Show BIG corporations SCORED BE CAUSE OF ATTITUDE TO WARD government LIABILITY LAW chief executive declares act needs dimmed ate rev s on righting of injunction abuses Is urged to the senate and house 0 represent Re presen the recent decision of the su preme court in regard to the employers liability act the experience of the inter state commerce commission and of the department of justice in enforcing the in ternate ter tate commerce and antitrust laws and the gravely significant attitude to vard the law and its administration recently adopted by certain beads of great corporations render it des rable that there sl be additional leg sla alon aa regards certain of the relations between labor and capital and between the great corporations and the the supreme court has decided the em players 1 ty law to be because its terms apply to em aloyes engaged wholly in intrastate corn merce as well as to employed emp loyes engaged in interstate commerce by a substantial majority the court holds that the con gress has power to deal w th the ques alon in so tar as interstate commerce Is concerned regards the employers liability law I 1 advocate its immediate reenactment limiting its scope so that it shall apply only to the class of cases as to which the court says it can constitutionally apply but strengthening its provisions within this scope interstate employment being thus covered by an adequate national law the field of intrastate employment will be left to the action of the several elates with this clear definition of responsibility the states will undoubtedly kl to the performance of the r duty within their field the consideration the importance of the subject demands compensate on for employed Emp loyes hurt in government service I 1 also very urgently advise that a corn act be passed providing for compensation by the government to all employed emp loyes injured in the government ser vice under the present law an injured workman in the employment of the gov eminent has no remedy and the entire burden of the accident falls on the help less man his wife and his young chil dren this is an outrage it Is a matter of hum 1 atlon to the nation that there should not be on our statute books a pro vision to meet and partially to atone for cruel misfortune when it comes upon A man through no fault of his own while faithfully serving the public in no oth er prominent industrial country in the world could such gross injustice occur for almost all civil zed nations have en acted legislation embodying the complete recognition of the princ pie which places the entire trade risk tor industrial acci dents exclude ng of course accidents due to 1 misconduct by the em aloye on the industry as represented by the employer which in this case is the go in all these countries the principle applies to the government just as much as to the private employer under no circumstances should the in aured employed or his surviving depend ants be required to bring suit against the government nor should there be the re that in order to insure re covery negligence in some form on the part of the government should be shown our proposition is not to confer a right of action upon the go employed taut to secure him table pro islon against injuries received in ohp course of his employment the b aden of the trade risk should be p aced upon the government exactly as the Is entitled to his wages so he should be entitled to indemnity tor the injuries sus talked in the natural course of his labor the rates of compensation and the regu lablona for its payment should be sped fled in the law and the machinery tor determining the amount to be paid should in each case be provided in such manner that the employed is properly represented without expense to him in other words the compensation should be paid auto matl cally while the application of the law in the first instance should be vested in the department of commerce and labor the law should apply to all laborers me chanles and other chilian employed emp loyes of the government of the united states include ng those in the service of the panama canal commission and of the in eular governments the same broad principle which should apply to the government herid ultimately be made apall isable e employers to a v whey the nation has the tower it should enact laws to this effect where the states alone have the power they should enact the laws it is to be observed that an employers 1 ty law does not beally mean m let ng employers in dam ages it merely throws upon the em the burden of accident insurance against bjur es which are sure to occur it ires him e ther to bear or to d s tribute through insurance the loss which can read ly be borne when distributed but wh cb if und bears with frightful handsh pi upon the unfortunate victim of accident in theory if wages were al freely and fairly adjusted bould always include an allowance as against the risk of injury just as certainly as the rate of interest tor mon ey includes an allowance for insurance against the risk of loss in theory if employed emp loyes were all experienced business men they would employ that part of their wages wh ch Is recel ed because of the risk of injury to acure accident insurance but as a matter of fact it Is not practical to expect that this will be done by the great body of