SIZZLING MESSAGE SESIIO CONGRESS PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT SCORES BIG CORPORATIONS BECAUSE OF THEIR ATTITUDE. STANDARD'S METHODS ARE TORN TO PIECES Tendency of Oil Concern to "Over- Awe, Crush and Disdain Public," Proves Warm Theme in Chief's Communication, "President Roosevelt's sizzling mes sage to congress asked the enactment •of a fair employers' liability law. more powers for the Interstate Commerce Commission, and the executive again calltd to the attention of the law makers his campaign against the "spe cially privileged rich." Regarding the employers' liability aet. recently de clared unconstitutional by the supreme ■court, the president said: "AH regards the employers' liability law. 1 advocate its Immediate reenaet mont. limiting its scope so that it shall apply only to the class of ases as to which the court says it can constitu tionally apply, but strengthening its provisions within this scope. Interstate employment being thus covered by an adequate national law. the field of in trastate employment will be left to the action of the several states. With this clear definition of responsibility the states will undoubtedly give to the performance of their duty within ttieir Held the consideration the importance of the subject demands. "I also very urgently advise that a com prehensive act be passed providing for compensation by the government to all employes injured in the government service. Under the present law an in jured workman in the employment of the government lias no remedy, and the entire burden of the accident falls 011 the helpless man. his wife, and his young children. This Is an outrage. It is a matter of humiliation to the na tion that there should not he on our statute books provision to meet and partially atone for cruel misfortune v.'bcn it comes upon a man through no fault of his own while faithfully serv ing the public." Assails Injunction Abuse. Abuse of the use of the injunction In labor cases provided another theme for the executive. He declared there is some need for action regarding the rights and wrongs of labor from black listing to boycotting. Continuing, he said: "As regards Injunctions, T can do lit tle but repeat what 1 have said in my last message to congress. Kven though it were possible. I should consider it most unwise to abolish the use of the process of injunction. It Is necessary in order that the courts may maintain their own dignity and in order that they may in effective manner check <iisord( r anil violence. The judge who tises it cautiously and conservatively, tint who. when the need arises, uses it fearlessly, conf< rs the greatest ser vice upon our people, and his preemi nent usefulness as a public servant should be heartily recognized. Hut there is no question in my mind that It has sometimes been used heedlessly and unjustly, and that some of the in junctions issued inflict grave and oc casionally irreparable wrong upon those enjoined." That the Santa Fe railroad president had guilty knowledge of rebating is an assertion which the executive made with effect. In his message he in closed ]i tiers of correspondence, which be declared point to the truth of his statements. His words in this con nection are; "In enclose herewith a statement is sued l>y the chief of the bureau of cor porations in answer to certain state ments (which I also enclose), made by and on behalf of the agents of the Standard Oil Corporation anil a letter of the attorney-general containing an answer to certain statements, also in closed, made by the president of the Santa Fe Railway Company. The Standard Oil Corporation and the rail way company have both been found guilty by the courts of criminal mis conduct; both have been sentenced to pay heavy fines; and each has issued »nd published broadcast these state mints-, asserting their innocence and denouncing as improper the action of the courts and juries in convicting them of guilt. These statements are very ■elaborate, are very ingenious, and are untruthful in important particulars. The letter and inclosure from Mr. Heney sufficiently illustrate the meth ods of the high officials of the Santa Fe and show the utter falsity of their plea of iennranoe, the similar plea of the Standard Oil being equally with out foundation." "Would See Traffic Associations. Uniformity of railroad rates was an other one of the executive's themes which is of interest to the general pub lic. and President Roosevelt advised a pool of traffic associations for the pur pose of conferring on rates. In that connection be coutluned as follows: "I desire to repeat my recommenda tion that railways he permitted to form traffic associations for the purpose of conferring about and agreeing upon rates, regulations, and practices affect ing interstate business in which the members of the association are mu tually interested. This does not mean that they should lie given the right to pool their earnings or their traffic The law requires that rates shall be so adjusted as not to discriminate be tween individuals, localities, or differ ent species of traffic. Ordinarily rates by all competing lines