Newspaper Page Text
Usual Document Read in Both Houses
Of Congress
- - • —
BIS SUGGESTIONS ON LEGISLATION
The President Makes Strong Recom
mo/ulntiOfie Concerning Capital and
Labor, Foreign Affairs, Army and
Navy, Commerce and Other Subjects
That Will Come Before Congress.
|
hollowing is the substance of the :
an¬
nua] me ago of President Roosevelt, i
road in in Hi Houses of Congress: j
• ° fUe Senate and House of Repro- !
sentoti v< s:
I h“ Nation continues to enjoy note
v iirthy prosperity. Such prosperity is
f.r course primarily due to the high In¬
dividual average of our citizenship,
l").o.'! together with our great natural
ij tiifffin sources; is but an important factor
the working of our long
< onfititied govern:;.! nt al policies. The
jienple P-tve emplinti ally expressed
their approval of the principles nnder
lyifig these policies, and their desire
tiiat these principle:-; he kept substan¬
tially unchanged, although of course
applied in progs* ive spirit to meet
changing conditions.
CAUTION AGAINST EXTRAVA¬
GANCE.
The enlargement of scope of Ihe
function:; oi the National Government
required by our *! ■ opment a« a na
lion involves, of course I net ease of I
< '•-!»<•»'.<•; anj Uie pet 1 of prosperity ;
through which the country Is passing
jiiotilicn expenditures for permanent
fn)| ri.v< inentrnenLi far greater than
'■•uli) he wise in hard times, Rattle
Mop.; and forts, public buildings, and
improved waterva■ r are Investments
which t.li on Id he made when we have
tb*' money; hut abundant, revenues and
a large an plus always invite extrava¬
gance and constant care should he
taken to guard against unnecessary in¬
crease of the ordinary expenses of gov¬
ernment. The cost of doing Government
in:; incus should lie regulated with the
name rigid scrutiny as the cost of
doing a private business.
CAPITAL AND LA30R.
In the vast ami complicated mechan¬
ism of our modern civilized life the
dominant note is the note of industrial¬
ism; and the relations of capital and
labor, and especially of organized capi¬
tal and organized labor, to each other
and to the public at large come second
in importance only to the intimate
questions of family life. Our peculiar
form of government, with its sharp
division of authority
tIon and the seven)
-I tffiiiffli&ii n more strongly
centralized government. But it is un¬
dtfiii doubtedly responsible for much of the
nlty of meeting with adequate
legislation the new problems presented
by the total change in in Just rial condi¬
tions on this continent during the last
hall century. In actual practice it has
proved exceedingly difficult, and in
many eases impossble, to get unanimity
of wise action among the various States
<'n these subjects. From the very nature
of the case tin's is especially true of the
laws affecting the employment of capi¬
tal In huge masses.
EMPLOYERS LIABILITY LAW.
The subject of liability of employ¬
ers comes in for a lengthy paragraph
of the message. It is argued that
persons or corporations using labor
should use every means possible to
protect employees.
PREVENTION OF RAILROAD ACCI¬
DENTS.
The evev-inci easing casualty list
upon our railroads is a matter of grave
Public concern, and urgently calls for
action by the Congress. In the matter
of speed and comfort of railway travel
our railroads give at least as good ser
v ii e as those of any other nation, and
there is no reason why this service
should not also be as safe as human in¬
genuity can make it. Many of our lead¬
ing roads have been foremost in the
adoption of the most approved safe¬
guards for the protection of travelers
and employees, yet the list of clearly
avoidable accidents continues unduly
large, bite passage ol a law requiring
the adoption of a blocksignal system
has been prope-ed to the Congress. 1
earnestly concur in that recommenda¬
tion, and would also point out to the
C'ongrt ss the ttsgen; need of legislation
in the interest of the public safety lim¬
iting the hours of labor for railroad
employees in train scivice upon rail
loads engaged in interstate commerce,
and providing that only trained and
experienced persons ho employed in po¬
sitions of responsibility connected with
tin operation of trains. Of course noth¬
ing can ever prevent accidents caused
by human weakness or misconduct;
and there should be drastic punish¬
ment for any raliroaod employee,
whether officer or man. who by issu¬
ance of wrong orders or by disobedi¬
ence of orders muses disaster. The
law of 1901. requiring interstate rail¬
roads to make monthly reports of all
accidents to pasengevs and employees
on duty, should also be amended so as
to empower the Government to make a
personal investigation, t cough proper
officers, of all accidents involving loss
of life which seem to require investiga¬
tion, with a reqpnenunt that the re¬
st.It of such investigation be made
public.