employed emp loyes an employers tv law makes it certain that it will be done in effect by the employer and it w 11 ultimately impose no real additional burden upon him there Is a special bill to which I 1 call your attention secretary taft has ur gently recommended the immediate pas sage of a law providing for compensation to employed emp loyes of the government injured in the work of the ishm an canal and that be appropriated tor this pur pose each year I 1 earnestly hope this will be done and that a special b 11 be passed ng the case of yardmaster banton who vas injured nearly two years ago wh ie do ng his duty he is now help lesi to support his alte and bis three little boys action urged to R abuses of the on I 1 again call your attention to the need of some action in connection with the abuse of injunctions in labor cases As regards the rights and wrongs of labor and capital from blacklisting to bodycot ting the whole subject Is covered in ad mirable fashion by the report of the anthracite coal strike commission which report should u as a chart for the guidance of both legislative and exec autive officers As regards injunctions I 1 can do 11 tie but repeat what I 1 have said in my last message to the congress edep tho gh it were possible I 1 should con elder it most unwise to abolish the use of the process of injunction it Is feces sary in order that the courts may main tain their own d gelty and in order that they may in effective manner check disorder and violence the judge who uses it cautiously and conservatively but who when the need arises uses it tear lessly confers the greatest service upon our people and his preeminent useful ness as a servant sho id be hearte ly recognized but there Is no question in my mind that it has sometimes been used heedless and unjustly and that of the injunctions issued inal ct grave and anally irreparable wrong upon those enjo ned it Is a 1 wro g to use the to prevent the ent rely proper and ie t mate actions of labor organ in the r e for industry al better nent or under tl e gu se of protect ng property un to avade the tun da rights of the india dual it is rut ie to concede as we all do the rigl t and the necess ty of organized organised sed effort on the part of wage earners and yet by in junca ve process to forbid peaceable ac alon to accomplish the lawful objects for which they are organ zed and upon wh ch the r success depends the tact that the pun ashment tor the violation of an injunction must to make the order effective iv e ir ly be sun and w phout the interment Int ervent on of a jury mal es its issuance in doubtful cases a danger ous practice and in itself furnishes a reason why the process should be sur rounded with safeguards to protect in divi duals against be ng enjo ned from ex arcis ng the r proper rights reasonable no ice should be g ven the adverse party tl Is matter is daily becom ng of graver importance and I 1 can not too urgently re ammend that the congress give care ful consideration to the subject it some way of remedying the abuses is not found the feeling of ind aga ast them among large numbers of our citizens will tend to grow so extreme as to produce a revolt against the whole use of the process of injunction the ultra consert atiles who object to cutting out the abuses will do well to remember that if the popular feeling does become strong many of those upon whom they rely to defend them will be the first to turn against them men of property can not afford to trust to anyta ing save the sp rit of justice and fair play for those very public n en wl while it is to their in terest defend all the abuses committed by capital and pose as the champions of conservatism w 11 the moment they think their interest changes take the lead in just such a matter as this and pander to what they esteem popular feel ing by endeavoring tor instance et to destroy the power of the courts in matters of injunction and will even seek to render nugatory the power to pun sh fur contempt upon which pow er the very existence of the orderly ad ministration of justice depends it Is my purpose as soon as may be to submit some further recommendations in reference to our laws regular ng labor conditions within the sphere of federal authority A very recent decision of the supreme court of the united states ren dered since th s message was written in the case of adair vs united states seemingly of far reaching import and of very serious probable consequences has modified the previously entertained views on the powers of the congress in the premises to such a degree as to make necessary careful cons de ration of the opinions therein filed before it is pos sible definitely to decide in what way to call the matter to bour attention asks federal supera s on of interstate carriers not only should there be action on tain la vs affecting wage earners there should also be such act on on laws bet ter to secure control over the great busi ness concerns engaged in interstate corn merce and espee ally over the great corn mon carriers the interstate commerce commission should be empowered to pass upon any rate or practice on its own initiative moreover it should be provided that whenever the comm aslon has reason to bel eve tl at a proposed ad van e in a rate ought not to be made without investigation it should have