g?nerai well-being, then those who are innocent of the folly will - have to pay part of the penalty in curred by those who are ^guilty of the J^olly. A panic brought on by ' the speculative folly of part of the business community would hurt the whole business community. But such K stoppage of welfare, though it might be severe, would not be lasting. Tn fe the long run the one vital factor in j jj^pLthe permanent prosperity of the coun- j *^*try is the high individual character^ cf the average American worker, the average American citizen, no matter whether his work be mental or man? ual, whether he be farmer or wage worker, business man or professional m Inan" \ f -In our? industrial and social system the interests of all men are so closely intertwined that in the immense ma? jori ty \&Jaftses a straight dealing man who by his efficiency, by his ingenuity |f and industry, benefits himself must ^kalso benefit others. Normally the man of great productive capacity wh :> becomes rich by guiding the labor of. many other men does so by enabling them to produce more than they could produce without his guidance: and both he and they share in the benefit. ^? which comes also to the public at large. H Yet. while, not merely admitting. . but insisting upon this, it >s also true * that where there is no governmental [ v restraint or supervision some of the exceptional men use their energies not in ways that an- for the c?m mon goocL but in ways which tel. against this common goo ;. The for tunes amassed through corporate ganization are now so large, and vest such power in those that w?e!d tlc m. f ns to make it a matter of necesite to. give to the sovereign-that is. to the pWrgovernmen:. which represents thc peo? ple as a whole-some effective pow, ?? 5 of supervicion over their corporate use. In order to insure a healthy so? cial and industrial life, every big cor? poration should be held respon? sible by. and be accountable to, J|some sovereign strong enough to con :P^trol its conduct. I am not opposed to jL corporations. The corporation has come to stay, just as the trade union has come to stay. Each can do and P: has done great good. Each should be I ?j favored so long as it does goori. But ?fc. each should be sharply checked where W it acts against law and justice. So long as the finances of the nation W- are kept upon an honest basis no oth er question of internal economy with ir which the congress has the power to 5.- deal begins to approach in importance ?i the matter of endeavoring to secure W proper industrial conditions und:*r |. which the individuals-and espoe E 'lally the great corporations-doing an i interstate business are to act. Tho sp makers of our national constitution giprovided especially that the regula tion of interstate commerce sho come within the sphere of the gene government. It has been a misfortune that i national laws on this subject hi hitherto been of a negative or p hibitive rather than an affirm?t kind, and still more that they h? in part sought to prohibit what coi not be cffectively-'prohibited, and h? in part in their prohibitions contour ed what should be allowed and wi should not be allowed. It is genera useless to try to prohibit all restra on competition, whether this restra be reasonable or unreasonable; a where it is not useless it is genera hurtful. Events have shown that is not possible ^adequately to seci the enforcement of any law of tl kind by incessant appeal to the cour The department of justice has for t last four years devoted more attenti to the enforcement of the anti-tri legislation than to anything eli Much has been accomplished; ps ticularly marked has been the moi effect of the/ prosecutions; but it increasingly evident that there wm a very insufficient beneficial result the way of economic ^hange. T successful prosecution of one devi to evade the law immediately devi ops another device to accomplish t same purpose. What is needeTHs n sweeping prohibition of every arrang ment, good or bad, which may tend restrict competition, but such ad quate supervision and regulation will prevent any restriction of cor petition from being to the detrime of the public-as well as such supe vision and regulation as will preve other abuses in no way connect? with restriction of competition. ( these abuses, perhaps the chief, a though by no means the only one, overcapitalization-generally itself tl result of dishonest promotion-b< cause of the myriad evils it brings i its train; for such overcapitalizatio often means an inflation of the prol earned to the capital actually inves ed, and it creates a burden of intei est payments which is a fertile caus of improper reduction in or limitatio of wages; it damages the small ir vestor, discourages thrift, and er courages gambling and speculatior while perhaps worst of all is th trickiness and dishonesty which it in plies-for harm to morals is wor.c than any possible harm to material ir terest's, and the debauchery of pol tics and business by great dish?ne: corporations is far worse thai, an actual material evil they do the put lie. Unti^ the national governmer obtains, in some manner which th wisdom of the congress may sugges proper control over the big corpora tions engaged in interstate commerc -that is, over the great majority ( the big corporations-it will be im possible to deal adequately with thes evils. I am well aware of the difficult? of the legislation that I am suggestin and of the need of temperate an cautious action in securing it. 'should emphatically protest again? improperly radical or hasty actior The first thing to do is to deal wit] the great corporations engaged in tb. 1 usiness of interstate transportatior As I said in my message of D ?-combe 6 last, the immediate and most press ing need, so far as legislation is con cerned, is the enactment into iaw o some scheme to secure to the agent of thc government such supervivi?; and regulation of the rates charge by the railroads of the c ?untry en ga^e? in'interstate traffic as sha! summarily Vi nd effectively preven I thv imposition of unjust ur unreason j able rates. It must include puttim [a complete stop to rebates in ever ! shane and form. This power to res uiate rates, like all similar pow? ? ove?- th.- business world, should be . :.: ercised with moderation, caution an? self restraint: but it should exist, s that it can be effectively exercise; when the need arises. I d<> not believe in the governme? interfering with private business mon than is necessary. I do not believe i the government undertaking am \ork which can with propriety be lei" in private hands. But neither do believe in the government flinching from overseeing any work when it bc comes evident that abuses are sure t< obtain therein unless tnere is govern? mental supervision. In my judirin* :. the most important provision whici such law should contain is that con? ferring upon some competent admin? istrative body the power to decide upon the case being brought before ? whether a given rate prescribed bj 3 railroad is reasonable and just. an. if it is found to be unreasona? ble and unjust, then, after fui! in? vestigation of the complain/, to pre? scribe the limit of rate beyond whici ? ?t shad no be lawful to go-the max? imum reasonable rate, as it is com? monly called-this decision to go into ? effect within ;.. reasonable time and to . obtain fr&m thence onward, subject to review by the courts. It sometimes happens at present, not that a rate too high but that a favored shipper given too low a rate. In such a ca: the commission would have the rig] to fix this already established min mum rate as the maximum; and would need only one or two such d' cisions by the commission to cure rai road companies ofx the practice ? giving improper minimum rates, call your attention to the fact <.h< my proposal is not to give the con mission power to initiate or origina' rates generally, but to regulate a ra: already fixed or originated by tl roads, upon complaint and after ir vestigation. A heavy penalty shoul be exacted from any corporatio which fails to respect an order of tr. commission. I regard this power to e: tablish a maximum rate as being es sential to any scheme of real refon in the matter of railway regulatioi The first necessity is to secure it; an unless it is granted to the commissio there is little use in touching the sui ject at all. All private car lines, industrie roads, refrigerator charges, and th like should be expressly put under th supervision of the interstate com meroe commission or some similo body so far as rates, and agreement practically affecting rates, are con cerned. I urge upon the congress the nee of providing for expeditious actio by the interstate commerce commis sion in all these matters, whether i: regulating rates for transportation o for storing or for handling propert or commodities in transit. The his tory of the cases litigated under th present commerce act shows that it efficacy has been to a great degree de stroyed ' by the weapon of delay, al most the most formidable weapon ii the hands of those whose purpose i is to violate the law. Let me most earnestly say jtha these recommendations are not mad' in any spirit of hostility to the rail roads. On ethical grounds, on ground: of right, such hostility would be into! erable; and on grounds of mere na tional self-interest we must remem ber that such hostility would tel against the welfare not merely o some few rich men, but of a multi tude of small investors, a multitude o: railway employes,"wage-workers; am most severely against the interest o: the public as a whole. I believe tha on the whole our railroads have dorn well and not ill; but the railroad mer who wish to do well should not b* exposed to competition with thos-i who have no such desire, and the on? ly way to secure this end is to give tc some government tribunal the powei to see that justice is done by the un? willing exactly as it is gladly done bj the willing. Business success, whether for thc individual or for; the nation, is a goo?, thing only so far as it is accompanied by and develops a high standard 01 conduct-honor, integrity, civic cour? age. The kind of business prosperity that blunts the standard of honor that puts an inordinate value on mer-: wealth, that makes a man ruthless ana conscienceless in trade and weak aiid cowardly in citizenship, is not a good thing at al), but a very bad thin.q for the nation. This government stands for manhood first and for busi j ness <>n!y as an adjunct of manhood. The question of transportation lies at the root of all industrial success, and the revolution in tran oortatioi) I I which has t?ken place during the last ? j h< ii* century Iras been ?the most im I portan? factor in tho growth or the j new industrial conditions. j We wish to insure as fair treatment I for the small towns as for the *>c< City. j for the small shipper as i*o?- ?."ic v?;? t shipper. Tn the old days thc highway j of commerce, whether by water.or by ja road on land, was open to all: it bo j longed to the public and the trafTk along it was free. At present tho ra'I I way is this highway, and we must do ?our best to soc that it is kept open t > ! all on equal ttrms. The task is a great j one and underlies thc task ol" dealing with tho whole industrial problem. But tho fact that it is a great problem does in-: warrant us ia shrinking from tho attempt io solve it. At present we fae- such, utter lack of supervision, such freedom from the restraints of law. that excellent men have often been literally forced into doing what they deplored because otherwise they were left at the mercy of unscrupu? lous competitors. To rail at and as? sail thc men who have done as they best could under such conditions ac? complishes little. What wc need 1o do is to develop an orderly system: and such a system can only como through tho gradually increased ex? ercise of Hie right of efficient govern , mom control. The congress shouid provide, by ap? propriate legislation, for the introduc? tion nf block signals upon all rail? roads engaged in interstate commerce ;it tho earliest practicable date, as a measure of increased safety to thc traveling public. The excessive hours of labor t which railroad employes in train sei vice are in many cases subjected i also a matter which may well engag the serious attention of the congres; I renew the recommendation made in my last annual message fo an investigation by the department u commerce and labor of general l?bo conditions, especial attention to b paid to the condition of child labo and child labor legislation in the sev eral States. Such an investigate should take in account the variou problems with which the quas-.ion o child labor is connected. It is tru that these problems can be actual!; met in most cases only by the State themselves, but it would be well fo the nation to endeavor to secure am publish comprehensive information a to the conditions of the labor of chil dren in the different States, so as u spur up those that are behindhand and to secure approximately uniforn legislation of a high character arnon, the several states. The departmen of commerce and labor should als! make a thorough investigation of th? condition of women in industry. The great insurance companies af ford striking examples of corporation; Whose business has extended so fa beyond the jurisdiction of the State: which creaked them as to preclud? strict enforcement of supervision ah< regulation by the parent States. Recent events have emphasized th< importance of an early and exhaust' ive consideration of this question, tc see whether it is not possible to fur? nish better safeguards than the sev? eral States have been able to furnisr against corruption of the flagrant kind which has been exposed. It has been only too clearly shown that cer? tain of the men at the head of these large corporations take but small not? of the ethical distinction between noni esty and dishonesty; they draw th< line only this side of what may bi called law honesty, the kind of hon? esty necessary in order to avoid fall? ing into the clutches of the law. Ol course the only complete remedy foi this condition must be found in ar aroused public conscience, a highei sense of . ethical conduct in the com? munity at large, and especially among business men and in the great profes? sion of the law, and in the growth o? a spirit which condemns all dishon? esty, whether in rich man or in poor man, whether it takes the 'shape ol bribery of of blackmail. But much can be done by legislation which rs not only drastic but practical. Yet, in speaking of economy, i ri?ust in no wise be understood as ad? vocating the false economy which is in the end tho worst extravagance. To cut down on the navy, for instance, would be a crime against the nation. To fail to push forward all work on the Panama Canal would be as great a folly. In political campaigns in a country as large and populous as ours it is in? evitable that there should be much ex? pense of an entirely legitimate kind. This, of course, means that many con? tributions, and some of them of large size, must be made. and. as a matter of fact, in any big political contest such contributions are always made I by both sides. It is entirely proper j both to give and receive them, unless [there is ail improper motive connected with either gift or reception. If they ! are extorted by any kind of pressure j or promise, express or implied, direct f or indirect, in the way of favor or immunity, then the giving or receiving becomes r t only improper but crim : ina!. It ^rii! undoubtedly be difficult as a matter of practical detail to shape an act which shall guard with reasonable certainty against such misconduct: but if it is possible to secure by ?aw the full and verified publication in detail of all the sums contributed 'ID and expended by the candidates or committees of any pr> litical parties the result cannot but b - wholesome. All contributions by cor? porations to any political committee or for any political purpose should be forbidden by law; directors should not be permitted to use stockholders' money for such purposes; (and. more? over, a prohibition of this kind would be. as far as it went, an effective method of stopping the evils aimed at in corrupt practices acts. During the past year evidence has accumulated to confirm the expres , sions contained in my bist two an \ nual messages as to rho importance of revising by appropriate legislation '. our system of naturalizing aliens. I appointed last -Marc i a commission to make a careful examination of our Naturalization laws, end to suggest appropriate measui ?S to avoid th'* no? torious abuses resulting from the i:n i i provident <>r unlawful granting of ci ( tizenship Tin's commission, com? posed of an officer of the department of state. <?f the department ?>f justice and of the department <>r commerce and labor, has discharged the duty , imposed upon it, and has submitted ,a report, which will be transmitted j DISTINCTIVELY A CREAM OF TARTAR BAKING POWDER It does not contain an atom of phos phatic acid (which is the product of bones digested in sulphuric acid) or of alum (which is one-third sulphuric acid) sub? stances adopted tor other baking powders because of their cheapness. ' to congress for its consideration, and, I hope, for its favoramle action. The distinguishing recommenda? tions of the Commission are: First. A federal bureau of natural? ization, to be established in the de? partment of commerce and labor, to supervise the administration of the naturalization laws and to receive re? turns of naturalizations pending and accomplished. Second. Uniformity of naturaliza? tion certificates, fees to be charged, and procedure. Third. More exacting qualification for citizenship. Fourth. The preliminary declara? tion of intention to be abolished anc no alien to be naturalized until al least ninety days after the filing of his petition. Fifth. Jurisdiction to naturalized aliens to be confined to United States district courts and to such State courts as have jurisdiction in civil ac? tions in which the amount in contro? versy is unlimited: in cities of over 100.000 inhabitants the United States district courts to have exclusive juris? diction in the naturalization of the alien residents of such cities. In my last message I asked the at? tention of the congress to the urgent need of action to make our criminal law more effective: and I most earn? estly request that you pay heed to the report of the attorney-general on this subject. Centuries ago it was espec? ially needful to throw every safe? guard round the accused. The danger is now exactly the reverse. Our laws and customs tell immensely in favor of the criminal and against the inter? ests of the pub'.ic he has wronged. Some antiquated and outworn rules which once safeguarded the threat em d rights ?>: private citizens, now merely work harm to the general body politic. The criminalMaw bf the United Stares stands in urgent r.eed o:' revision. The criminal process of any court of tho United Statis should run throughout the entire territorial extent of our country. The delays of the criminal law. nb less than of the wivil. n>>w amount t:> a very great evil, j Tnere seems to be no statute of rl:c j United States which pr?vid-es for the ^punishment of e. CJnited Sinus attor? ney or other orne: t* o? the govern j nient. v. ho corruptly agrees t- wrong? fully do or wrongfully refrain from doing any ac; when the consideration for such corrupt agreement is other than one possessing money value. This ought to be remedied bj appropriate? legislation. The National government already Pu s something ii; connection with the construction and maintenance of the great system of "levees along the low? er course <>f the Mississippi; in my judgment ii should do much more. To the spread of our trade in peace and the defense of our Hag in war a great and prosperous mendiant ma? rine is indispensable. I ask your earn? est consideration of the report with which the Merchant Marine Commis? sion has followed its long and care? ful inquiry. It is a matter of unmixed satisfac? tion once more to call attention to the excellent work of the Pension bu? reau; foi- the veterans of the Civil war have a greater claim upen us than any other class of our citizens. To them, first of al! among oar peo? ple, honor is due. Seven years ago my lamented pre? decessor: President McKinley, slated that tile time had come for the nation to care for the graves of the Confed-j - j / ?rate dead. I recommend that the congress take action towards this end. The first need is to take charge of the graves of the Confederate dead who died in Northern prisons. : The question of immigration is of vital interest to this country. In the year ending June 30. 1905, there came to the United States 1,026,000 alien ^ immigrants. In other words, in the single year that has %ust elapsed there came to this country a greater num? ber of people than came here during the one hundred and sixty-nine years of our colonial life which intervened between the first landing at James? town and the Declaration of Inde? pendence. As I said in my last mesage to con? gress, we can not have too much im? migration of the right sort,* and we should have none whatever of the wrong sort. Of course it is desirable that even the right kind of immigra? tion should be properly distributed. We -need more of such immigration for the south; and special effort should be made to secure it. Perhaps it would be possible to limit the num? ber of immigrants allowed to come in j any one year to New York and other northern cities, while leaving unlim? ited the number allowed to come to the south: always provided, however, that a stricter effort is made to see that only immigrants of the right kind come to our country anywhere. The prime need is to keep out ali im? migrants who will not make good American citizens. The laws now ex listing for the exclusion of undesira ! ble immigrants should bc- strengthen? ed. In dealing with this question it is unwise to depart from the old Amer? ican tradition and to discriminate for I or against any men who desires to . -i ^ - - ." : come aere ana become a citizen, save i on the ground of that man's fitness for citizenship. It is our right and j duty *;> consider his morai and so?ia* quality. His standard of living should j'oe such that he 'viii not. hy pressure of competition, lower the stan lard Ol - living of cur own wa>re-\vo;-kv rs: for j it must ever he a ]>. ira:- object of our I legislation to kc-ep high their standard of living. Tiie question arising in connection i i witn < ninese [migration stand by ^themselves. The conditions in China tue Sviv a th.::;, the entire Chinese eooile class, that is, the class of Chi i< se la? borers, skilled md unskilled, Iegit' mateiy come under the head bf unde? sirable immigrants to this country, because ct* their numbers, the low wages for which tiney work, and their low standard of living. Not only i.; it to the interest of the country io keep them out. but the Chinese au- ' thorities do not desire that they should he admitted. At present their en? trance is prohibited by laws amply adequate to accomplish this purpose. These laws have been, are b< ing. and will be. thoroughly enforced. But in the effort to carry out the policy of excludin?- Chinese laborers. Chinese coolies, grave injustice and wrong have been done by this nation to the people of China, ami therefore ultimately to th's narien hs If. Chi? nese students, business and. profes? sional: men <.:'..!!! kin.ls-not only mer? chants, but bankers, doctors, manu? facturers, professors, travelers and the like--should be encouraged to con:*? here and treat? ?1 on precisely the same rooting that we treat students, busi? ness men. travelers, and th? like <\i other nations. (.Continued on Page Eight.)