UNIONS OF GOVERNMENT EM
PLOYEES.
On the subject of organized labor
the President deela.es that all eople
have a perf< t riant to organize for
their protection, but that the Govern¬
ment cannot di criminate against non¬
union laborers.
BUREAU OF LABOR.
Much can be done by the Government
in labor matters merely by giving pub¬
licity to certain «.auditions The Bureau
of Labor has done excellent work of
this kind in many different directions.
1 shall shortly lay before you in a spe¬
cial menage the full report of the in¬
vestigation of the Bureau of Labor into
the Color" lo mining strike, ss this
Is a a strike in which certain very evil
forces, whi h are more or less at work
everywhere under the conditions of
modern industrialism, became start¬
lingly prominent, it is greatly to be
wished that the Department of Com¬
merce nnd Labor, through the Labor
Bureau, should compile and arrange for
the Congress a list of the labor laws of
ih»* various States, and should be given
ihe means to investigate and report to
the Congress upon the labor condition
In the manufacturing and mining re
pious throughout, the country, both as
to wages, as to hours of labor, as to
the labor of women and children, and
a? to the effect in the various labor
centers of immigration from abroad, in
this investigation especial attention
should be paid to ‘tie conditions of
child labor and child-labor legislation
iri the several Stales.
CORPORATIONS.
When we come lo d.ea! with great
corporations the need lor the Govern¬
ment to act directly is far greater than
ir. the case of labor, because great cor¬
porations can become such only by en¬
caging in interstate commerce, and
interstate commerce is peculiarly the
held of the General Government. It is
an absurdity to expect to eliminate the
abuses in great corporations by State
actipn. It is difficult to bo patient with
an argument that such matters
should be loft to the States, because
mote than one State pursues the policy
at' creating on easy terms corporations
which are never operated within that
Stale at all, tint in other States whose
lawn they ignore. The National Uov
eminent alone can deal adequately with
these great cot partitions. To try to deal
with them in an Intemperate, destruc¬
tive, or demagogic .‘-.pint would, in ail
probability, mean that, nothing what¬
ever would h<- accomplished, and, with
absolute certainty, that if anything
were accomplished it would be of a
harmful nature. The American people
need to continue to show the very qual¬
ities that they have shown-that is,
moderation, good sense, the earnest de¬
sire (o avoid doing any damage, and
yet the quiet determination to proceed,
step by step, without halt and without
hurry, in elimnating or at least in min¬
imizing whatever of mischief or of evil
there is to interstate commerce in the
conduct of great corporations. They
are acting in no spirit of hostility lo
wealth, either individual or corporate.
They are not against the rich man any¬
more tiian against the poor man. On
the contrary, they are friendly alike to¬
ward rich man and toward poor man,
provided only that each acts in a spirit
of justice and decency toward his fel¬
lows. Great corporations are necesf
__ vOvpasWudns Sgi’i&EfS :L*isL»Me8S(
successfully, and such
men must have great rewards. But
these corporations should tie managed
with due regard to the interest of the
Public as a whole. Where this can In
done under the present laws it must
be done. Where these laws come short
others should be enacted to supplement
them.
AGRICULTURE.
The Department of Agriculture has
grown into an educational institution
•vith a faculty of two thousand special¬
ists making research into all the scien¬
ce? of production. The Congress appro¬
priates, directly and indirectly, six
millions of dollars annually to carry on
this work. It reaches every State and
Territory in the Union and the islands
o (the sea lately come under our tiag.
Cooperation is had with the State ex¬
periment stations, and with many other
institutions and individuals. The world
is carefully searched for new varieties
of grains, fruits, grasses, vegetables,
trees, and shrubs, suitable to various
localities in our country; and marked
benefit to our producers lias resulted.
PENSIONS.
The veterans of the Civil War have
a claim upon the nation such as no
other body of our citizens possess.
The Pension Bureau has never in its
history been managed in a more sat¬
isfactory manner than is now the
CDSO.
JAMESTOWN TRI CENTENNIAL.
In 1907 there will be held at Hamp¬
ton Roads the tricentennial celebra¬
tion of the settlement at Jamestown,
Virginia, with which the history of
what has now become the United
States really begins. 1 commend this
to your favorable consideration, it is
an event of prime historic significance
in which all the people of the United
Steles should feel, and should show,
gu-at and general interest.
POSTAL SERVICE.