must lie the same As applied to practical conditions, the railway operations of this country can not be conducted according to law ■without what is equivalent to confer ence and agreement. The articles un ■der which such associations operate .should be approved by the commission a?l their operations should be open to public inspection; and the rates regu lations, and practices upon which they agree should be subject to disapproval by the commission. Then followed a "roast" on the "evil rich " The president told of the cam paign which the wealthy lawbreakers conducted and set forth remedial legis lation. His statement in that regard follows: "Under no circumstances would we countenance attacks upon law-abiding property, or do aught but condemn those who hold up rich men as being evil men because of their riches On the contrary, our whole effort is to in sist upon conduct, and neither wealth nor property nor any other class distinction, as being the proper standard by which to Judge the actions of men. For the hon est man of great wealth wc have a hearty regard, just as we have a hearty regard for the honest politician and hon est newspaper. Hut part of the move ment to uphold honesty must be a move ment to frown on dishonesty. We at tack only corrupt men of wealth, who find in the purchased politician the most efficient instrument of corruption and in the purchased newspaper the most effi cient defender of corruption. Our main quarrel is not with these agents and representatives of the Interests. They derive their chief power from the great sinister offenders who stand behind them. They are but puppets who move as the strings are pulled. It is not the puppets, but the strong cunning men and Hie mighty forces working for evil behind and through the puppets, with whom we have to deal. We seek to con trol law-defying wealth; ill the first place to prevent its doing dire evil to the re public, and in the next place to avoid the vindictive and dreadful radicalism which, if left uncontrnlied, it Is certain in the end to arouse." Big Corporations Are Hit. By easy stages the president drew near to the Standard Oil trouble of a short time ago, and then he told of alleged methods of the Rockefeller syndicate to "overawt common carriers. crush out every competitor and look down upon the people with a contempt which the public deserves as long 11s it permits such men to act Willi Impunity." II was at that point and in connection with th» Insur ance and Chicago A- Alton scandals that Mr. It' osevelt took the heaviest fall out of wealthy corporations which have her n held to account by the government. The message continued: "The keynote of all these attacks upon tlie effort to secure honesty 'n business and 111 politics is well expressed In bra zen protests against any effort for the moral regeneration of the business world, 011 the ground that It is unnatural, un warranted and Injurious, and that busi ness panic is the necessary penalty for such effort to secure business honesty. The morality of such a plea is precisely as great as if made 011 behalf of the men caught in a gambling establishment when that gambling establishment is raided by the police. If such words mean anything they mean that those whose sentiments they represent stand against the effort to bring about a moral regeneration of business which will prevent a repetition of the in surance. banking and street railroad scandals In New York; a repetition of the Chicago <fc Alton deal; a repetition of the combination between certain pro fessional politicians, certain professional labor leaders, and certain big financiers, from the disgrace of which San Francis co has just been rescued; a repetition of the successful effort by the Standard Oil people to crush out every competitor, to overawe the common carriers, and to establish a monopoly which treats the public with a contempt which the public deserves so long as It permits men of such principles and such sentiments to avow and act on them with impunity. The outcry again?*, stopping dish'nest practices among wrongdoers who hap pen to bo wealthy is precisely similar to the outcry raised against every effort for cleanliness and decency in city gov ernment, because, forsooth, it will 'hurt business.' " Tells of Criticising Judges. "Our opponents have recently been bit terly criticising the two Judges referred to in tin- accompanying communications from the Standard Oil Company and the Santa Fe Railroad for having imposed heavy fines on these two corporations, and yet these same critics of these two judges exhaust themselves in denounc ing the most respectful and cautious discussion of the official action of a Judge which results in immunity to wealthy and powerful wrongdoers. Most certain ly it behooves us all to treat with the utmost respect the high office of judge; and our judges, as a whole, tre brave and upright men. Respect for the law must go hand In hand with respect for the judges: and, as a whole, it is true now as in the past that the judges stand in character and service above all other men among their fellow-servants of the public. Tlio Judge who does Ills