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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 9, 1904)
V t -. .ifcj -DECEMBER 9. 1904 The Commoner. THE PRESIDENT'S flESSAQE (Continued from page 7.) tries, so that the worst tends to drag 'down the better. For this reason, it would bo well for the nation at least to endeavor to secure comprehensive information as to the conditions of la bor of children In the different states. Such Investigation and publication by the national government would tend toward the securing of approximately uniform legislation of the proper char acter among the several states." Corporations On the subject of corporations, the! president says: "When we come to deal with great corporations the need fcr the government to act directly ts far greater than in the case of labor, because great "corporations can become such only by engaging in interstate commerce, and interstate commerce is peculiarly the field of the general gov ernment. It is an absurdity to expect to eliminate the abuses 'u great cor porations by state action. It is diffi cult to be patient with an argument "that such matters should be left to the 'states, because more than one state pursues the policy of creating on easy terms corporations which are never . . operated within that state at all, but in other states whose laws they ignore. The national government alone can deal adequately with these great cor porations. To try to deal with them in an intemperate, destructive or dem agogic spirit would, In all probality, mean that nothing whatever would be accomplished, and, with absolute cer tainty, that if any- thing were accom plished it would be of a harmful na ture. The American people need to continue to show the very qualities that they have shown that is, mod- ., ..eration, good, sense, the earnest desire r toTavoId dolnc any damage, and yet the quiet determination to proceed, step by step, without halt and with out hurry, in eliminating or at least in minimizing whatever of mischief or of evil there is to interstate commerce in the conduct of great corporations. They are actlrg in no spirit of hostil ity to wealth, either individual or cor- Is tlie World . Growing Better? By Henry van Dyke ' . There are few men who would not be presuming in answering this question. Henry van Dyke, preacher, educator, humanitarian,' man of letters, treats this question clearly, frankly, truly, in the December number of Everybody's Magazine. As back numbers of Everybody's Magazine are out of print, the previous chapters of Mr. Lawson's- "Frenzied Finance" contained in the numbers from July to November inclusive are republished in a pamphlet, at 25 cents a copy. This pamphlet (eighty pages) will be sent free to any new subscriber to Everybody's Mazagine who requests it and who sends one dollar for a year's subscription beginning with the De cember number. Address The Ridg-way-Thayer Company, Union Square, New York City. porale. They aro not against the rich man any more than against the poor man. On the contrary, thoy aro friondly alike toward tho rich man and toward tho poor man, provided only that each acts In a spirit of justice and decency toward his follows. Great cor porations are necessary, and only men ui great ana singular mental power can manage such corporations successfully, and such men must have great rowards! "But these corporations should bo managed with duo regard to tho in terest of tho public as a wholo Whero this can bo done under-tho present laws it must be done. Whero theso laws come short others should bo enacted to supplement them. "Yet wo must never forget the de termining factor in every kind of work, of .head or hand, must bo tho man's own good sense courage and kindliness. More important than any legislation ts the gradual growth of a feeling of re sponsibility and forbearanco among capitalists and wage-workers alike; a feeling of respect on the part of each man for tho rights of others: a feolintr of broad community of interest, not merely of capitalists among themselves, and of wage-workers among them selves, but of capitalists and wage workers in their' relation to each other, and of bqth In their relations to their follows who with them make up the body politic. There are many captains of industry, many labor leaders, who realize this." Robatoa Referring tq railroad rebates, the president says: "We must strive to keep the highways of commerce open to all on equal terms; and to do this Write to U. We are importer, maker and re tailers, dealing In fin Diamond and Gold Jewelry. Tableware. Art Goods, etc.. etc., carrying the lar V .a:,"irlment nntl Kreatent variety ot the beat at lowest orlcos. If Won't Cost a cent A 136-pane book, with over 6000 Illustrations and descriptions. .uiuuuia luiurmniinn r vnr.nnn . r, ""-""". " 0Bln, etc.. etc A book that i Our Holiday Catalogue Just on the press, A book that cost tnotiHandn of uunnrs to produce and it cents poiixiKO for uvcry copy wo mail r X y n oonv of wlilrli r v will be sent, pout- J S 4 Deo nrormiiu to i vr v roadcrn of t h 1 s X Q . nnnitr thnt will J .. .C sent un tncir write for S j it to-day. j v o, r' '-'" ti. , .k, Jhi toautifal t. m ' mt m riMir-i-iia Ptn, BkH . VD W solid silver, fine Hl -2 WJfes BMSieHiieieieieieieieiew j . su- r ihh ,ssW -bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbW .VV arrv tssssl J i . J fJSrtS I. rwfc .V .VBBBBBBBBBB .? S tC BiW M IS r ro ? jsbt v'. ".v. s-.sr m m . jb-w va .' JBrsssssT "oV KTWfrM.&r I 5 V BBBBBBBBW ;VC . J V BV u BBl ' . jmssssT o-v x m-st , m jn mLMr -r -v 'm rr .- m. ry a" . . . Jtvw jrv&x' iv v .jr w iy MAT yf&Ai jf9UF vm '.. 4 x.y -xt . ! i sssssssip - a r E4wsssn v r rv sbsst a Wrlto plain-. ' JMW f C ijT & 0VX I 1 tnle. city' MSW C J ft ( V M X A$ W3r& k. 1 1 drmrW i0 r WftTP The Items off "red In thl advortlement are, I 8 mJWs r Hpoi'lul Vnliirn nnd the supply on hand Is 1 EAJ f X not Incxhaustlhle therefore If you wlh nny of them 1 QMSjr VV T Order at Once mnrklne tho articles you delre with an X 1 S f and unrlotjo tho amount nn per prlcei quoted they will be sent 1 ) j-'C'hurBCH I'repuld and If not cntlroly satisfactory to you return m . thorn at our expenso and wo will refund your money. I i jq west-Priced Houne In I America for Fine Goods. , MMMHMMHl i WIERMOD $c JACCARD HZIW ST. LOUIS, MO, Tho Finest Jewelry IIouso In tho World. yerybodys J J'M agazine FOR DECEMBER. JUST OUT On all news-stands Eyerybody'H Magazine warns canvassers. " Write ior Terms. II ?ece?3ary t0 J?"