In the Postottieo Department the
service has increased in efficiency,
and conditions as to revenue and ex¬
penditure continue satisfactory. The
increase of revenue during the year
was $9,358,181.10, or 0.9 per cent, the
total receipts amounting to $143,382,
t f l 34. The expenditures were $152.-
302.110.70. an increase of about 9 per
cent over the previous year, being
ilius $8,979,492.30 in excess of the
current revenue. Included in these
expenditures was a total appropriation
of $12,950,637.35 for the continuation
and extension of the rural free-deliv
< rv service, which was an increase
of $4,902,237.35 over the amount ex¬
pended for this purpose in the pre¬
ceding fiscal year. Large as this ex
penditure has been the beneficent re¬
sults attained in extending the free
distribution of mails to the residents
of rural districts have justified the
wi-dom of the outlay. Statistics
brought down to the 1st of October
1904. show tiiat on that date there
were 27.138 rural rentes established,
serving approximately 12.000.000 of
people in rural districts remote from
postoffices, and that there were pend
ing at that time 3,859 petitions for the
establishment of new rural routes.
Unquestionably some part of the gen¬
eral increase in receipts is due to the
increased postal facilities which the
rural service has afforded. The reve¬
nues have also been aided greatly by
amendments in the classification of
mail matter, and the curtailment of
abuses of the second-class mailing
privilege. The average increase in
the volume of mail matter for the
period beginning with 1902 and end
ing June. 1905 (that portion for 1905
being estimated), is 40.47 per cent,
as compared with 25.46 per cent for
the period immediately preceding,
and 15.92 for the four-year period im¬
mediately preceding that.
CURRENCY.
The attention of Congress should be
especially given to the currency ques
tion. and that the standing committees
on the matter in the two Houses
charged with the duty, take up the
matter of our currency and see whet!)
er it is not possible to secure an
agreement in the business world for
bettering the system; the committees
should consider the question of the
retirement of the greenbacks and the
of securing in our currency
elasticity- as is consistent with
safety. Every silver dollar should be
made bv law redeemable in gold at
Jhe option of the holder.
MERCHANT MARINE.
I especially commend to y-our at¬
tention the encouragement of our mer¬
chant, marine by appropriate legisla
tion.
ORIENTAL MARKETS.
A The growing importance of the Ori¬
ent as a field for American exports
drew from my predecessor, President
McKinley, an urgent request for Us
special consideration by the Con¬
gress. lu his mesaago of 1898 he
stated;
“In this relation, as showing the
peculiar volume and value of our trade
with China and the peculiarly favora¬
ble conditions which exist for their
expansion in the normal course of
trade, I refe rto the communication
addressed to the Speaker of the
House of Representatives by rhe Sec¬
retary of the Treasury on the 14th of
last June, with its accompanying letter
of the Secretary of State, recommend¬
ing an appropriation for a commission
to study the industrial and commer¬
cial conditions in the Chinese Empire,
and to report as to the opportunities
for and the obstacles to the enlarge
immt of markets in China for the raw
products and manufactures of the
United States. Action was not taken
tljlreon during the last session. I
cordially urge that the recommenda¬
tion receive at your hands the con¬
sideration which its importance and
timeline— merit.”
' ALASKA. ;
iragLstions r -uflEtK€»—“d nlimber of
on Alaska, the treat
metitfOf the natives and other matters
afunting is the welfare of the territory.
It also recommended that Alaska
be Jiven a delegate in Congress.
' THE INDIANS.
It is recommended that better treat¬
ment be accorded these wards of the
nation, and that every encouragement
possible be extended them to oecome
more industrious and self-supporting.
CONSULAR SERVICE.
It is recommended that the consular
service be raised to the highest degree
of efficiency by selecting men who are
familiar with trade conditions and
who know something of the language
of the country to which they are ac¬
credited.
CITY OF WASHINGTON.
The President recommends that the
city be thoroughly cleaned up, so that
it be made in fact a perfect Amer¬
ican city, free from contagious and
evil influences.
THE ARMY.
Within the last three years the
United States has set an example in
disarmament where disarmament was
proper. By law our Army is fixed at
a maximum of one hundred thousand
and a minimum of sixty thousand men.
W hen there was insurrection in the
Philippines we kept the army at the
maximum. Peace came in the Philip¬
pines, and now our Army has been re¬
duced to the minimum at which it is
possible to keep it with due regard to
its efficiency. The guns now mounted
require twenty-eight tnousand men. if
the coast fortifications ate to be ade¬
quately manned. Relatively to the
Nation, it is not now so large as the
police force of New York or Chicago
relatively to the population of either
ciev. We need more officers; there are
not enough to perform the regular
army work. It is very important that
the officers of the Army should be ae
"ustemed to handle their men in
masses, as it is also important that the
National Guard of the several States
should be accustomed to actual field
maneuvering, especially in connection
with the regulars. For this reason we
are to be congratulated upon the suc¬
cess of the field maneuvers at Manas¬
sas last fall, maneuvers in which a
larger number of Regulars and Na¬
tional Guard took part than was ever
before assembled together in time of
peace. No other civilized nation has,
relatively to its population, such a
diminutive Army as ours; and while
the army is so small we are not to be
excused if we fail to keep it at a very
high grade of proficiency. It must be
incessantly practiced: the standard for
the enlisted men should be kept very
high, while at the same time the ser¬
vice should be made as attractive as
possible; and the standard for the offi¬
cers should be kept even higher—
which, as regards the uuner ranks,
c-an best be done by introducing some
system of selection and rejection into
the promotions. We shall be able, in
the event of some sudden emergency,
to put into the field one first-class
army corps, which should be, as a
whole, at least the equal of any body
of troops of like number belonging to
any other nation.
Great progress has been made in
protecting our coasts by adequate
fortifications with sufficient guns. We
should, however, pay much more heed
than at present to the development of
an extensive system of floating mines
for use in all our more important har¬
bors. These mines have been proved to
be a most formidable safeguard against
hostile fleets.
THE NAVY.
On the subject of the navy Mr.
Roosevelt declares that it is neces¬
sary for us to keep our navy up to
the most effective standard, and
makes a number of recommendations.
THE PHIL! PPINES.
The Philippine Islands have been
brought by the fortunes of war under
our control, and we must discharge
our obligations to the inhabitants in
a becoming manner. In concluding
this subject the message says:
Every measure taken concerning the
islands should be taken primarily with
a view to their advantage. We should
cretainly give them lower tariff rates
on their exports to the United States;
if this is not done it will be a wrong
to extend our shipping laws to them.
I earnestly hope for the immediate en¬
actment into law of the legislation
now pending to encourage American
capital to seek investment in the is¬
lands in railroads, in factories, in plan¬
tations, and in lumbering and mining.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
The White House, Dec. 5, 1904.
TAET ARRIVES IN PANAMA.
Secretary Received by isthmus Qfiic'mls and
Cordial Greetings Exchanged.
A Panama special says; Secretary
of War Taft and party arrived at Co¬
! lon Sunday morning on board the
United States cruiser Columbia. Mr.
I Taft was received on shore by Vice
j President Arosemena and other Pan¬
ama officials, General Davis, com¬
mander of the canal zone, and Minis¬
ter Barrett.
After a conference with the Ameri¬
can congressional delegation Mr. Taft
went by a special train to Panama,
where he was officially received by a
committee and quartered at the resi¬
dence of Mr. Wallace, chief engineer
in charge of construction of the Pana¬
ma canal. He was received by Pres¬
ident Amador and the Panama cabinet
at 4 o’clock Sunday afternoon.
After greetings had been exchanged
Mr. Taft said:
“It is a pleasure to bring th e greet-.
tbe'presfdfent of the United
States and to congratulate Panama
upon the propltous beginning of a
long and prosperous life—in fact, a
life that is to be a peaceful one and
one in which the president and the
people of the United States are most
willing assistants.
'The United States has no inten¬
tion in the isthmus other than to build
the canal for the benefit of Panama,
the United States and mankind. There
is no desire to exercise further power.
1 I will ,in the ne'kt few days, confer
on those matters about which discus¬
| sion has arisen and hope to reach a
solution full of honor to both coun¬
tries.
“I have the great honor to present
the personal greeting of President
Roosevelt and expressions of profound
good will.”
President Amador, in reply, said:
“Your arrival in Panama and the
purpose that brings you is the higest
honor this republic has received since
it was born. The government and the
people will know how to appreciate
this new proof of sympathy which the
United States has desired once more
to disingwish us.”
President Amador later in the day
returned Secretary Taft’s official call.
The first conference betwee enS-rce
The first conference between Secre¬
tary Taft and President Amador will
take place at government house to¬
morrow.
PRIVATE SMITH IS DISCHARGED.
Soldier Who Married a Slack Woman is
A , v Washington .P is ? n .’ ssed “Without Honor.”
dispatch says: Act
ing Secretary Oliver Wednesday, di¬
rected the discharge "without honor"
of Private John T. Smith, hospital
corps, stationed at Fort Mott, N. J.,
who is said to have married a negresa
and whose discharge was recommend¬
ed by General Grant, commanding the
department of the east, he. having act
upon the recommendation of the
post surgeon at Fort Mott.