full duty well stands higher, and renders a better service to the people, than any other public servant; he is entitled to greater respect; and if he is a true ser vant of the people. If he is upright, wise and fearless, he will unhesitatingly dis regard even the wishes of the people If they conflict with the eternal prin ciples of right as against wrong. He must serve the people; but he must serve his own conscience first. All honor to such a judge: and all honor can not be rendered him If It Is rendered equally to his brethren who fall immeasurably below the high ideals for which he stands. Untruthful criticism is wicked at all times, and whoever may be the ob ject: but it is a peculiarly flagrant in iquity when a judge is the object. No man should lightly criticise a judge; no man should, even In his own mind, con demn a judge unless he Is sure of the facts. If a judge is assailed for stand ing against popular folly, and above all for standing against mob violence, all honorable men should rally instantly to his support. Nevertheless if he clearly fails to do his dutv by the public in dealing with lawbreaklng corporations, lawbreaking men of wealth, lie must ex pect to feel the weight of public opin ion; and this is but right, for except in extreme cases this is the only way in which lie can be reached at all. No ser vant of the people lias a right to expect to be free from just and honest criticism. "An Ethical Movement." "The opponents of the measures we champion single out now one and now another measure for especial attack, and speak as if the movement in which we arc engaged was purely economic. It has a large economic side, hut it is funda mentally an ethical movement. It Is not a movement to be completed in one year, or two years or three years; it is a movement which must be persevered in until the spirit which lies behind It sinks deep into the heart and the conscience of the whole people. It is always im portant to choose the right means to achieve our purpose, but it is even more important to keep this purpose clearly before us; and this purpose is to secure national honesty in business and in politics. We do not subscribe to the cynical belief that dishonesty and unfair dealing are essential to business success, n.n'l Jirt* to bo conflonffl when the success is moderate and applauded when the success is great. The methods by which the Standard Oil people and those engaged in the other combinations of which I have spoken above have achieved great fortunes can only be jus tified by the advocacy of a system of morality which would also justify every form of criminality on the part of a labor union, and every form of violence, corruption, and fraud, from murder to bribery and ballot-box stuffing in poli tics. We are trying to secure equality of opportunity for all; and the struggle for honesty is the same whether It Is made on behalf of one set of men or of another. In the interest of the small settlers and landowners, and against the embittered opposition of wealthy owners of huge wandering flocks of sheep, or of corporations desiring to rob the people of coal and timber, we strive to put an end to the theft of public land In the west When we do this, and protest against the action of all men, whether in public life or In private life, who either take part In or refuse to try to stop such theft, we are really engaged in the same policy as when we endeavor to put n stop to rebates or to prevent the upgrowth of uncontrolled monopolies. Our effort Is simply to enforce the prin ciples of common honesty and common sense It would indeed be 111 for the country should there be any halt in our work." State Government Must Aid. the state or national gov ernment must undertake the regula tion. of which the president spoke, ami the executive asked the common wealths to share the responsibility of curbing those corporations, which are I accused of evil-doing. "Of course in any event both the national and state governments must each do its part," said President Roosevelt's message, and each can do a certain amount that the other cannot do. while the only really satisfactory results must be obtained by the representatives of the national and state governments working heartily together within their respective spheres. Hut In my judg ment thorough-going and satisfactory control can in the end only be obtained by the action of the national govern ment. for almost all the corporations of enormous wealth —that is, the corpo rations which it is especially desirable to control—are engaged in interstate commerce, and derive their power and their importance not from that portion of their business which is intrastate, but from the interstate business. It is not easy always to decide just where the line of demarcation between the two kinds of business falls. This line must ulti mately be drawn by the federal courts. Much of the effort to secure adequate control of the great corpora tions by state action has been wise and effective, but much of it has been neither; for when the effort is made to accomplish by the action of the state what can only be accomplished by the action of