- a complete stop native to an increase of tho presont Z SI' "7,".; wuuuior mo snipper. ovJs on tho one hand or a stni more or the railroad is to blame makes no difference; the rebate must be stopped, the abuses of the private car and ri vate terminal-track and side-track sys tems must be stopped, and the legis lation of the fifty-eighth congress which declares it to be unlawful for any person or corporation to offer, grant, give, solicit, accept, or receive any rebate, concession, or discrimina tion in respect of the transportation of any property in Interstate or foreign commerce whereby such property 'shall by any device whatever be transported at a less rate than that named in the tariffs published by tho carrier must be enforced. For some time after tho enactment of the act to regulate com merce it remained a mooted question whether that act conferred upon the interstate commerce commission tho power, after it had found a challenged rate to be unreasonable, to declare what thereafter should, prima facie, be the reasonable maximum rate for the transportation in dispute. The supreme court finally resolved that question in the negative, so that as the law now stands the commission simply possess tho bare power to denounce a particu lar rate as unreasonable. "While I am of the opinion that at present it would be undesirable if it were not impracticable, finally to clothe the commission with general authority to fix railroad rates, I do believe that, a3 a fair security to shippers, tho com mission should be vested with the pow er, where a given rate bac been chal lenged and after full hearing found to be unreasonable, to decide, subject to judicial review, what shall be a rea sonable rale to take its place; the ruling of the commission to take ef fect immediately, and to obtain unless and until it is reversed by the court of review. The government must in Increasing degree supervise and regu late the workings of the railways en gaged in interstate commerce, and such increased supervision is the only alter- radical policy on tho other. In my judgment the most important legisla tive act now needed as regards the regulation of corporations is this act to confer on the interstate comraerco commission tho power to rovlso rates and regulations, the revised rates to at once go into effect, and to stay In effect unless and until tho court of review reverses it "Steamship companies engaged In interstate commerce and protected in our coastwise trado, should be held 'xj a strict observance of tho interstate commerce act." The president here sets forth In de tail a number of recommendations in furtherance of his plan to improve the city of Washington and laws govern ing the Distrl t of Columbia. He then presents a brief chapter on Irrigation In which he cordially approves the Ir rigation law. Then he devotes a brief chapter to the Indians, recommending the appointment of a field assistant to the commisp'oner of Indian affairs. Currency On tho curroncy question the presi dent says: "The attention of the con gress should be especially given to the currency question, and that the stand ing committees on tho matter in the two houses charged with tho duty, taite up the matter of our currency and sec whether It is not possible to secure an-agreement In the business world for bettering the system; the committees should consider the question of the re tirement of the greenbacks and the problem of securing In our currency such elasticity as Is consistent with safety. Every silver dollar should be made by law redeemable in gold at the option of the holder." Immigration and Naturalization Here the president devotes a chapter to immigration, saying that the United States can not have "too many immi grants of the right kind, it makes no difference from what country they come;" but ho adds that "tho citizen ship of this country should not bt debased," and ho recommends not only a strict enforcement of tho immlgra- tlon laws, but material Improvement In the naturalization laws, and sys tematic efforts to prevent fraudulent naturalization. On tills point ho says: "There should be a comprehensive) rovlslon of tho naturalization laws. Tho courts having power to naturalize should be definitely named by national authority; tho testimony upon which naturalization may'bo conferred should be definitely prescribed; publication ot Impending naturalization applications should be required in advance of their hearing in court; the form and word ing of all certificates Issued should be required to make returns to the sec retary of state at stated periods of all naturalizations conferred. "Not only are the laws relating to naturalization now defective, but thewe relating to citizenship of the United States ought also to be made the sub ject of scientific Inquiry with a view to probable further legislation. By what acts expatriation may be as sumed to have been accomplished, how long an American citizen may reside abroad and receive the protection of our passport, whether any degree of protection should be extended to one who has made the declaration of Inten tion to become a citizen of the United States but has not secured naturaliza tion, are questions of serious import, Involving personal rights and often producing friction between this gov ernment and foreign governments. Yet upon these questions our laws are si lent I recommend that an examina tion be made Into the subjects of citi zenship, expatriation and protection of Americans abroad, with a view to ap propriate legislation." The Law's Delays An Interesting chapter in the mes sage relates to the law's delays. Oa this point the president says: "No sub ject Is better worthy the attention, of '.; ,1 T"( f -dkH-M ' &.-.. - -A -