General Grant’s recommendation
was concurred in by the surgeon gen¬
eral’s office.
In the official statement given out
at the war department' in disposing o!
the case, it is stated that Private
Smith married “a woman of bad char¬
acter, whose previous marriage hat
not been terminated by the death o{
her husband or by any legal form."
German Factory Life.
Work commences tn Germany at
G, 6:30 or 7 o’clock in the morning
and usually scops at the correspond¬
ing hour in the evening, writes John
Callan O’Laughlin in the World’s
Work.
The workman has a quarter of an
hour for breakfast, from an hour to
an hour and a half at noon for dinner,
and a quarter of an hour in the after¬
noon for tea. Sometimes, and in
some factories, the breakfast period
is not authorized, sometimes after¬
noon tea is omitted. The average
length of the day's work is ten hours.
In the textile industry it may bey a
quarter of an hour longer. *
The care of women and children
has concerned the state far more than
the hours of the male workers. Night
work for women is prohibited, nor can
they remain in the shops after 5.30
on Saturday afternoon or on the eve
of a holiday. The law fixes the maxi¬
mum of the woman's working day at
eleven hours, except on Saturday and
the day preoeding holidays, when it
is compulsory, and women with house¬
hold cares may claim an extra half
hour.
No Chance to Learn. j
The family was planning at th9
breakfast table to attend, later in the
day, the funeral of a deceased neigh¬
bor, but Isabel, aged six, was very
miicli to her distress, to be left at
home.
“But I’ve never been to a funeral,”
the little girl pleaded. “I want to go
to one just dreadfully.”
“Never mind, Sis,” said the little
maid's brother, consolingly, “perhaps
you can go to your own soma day.”
“Well,” flashed Isabel indignantly,
“if I don’t have a little practice I
shan’t know how to behave even at
that cue.”—Lippincott’s.
All But One of 23 Children Twins.
A Media physician west down to
Morton today to examine a woman for
life Insurance. The policy required
that answers bo made relative to the
family history, and the doctor asked:
“How old is your father?”
“Forty-two.”
“How many in the family?”
“There is father and mother and
twenty-three children; I am the twen¬
ty-third one. There were eleven gets
of twins.”—Media Correspondence
Philadelphia Record.
Sammy Phipps had been promised
a whipping by his mother In liquid
tion of his many misdeeds, and, be.
a devout believer in the efflea
prayer, dropped to his knees a
< ga « -
to the Lord to spare him. 5
Mamma—Sammy, what are you
ing?
Sammy—I’s prayin’ to the Lord, but
I hope you’ll hear me!
You cannot buy a whip in the oity
of Moscow since a local law prohibits
the use of whips on horses. The re¬
sult o? this humane law is seen in
the beauty, good condition and good
behavior of the horses.
HAPPY CHILDHOOD.
Right Foot! Makes Happy Children Be¬
cause Xltey Are Healthy.
Sometimes milk does not agree with
children or adults. The same thing is
true of other articles of food. What
agrees with one sometimes does not
agree with others.
But food can be so prepared that it
will agree with the weakest stomach.
As an illustration—anyone, no matter
how weak the stomach, can eat. relish
and digest a nice hot cup of Postum
coffee with a spoonful or two of Grape
Nuts poured in, and such a combina¬
tion contains nourishment to carry one
a number of hours, for almost every
particle of it will be digested and
taken up by the system and be made
use of.
A lady wi-ites from the land of the
Magnolia and the mocking bird way
down in Alabama and says: “I was
led to drink Postum because coffee
gave me sour stomach and made me
nervous. Again Postum was recom¬
mended by two well known physicians
for my children, and I feel especially
grateful for the benefit derived.
“Milk does not agree with either
child, so to the eldest, aged four and
one-half years, I give Postum with
plenty of sweet cream. It agrees with
her splendidly, regulating her bowels
perfectly, although she is of a consti¬
pated habit.
“For the youngest, aged two and one
half years, I use one-half Postum .and
one-half skimmed milk. 1 have not
given any medicine since the children
began using Postum, and they enjoy
every drop of it.
“A neighbor of mine is giving Pos
tum to her baby lately weaned, with
splendid results. The littie follow is
thriving famously.” Name given by
Postum Co., Battle Creek, Mich.
Postum agrees perfectly with chil¬
dren and supplies adults with the hot.
invigorating beverage in place of
coffee. Literally thousands of Amer¬
icans have been helped out of stom¬
ach and nervous diseases by leaving
off coffee and using Postum Food Cof¬
fee. Look in package for the little
book, “The Read to Wellville.”