the nation, the result can only be disappointment, and jn the end tho I law will probably be declared uncon stitutional. So likewise in the national arena, we who believe in the measures herein advocated are hampered and not aided by the extremists who advo cate action so violent that it would either be useless or else would cause more mischief than it would remedy. Points to the Future. "The laws must In the future he ad ministered as they are now being ad ministered, so that the department of CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1.908. Justice may continue to be, wha It now is, in very fact the department of jus tice, where mi far .is our ability per mits justice is meted out with an even hand to great and small, rich and poor, weak and strong. Moreover, there should bo no del yin supplementing the laws now on t! t statute books by the enactment of .irther legislation as outlined in the message X sent to the congress on its assembling. Under the existing laws much, very much, has been actually accomplished during the past six years, and it has been shown by actual ej perience that they can be enforced ag inst the wealthiest cor poration and the richest and most pow erful manager or manipulator of that corporation, as rigorously and fearless ly as against the humblest offender. Above all, they have been enforced against the very wrongdoers and agents of wrongdoers who have for so many years gone scot-free and flouted the laws with impunity, against great law-defying corpora tions of immense wealth, which, until within the last half dozen years have treated themselves nnd have expected others to treat them as being beyond and above all possible cheek from law. It is especially necessary to secure to the representatives of the national gov ernment full power to deal with the great corporations engaged in inter state comirce, and above all. with the great Interstate common carriers. Our people should cleany recognize that while there are difficulties In any course of conduct to be follow d in dealing with these great corpo ations, these difficulties must be faced, and one of three courses followed. The fl' it course is to tbandon all effort to ov r see and contro. their actions In the in terest of the genera public and to per' mit a return to the utter '.ack of cor trol which wrai'd obtain if they we i left to the common law. I do not for one moment believe that our people would tole—'e this position. The ex traordinary growth of mode; indus trialism has rendered the connn in law, which grew up under and was adapt ed to deal with totally different condi tions, in many respects inadequate to deal with the new conditions. These new conditions make it necessary to shackle cunning as in the past we have shackled force. The vast individual and corporate fortunes, the vast com binations of capital, which havojnarked the development of our industrial sys tem. create new conditions, und neces sitate a change from the old attitude of the state and the nation toward the rules regulating the acquisition and untrammeled business use of prop erty, in order both that property may be adequately protected, and that at the same time those who hold it may be prevented from wrongdoing. Talks of Financial Stress. "We have just pased through two months of acute financial stress. At any such time it is a sad fact that en tirely innocent people sufer from no fault of their own; and every one must feel the keenest sympathy for the largo body of honest business men. of honest investors, of honest wagework ers, who suffer because Involved In a crash for which they are in no way responsible. At such a time there is a natural tendency on the part of many men to feel gloomy and frightened at the outlook; but there Is no justifica tion for this feeling. There is no na tion so absolutely sure of ultimate suc cess as ours. Of course we shall suc ceed. Ours is a nation of masterful energy, with a continent for its domain, and it feols within its veins the thrill which comes to those who know that they possess the future. We are not cast down by the fear of failure. We are upheld by the confident hope of ul timate triumph. The wrongs that ex ist are to be corrected; but they in no way Justify doubt as to the final out come, doubt as to the great material prosperity of the future, or of the lofty spiritual life which is to be built upon that prosperity as a foundation. No misdeeds done In the present must bo permitted to shroud from our eyes the glorious future of the nation; but be cause of this very fact it behooves us never to swerve from our resolute pur pose to cut out wrongdoing and uphold what is right. I do not for a moment believe that the actions of this admin istration have brought on business dis tress; so far as this is due to local and not world-wide causes, and to the ac tions of any particular individuals, it is due to the speculative folly and fla grant dishonesty of a few men of great wealth, who seek to shield themselves from the effects of their own wrong doing by ascribing its results to the actions of those who have sought to put a stop to the wrongdoing. Hut if it were true that to cut out rottenness from the body politic meant a mo mentary check to an unhealthy seeming prosperity. I should not for one moment hesitate to put the knife to the corruption. On behalf of all our people, on behalf 110 less of the honest man of means than of the hon est man who earns each day's liveli hood by the day's sweat of his brow, it is necessary to insist upon honesty in business and in politics alike, in all walks of life, In big things and In little things; upon just and fair dealing as Ktween man and man. Those who demand this are striving for the right in the spirit of Abraham Lincoln," said the president in conclusion. FEW FREAKS IN ARCHITECTURE. Eccentricity on the Part of Those Building and Furnishing Houses. Instances of eccentricity on the part of those building and furnishing houses are common enough in every community. The following instances of freakishness in that regard may be cited in illustration of certain phases. A Russian gentleman has erected at a cost of 8,000 rubles on his country estate at Savinowka, in Podolia, a 16- room house made entirely of paper. This house, which was constructed in New York, is calculated by its archi tect to last longer than would a stone building. The whole of the furniture, too, is made from the same material. In County Westmeath, Ireland, a house has been built whereof all the windows are made to resemble in out line the backs of of easy chairs, being thus constructed by its eccentric own eer to match the backs of a set of chairs in the dining-room. In Connecticut a certain land owner, thinking that the view from his house lacked a church, proceeded to supply its place by erecting a row of cottages so designed as to resemble, from his side, the edifice required. Approached from the other direction, however, the sham is at once manifest. Some years ago a man of scientific attainments, as well as of considerable means, elected to live in a tree in a suburb of Washington—that is, he en joyed his leisure moments in the branches of the tree itself, where he had caused to be built a platform large enough to accommodate easy chairs and such other furniture as he desired to make use of during the day. At the base of the tree, however, and surrounding it was built a struc ture of brick and stone inclosing the sleeping apartments of this eccentric individual. For many years this unique residence was one of the sights of the national capital. One of the oddest houses ever con structed was the fruit of a French man's inventive fancy. This was the "revolving house," a structure actual ly built upon casters, so to speak, in order that the occupant might by means of an ingenious mechanism at any time roll it about, obtaining what ever light and air his fancy dictated. WATERLOGGED ON THE FINANCIAL SEA IS THE STEAMSHIP COMBINE MR. MORSE SET AFLOAT. REQUEST FOR RECEIVERSHIP Is Made by Creditors—Founder of tho Combine Sought to Control All Steamship Lines on the Atlantic Coast. Boston, Mass. Proceedings iu this ity for a receivership for the Co*..ioli<Kced Steamship Co. were in stituted Thursday simultaneously with .hose in- the courts at Portland, Me., and New York. The action waa brought by William A. Muller, of Ar lington, Mass., whose counsel filed three bills of complaint against the consolidated and also against two sub sidiary companies, the Eastern and Metropolitan steamship companies. It is expected that as soon as tho United States court in New York acta upon the petition filed there, similar proceedings will result in the courts here and in Portland. The (Mfficuities of the Consolidated Steamship Co. are regarded by bank ers here as the result of excessive steamship building and failure on the part of the company to provide a sink ing fund for the bonds of the six com panies that were consolidated by Charles W. Morse, of Bath, Me. It was Mr. Morse's ambition to con trol all the steamship companies en gaged in the coastwise trade. Two years ago he consolidated all the steamship lines running between Bos ton and Maine ports under the head of the Eastern Steamship Co. He then obtained control of the Metropolitan Steamship Co. with a line of boats between this city and New York, and later secured four lines running south from New York, the New York and Cuba mail route, known as the Ward line; the Clyde Steamship Co., the Mallory Steamship Co. and the New York and Porto Rico Steamship Co. The Consolidated Steamship Lines Co., a Maine corporation, was then formed as a holding company for these six lines, with an authorized bond issue of $60,000,000 at 4 per cent and $62,- 000,000 in stock. As soon as the consolidation was effected a contract was made for the construction of a number of steam ships and the first production in this line was the Harvard and Yale, which ran between this city and New York Tor two months last fail. Tho finan cial condition of the Consolidated Steamship Co. during the latter part of the summer began to attract at tention, especially when it was learned that over $3,000,000 had been taken from the earnings of the six companies in order to pay for the Harvard and Yale. When the financial crash came last October which carried down several financial institutions in which Morse was heavily interested, support was withdrawn from his steamship enter prise and talk of a reorganization gained wide circulation. While no such reorganization yet has taken place, a committee has been at work upon plans to that end and the com ponent companies have been operated under separate managements. As a result of the troubles which came to the big holding company the January interest on the $60,000,000 issue of bonds was not paid. AMERICANS BUY WAR RELICS. Flag of the Man-of-War Chesapeake and the Balaklava Bugle Are Sold at Auction. London, England.