au tl or ty to issue an order prohibiting tl e advance pend ng ex aminat on by the commission I 1 would not be understood as expressing an opinion that any or even a majority of these advances are improper many of the rates n th s country have been abnormally low the ng expenses of our railroads notably the wages paid railroad employed emp loyes have greatly in creased these and other causes may in any given case justify an advance in rates and it so tl e advance should be per bitted and approved but there may be and doubtless are cases where th s is not true and our law should be so framed that the government as tl e rep of the whole people can pro hect the individual against unlawful ex action for the use of these 1 agh ways the interstate commerce corn mission should be provided with the means to make a physical valuation of any road as to whick it deems this atlon necessary in some form the fed eral government should exercise super vision 01 er the financial operations of our interstate railroads in no other way can justice be done between the private owners of those properties and the pub lie which pay the r charges when once an inflated cap tal has gone upon the market and has become fixed in value its existence must be recognized As a practical matter it is then often absolutely necessary to take account of the thousands of innocent stockholders who have purchased their stock in good faith the usual result of such inflation is therefore to impose upon the public an unnecessary but everlasting tax while the innocent purchasers of the stock are also harmed and only a few spec gators are benefited such wrongs when once shed can with dit faculty be undone but they can be pre vented with safety and with justice when con pt interstate railways must obtain government sanction when it is no longer possible for an interstate railway to issue stock or bonds save in the manner approved by the federal gov when that government makes sure that the proceeds of every stock and bond issue go into the improvement of the and not the enrichment of some individual or syndicate when whenever it becomes mater al tor guld ance in tl e regulative act on of the gov the physical value of one if hese pro artles i determined and made known arc T be allm bated from railroad securities that element 0 un certainty which lends to them their spec quality and which has buted much to the al stress of the re cent past would permit pool no of ra broad interests in this connection I 1 desire to repeat my recommendation that railways be per eted to form traffic associations for the purpose of conferring about and agree ing upon rates regulations and practices affecting interstate business in wh ch the members of tl e association are mutually interested tl s does not mean that they should be given the right to pool the r earnings or their traffic the law re quires that rates sl all be so adjusted as not to d scrim nate between individuals local ties or different species of traffic ordinarily rates by all competing lines must be the same As appi ed to cond alons the ra iway ons of this country can not be conducted ac cord ng to law without what Is valent to conference and agreement the articles under whick such associate ons operate should be approved by the commission a 1 their ons should be open to inspection and the rates regula t ons and practices upon wh ch they agree should be subject to disapproval by the comm ss on I 1 urge tl Is last provision with the same earnestness tl at I 1 do the others this count T avides its ra iway fac 1 ties by private capital those facil ties will not be adequate unless the cap tal employed is assured of just treatment and an ade quate return in fixing the charges of our railroads I 1 bel e e that cons der ng tl e interests of the public alone it Is bet ter to allow too 1 beral rather than too scanty earn nas tor othera se there Is grave danger that our ra iway develop n ent may not keep pace with tl e demand tor transportation but the fundamental idea that these ra eways are pub h gh ways must be recognized and they must be open to the wl ole pub upon equal terms and upon reasonable terms in reference to the sherman anti trust law I 1 repeat the ons made in my message at the opening of the pres ent congress as well as in my message to the previous congress the attempt in th s law to provide in sweeping terms against all combinations of whatever character it ni all in le of trade as bucl restraint has been defined by the courts n ly be either futile or and sometimes both the present law makes some corn bi nations illegal albl ough they may be useful to the country on the other hand as to some huge comb nat ons wh ch are both noxious and illegal even it the ac alon undertaken against them under the law by the government is successful the result may be to work but a min mum benefit to the public even though the combination be broken up and a small measure of reform thereby produced the real good aimed at can not be obtained for such real good can come only by a thorough and continuing supera s on over the acts of the on in all its parts so as to prevent stock watering improper forms of com petit on and in short wrongdoing genera ly tl e law should correct t at portion of the sher ma act which prohibits all ons of tl e character above |