) S————— EFORM PLAN The Regulation of Public Service Corporations is Necessary, CURRENCY R ————— Integrity of Administration of] Public Affairs a Duty That Ap- plies to All - Ma To the Senate and sentatives: No nation has greater than and I think it ean be truthfully said that the citizens of no| nation possess greater energy and in-| dustrial ability. In no nation the fundamental business econdi- | tions sounder than in at this] very moment; and it is foolish, when | such is the ease, for people to hoard money tead of keeping it in sound | banks; for it is such hoarding thai is the immediate occasion of money | stringency. Moreover, as a rule, the House of Repre- ! resources i ours, are Ours Ins business of onr people 15 cond 1eted | with hone sty and probity, and this applies a arms and factories, 1k war leg Interstate Commerce. ail pal i Lhe i extreme ti reliance, of independence mm Initiative fo compatible not became others. inevitably : he founders o the Constitution Nafional complete state praetie: save sueh and at thoron provided that tl hould hs af wad Government atid sole eontrol There 4 commerce, the i ersfate ducted by thiz the Natio wml Government ones conereg i tate ecommerce. As a ; imper by f . eral State partially j tending inef- Only ean fashion exercise the This does mean that there should be any extension of Federal authority already exists under the Constitution in amplest and most far-reaching form: but it doves that there should be an of Federal activity. This is not advocating een- tralization. It is merely looking facts in the face, and realizing that een- tralization in business has already eome and cannot be avoided or un done, and that the publie at large ean only protect itself from certain evil effeets of this business centraii- zation by providing better methods for the exercise of eontrol through the authority already centralized in the National Governinent by the Con- stitution itself. There must be halt dn the healthy eouree of aetion which this Nation has elected to pursne, and has stead- ily pureued, during the lash six years, ’ elege too cither ease fect: the | ional thoroug for purposes of justice, (lovernment in needed eo not authority, for sueh mean extension po x as shown both in the legislation of of im the most Department Justice. The vital need is As lo these, in my there should now be either tion aet or judgment a national incorpora- a law licening railway companies to engage in interstate upon certain conditions, to the Interstate Commerce] Commission power to pass upon the future issue of securities, while am- ple means should be provided to en- the Commission, whenever in its judgment it is necessary, to make a physical valutation of any railroad. As I stated in my Message to the Congress a year ago, railroads should be given power to enter into fo gree- ments, these agreen subject being made public in minute detail and to the consent of the Interstate! Commerce | obtained. { Commission being first i ' » § i ntil the National €6Gov-| interstate commeree, the exercise | : rity already in DOSKSESK i 3 it will be Qe [he rai great corp rations w be inerd¢ nt to power cCOneerns hig bu iness, i . i vikio: or the come Vision F 1 comnanied hy ti hl plsory aceounts and the subjeetion of books to the nspeetion of the Government officials. A beginning has already been made for supervision by the establishment the Bureau of Corporations, The antitrust law hibit combinations that do no injus- tice to the publie, still less those the existence of which is on the whois of benefit to the public. But even if this feature of the law were abolish and papers a11eh of not should pro- orpdration 3 by Id sits mei I9 1me post poi baotli thé DepaFimefit of Justice and the courts an imp susie burder : it is not feasible to carry om more ihan a limited nomber of such suif Such a law to be really ef fective must of course be administer- by executive body, and merely of lawsuits, to not BY means The taould be the abuses incident to the ercation of un- healthy and instead of waiting until they are in existence and then attempting to de soy them by eivil or eriminal pro- “| an design prevent improper combinations, ceedings, Pure-Food Law. Incidentally, in the passage of the pure-food law the action of State the var food and dairy in for 10Uus COmimis- striking fashion! the stoners showed how mueh good whole peo= the Federal and S!¢ offi In securing a given ig primarily to the Siule commissioners that of tion of cals ate Iti these the reform. of owe action we for dem: enactment this law; they | aroused the people, first the enactment State and enf the oreemoen laws and Federal las on sub ied Ee the the Kt ineffective, el west « whieh ate laws were mi Ther waperafion between and St Lil National © { e1 administering these laws Currency. In my message to Cong automatic and open {o all banks, so as to avesd all pos. ability of diserimination an i Such a plan would i uy § p : sapasma of In d favor. 