—The flag of the American man-of-war Chesapeake and the "Balaklava bugle," two of the most valuable war relics of a collec tion of antiquities that belonged to the late T. C. Middlebrook, were se cured Thursday at the auction sale of the collection for American buyers. The Chesapeake flag was captured in the fight with the British ship Shan non in 1813 and there was good bid ding for the faded and torn piece of bunting, the authenticity of which Is vouched for in a written history of ownership since Midshipman Grundy, of the royal navy, came in possession of the trophy nearly a century ago. The flag was sold for $4,250 to a London art dealer, who also pur chased the bugle for $1,500. It was upon this instrument that the order to the famous Light Brigade to charge at the battle of Balaklava was sound ed. The dealer admitted that these highly interesting curios had been purchased by him for different parties in America, but more than this he would not say. According to the Tribune the Ches apeake flag goes to J. Pierpont Mor gan. Congress. Washington.—The urgent deficiency bill, carrying an appropriation of $23,- 664,000, was passed by tho house on the 30th. The Aid rich banking bill was reported to the senate from the finance committee and Mr. Aldrieh announced that he would call it up for consideration on February 10. Killed a Prohibition Bill. Columbia, S. C.—-Tho prohibition bill was killed in the house of repre sentatives Thursday by the vote of 64 to 53. The senate is also opposed to prohibition. Nine Miners Killed. Charleston, W. Ya. —Nine min ers met sudden death Thursday in the New River colliery near Hawks Nest in an explosion that partly wrecked the mine. About 25 men were in the mine at. tho time of the explosion. Those who escaped suf fered only slight Injuries. Shot Three of His Children. Chicago, 111. —William 11. Mputsch, a carriage maker at 410 Armitage ave nue, cn Thursday shot and killed one of his daughters, 5 years old, and fa tally wounded his two other children. The cause of the crime is not known. I Balcom 6 Lloyd. I jj WE have the best stocked ■ general store in the couoty fi and if yon are looking for re- H liable goods at reasonable H prices, we are ready to serve H yon with the best to be found. / p Onr reputation for trust ? worthy goods and fkir dealing 8 is too well known to sell any jjf but high grade goods. j| g Onr stock of Queensware and It H Ohinaware is seleoted with | H great care and we have some { JBj of the most handsome dishes I m ever shown in this section, J M both in imported and domestic J H makes. We invite yon to visit ■ us and look our goods over. I | Balcom & Lloyd, J nSS3E3£3fc3EZSEB3ES2I3fcS3EKKS3kS3E3ES2n |J 11 LOOK ELSEWHERE BUT DON'T FORGET |j l| THESE PRICES AND FACTS AT L g | LaBAR SI 1 || ' ~~ « U We carry in stock ' - || |£ the largest line of Car- . r ' | J pets, Linoleums and ' lrßSni] njHHHIffiH , El Mattings of all kinds .. *!l m £2 ever brought to this QIHCQXuIiI S W town. Also a big line .">■■*-:&&&;'< «M i t J A very large line of FOR THE »J 1 £SSgF comam mm ri M Art Squares and of fine books choice Jibrary Rugs of all sizes and select the Idsalpattern pf M W kind, from the cheap- Wernicke "EJiStjfc" *4 II est to the best Furnished with bevej French || |[g plate or leaded glass doors. £ j |jg Dining Chairs, •««■« •' | Rockers and GEO. J. LaBAR, M High Chairs. sole Agent for Camaroh County. I |J 2 A large and elegant 1 » ' ——J ?3 2 line of Tufted and * Drop-head Couches. Beauties and at bargain prices. U jj |3O Bedroom Suits, OC |4O Sideboard, quar- ttOH 13 ■olid oak at SZ3 tered iak 3wU P™ !|2B Bedroom Suits, CO! |32 Sideboard, quar -4 solid oak at 4>£> tefod oak.'.: 4S&O * $25 Bed room Suits, OA |22 Sideboard, quar- tf lP solid oak at 4)Zu tered oak,.' «plu A large line of Dressers from Chiffoniers of all kinds and pa fcjg $S up. all prices. J II |1 fci The finest Une of Sewing Machines on the maj&st, fea || the "DQMKS'iIC" and "EEDRIB&E.' All || fl heads and warranted. g5 A fine line O'f Dishes, common grade and China, in j *3 sets and by the piece. S* As I keep a full line of everything that goes to $* li make up a good Furniture store, it is us«ess to enum- ifl fa erate them all. $] Please call and see for yo,urself that I am te'JJipg kg you the truth, and if you don't buy, there is no Irafin y done, as it is no trouble to show goSfls. t| GEO. J .LaBAR. i\ *4 uszszssxassxESSJisssrsESsil 3
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