4 sm. tond tO © SPIES prevent t! rh me and ion whieh New York market: for at is too currency tain seasons of the vear, and its nae- at New York lend it at low rates purposes; whereas y 3 apeeitlat now obtain In there much at cer for at fo speculative other moved large bul | rurreney supply. bankers there 18 urgent need for a temporary increase in the It must never be Any pian must, of course, guard the interests of and southern bankers as carefully as it guards the of New York or Chicago] bankers, and must be drawn from the | standpoints of the the | merchant the western Literests farmer and no than from standpoints of the eity banker aud the country banker.'’ I again urge on the Congress the | to this) less need of immediate attention tntter. We need IY in our currency; course, that we recognize need of a safe and There must alw examination by Provisi emergency A greated of | even | provided, he greater currency. secure 3 be he the Nat- ho rigid authorities, most ional uld | he for The emergeney issue made an curreney. would, of course be made with an effeetive guaranty, | and upon conditions earef y seribed by the issue must pre Government Such | be based on adequate securities approved by the | , be would must issued der a heavy tax, This being issue it Government, and un permit | cOomipaliies same super Orie Enforcement of Vent the Law, thorn vas WO Accidents. f life and limb life a al Government Ih N a model employ er. i d the highest qual iy uld Service its and it for all of them properly Congress should adopt providing limited but defi for 3 3 sno (ie of $44 a eMmMMovees tf ¥ in return. sialon nite compensation accidents to nil Federal power, including f th vy vards and arsenals, Eight-Hour Law, The shonld eonzider the extension of the t-hour law. The conslitutionality of the presént law has recently been ealled into question land the Supreme Court has decided that existing legislation is un- { questionably within the powers of | Congress. The principle of the eight- | hour day should as rapidly and as of en Congress aivh Pha the objectionable feature the difficulty and delay now incident to its en- forcement. The Government must now submit to irksome and repeatel delay before obtaining a final dees. ion of the courts upon proceedings instituted, and even a favorable de- e¢ree may mean an empty vietory, Moreover, to attempt to conirol these { business men generally quite as mueh {as bankers; espeeinlly is this true of | stockmen, farmers, and business men Lin the West; for at present at eer. tain seasons of the year the differ. ence in interest rates between the Bast and West is from 6 to 10 per cent, whereas in Canada the corres ponding difference is but 2 per eent. entire work carried on by the Gov- ernment; and the present law should be amended to embrace contracts on those public works whieh the present wording of the act has been eon strued to exclude. The general intro- duction of the eight-hour day sho be the goal toward whieh we should steadily tend, and the Government Compulsory Investigation of Indus trial Disputes. Strikes and lockouts, with and suffering, . ; For the vears end their at tendant loss continne to inerease, five number ol thio se strikes was greater than in ten years number in the " . hese figures previous and wi; the preceding ve indicate the ial creasing need of providing chinery to deal with this elas i Ll eral publie. The such in for vestigation the need of tel raph operators interfered with munication, bus eicnce 1134 ad! to the Inland Waterways. The conservation of o general i! EOUrces a Reports ring vear we mad profit foreign postal business of more than three and a half million dollars. The President that expended in improving the service, Oklahoma. Oklahoma has a standing on a full equality with her recommends beeome State, od bv her great natural resourees, The duty of the National Govern. ment to guard the personal and property rights of the Indians with- changed. German Tariff Agreement. A re-adjustment of the German tariffs made it necessary to appoint a comission composed of experts to investigate conditions and seceure the fullest measure of rights to shippers, both exporters and importers Porto Rico. I again recommend that the rights of citizenship be conferred upon the people of Porto Rico. A burean of mines should be created under the control and direction of the Seere- pertaining to mining and to the accidents d ai tidustr arte, naval i on iat , int the grea Thirteenth Cen: The The Philippines iary of War |} il piping {in sabmit to vou his International Burean o Republics. resuits 3 f One | orion: s Cayo on + 1 eriean erotics at it 1806 has he 3 § 1 the acliivily the summer crease a of the American Repu tion, whieh mel Republies in ' brings all their represents gether, 18 doing a i work in inform | United States abbut the ot her repube lies and in making the United States known to them. Its action is now limited by appropriations determined when it was doing a work on a much smaller scale and rendering much less { valuable service. 1 recommend that the contribution of this government to the expenses of the burear be made commensurate with its inereas- ed work. THEODORE ROOSEVELT, The White House, Dee. 3, 1007. a “ ness Internationn 3 1s realy ng the people of
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers