proposed amendment to the constitution of the United States, providing
for the popular election of senators:
"I favor this change in the federal constitution, as I shall every
other change that will restore the government to the control of the
people. I want the people, in fact as well as in theory, to rule
this great republic and the government at all times to be
responsive to their just demands."
Again, in speaking of the value of human life and its conservation,
Governor Sulzer says:
"If Americans would excel other nations in commerce, in
manufacture, in science, in intellectual growth, and in all other
humane attainments, we must first possess a people physically and
mentally sound. Any achievement that is purchased at the continued
sacrifice of human life does not advance our material resources,
but detracts from the wealth of the state. The leaders of our
civilization now realize these fundamental truths, and the
statesmen, the scientists, and the humanitarians are endeavoring
more and more to protect human life and to secure to each
individual not only the right to life, but the right to decent
standards of living.
"We have had to change old customs and repeal antiquated laws. We
must now convince employers that any industry that saps the
vitality and destroys the initiative of the workers is detrimental
to the interests of the state and menaces the general welfare of
the government. We must try to work out practical legislation that
will apply our social ideals and our views of industrial progress
to secure for our men, women and children the greatest possible
reserve of physical and mental force.
"I hold it to be self-evident that no industry has the right to
sacrifice human life for its profit, but that just as each industry
must reckon in its cost of production the material waste, so it
should also count as a part of the cost of production the human
waste which it employs.... No business has an inalienable right to
child labor. No industry has a right to rob the state of that which
constitutes its greatest wealth. No commerce that depends on child
labor for its success has a right to exist. Let us do what we can
to protect the children of the state and preserve their fundamental
rights.... Human life is infinitely more valuable than the profit
of material things. The state for its own preservation has the
right to demand the use of safer and more hygienic methods, even if
at greater cost of production to the employer. Occupational
diseases should be studied, and the results of careful
investigation embodied in laws to safeguard the health and lives of
the workers."
Governor Craig of North Carolina, another Democrat, but from the more
conservative southland, strikes the same note, when he says:
"We have not realized the moral benefits that should have resulted
from modern progress. Avarice has been stimulated; hope and
opportunity have been denied; antagonism and resentment have been
generated. All classes have suffered. We realize the conditions;
the injustice has been uncovered. It cannot stand in the clear,
calm and resolute gaze of the American people. They are determined
that our law shall be based upon a higher conception of social
obligation and that our civilization shall mean a higher social
life. They have put their hands to the plow and will not look
back."
Let me quote from one more Democratic governor, this time a voice from
the far West. Governor Hunt of Arizona says:
"Recent political events of national magnitude and world-wide
importance clearly prove the people's awakening to their
necessities, their duties and responsibilities. The overwhelming
triumph of militant progressive democracy and the simultaneous
springing into prominent existence of another great party founded
upon and professing the championship of those cardinal principles
of popular government which have long been synonymous with
progressive democracy, discloses a miraculous growth of progressive
conviction, a well-nigh unanimous determination on the part of the
people to assume full control of the government which, while over
them, is rightfully of and for them, marks a leading epoch in the
history of the world's advancement."
The National Progressive Party could scarcely have hoped to accomplish
more than to bring such sentiments and these high aims to the fore, in
the officially announced purposes of their late antagonists who were the
victors in the recent elections. When we remember, however, the
initiative and responsibility in legislation which the chief executive
in nation and state has come to have in our system, the fact that the
above quoted passages are typical of all the governors' messages is
doubly significant. It warrants us in believing that the hour has struck
when the things for which the social workers of the country have striven
will become vital in the organization of American society.
More detailed examination of the recommendations of the governors shows
some interesting tendencies. If the advice of the governors is followed
some system of workmen's compensation will supplement or supersede our
antiquated and unsocial system of employers' liability. This is the
subject upon which public opinion seems to have most definitely
crystallized. No less than twenty-one governors make definite favorable
recommendations, and in three cases (Arizona, California and Oregon) a
state system of insurance is advocated. If all of these states were
added to those that already have passed adequate compensation laws, the
system of workmen's compensation would be extended practically over all
of the industrial area of the United States. This result seems
inevitable, although the work may not be completed in this legislative
year.
Next to workmen's compensation in point of popularity seems to be the
necessity for a public utilities law, or a public service commission, or
the extension of the powers of state supervisory authorities over public
service corporations. This is a subject of positive recommendation on
the part of fourteen governors. In an equal number of states the pending
amendment to the United States constitution providing for the popular or
direct election of Senators receives a favorable recommendation, while
in the other states the governors transmit the amendment without comment
for appropriate action by the legislature. The Kentucky Blue Sky Law, or
some similar provision for state supervision of investment proposals and
securities offered for public subscription, is the subject of comment
and positive recommendation in eleven states.
In an equal number of commonwealths important recommendations are made
with respect to increasing the powers of their labor departments,
including factory inspection and other provisions for the enforcement of
the labor laws. Several governors express a desire for a much more
serious recognition of the state's duties in its relations to labor,
especially that of women and children. In some instances--notably Ohio,
where an industrial commission is proposed, Wisconsin, whose industrial
commission, already the model for several other states, is to have
increased powers, and New York, for which an industrial commission is
also proposed--such recommendations are far-reaching and would mean a
practical reorganization of this department of state activity. The
governor of Rhode Island recommends the adoption of a fifty-four hour
law to harmonize with recent legislation in New York and Massachusetts.
In North Carolina a stronger child labor law is urged, and in Wyoming
the prohibition of the employment of boys under sixteen in mines. This
would bring Wyoming up to the standard already adopted in the leading
mining states.
Popular government still has need of better agencies for expression, and
numerous reforms in the organization of state governments are proposed.
Restlessness under antiquated constitutional limitations is manifest
everywhere. President Wilson in his last message as governor of New
Jersey, voiced this feeling in strong language. He said:
"I urge upon you very earnestly indeed the need and demand for a
Constitutional Convention. The powers of corrupt control have a
numerous and abiding advantage under our constitutional
arrangements as they stand. We shall not be free from them until we
get a different system of representation and a different system of
official responsibility. I hope that this question will be taken up
by the legislature at once and a constitutional convention arranged
for without delay, in which the new forces of our day may speak and
may have a chance to establish their ascendancy over the rule of
machines and bosses."
Similarly a constitutional convention is urged or numerous
constitutional amendments are proposed in six other states. The short
ballot is advocated in six; the initiative, referendum and recall as a
means of extending the control of the people over their legislation is
recommended in nine states, in most of which a constitutional amendment
would be necessary; and the adoption of rules to carry out a
constitutional amendment already passed is recommended in Idaho. A
larger measure of home rule for cities is urged by the governors of six
states (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and
Missouri). The United States constitutional amendment providing for the
income tax is urged for favorable adoption in three states. An amendment
to the state constitution providing for woman suffrage is favorably
recommended in five states (New York, Pennsylvania, Montana, Nevada and
Iowa), and the immediate extension of suffrage to women in municipal
affairs by the governor of Connecticut. Direct Primaries are still an
issue in two states (New York and Tennessee). The need for stronger
corrupt practices acts is presented in three states. Three governors
also declare for a direct presidential preference primary (Iowa,
Minnesota and Wyoming), while ballot reform is advocated in three states
(Maine, Michigan and Wyoming).
Better legislative methods and the establishment of a legislative
reference, research and drafting bureau are proposed in four states
(Arizona, Minnesota, Ohio and Oklahoma). The governor of Arizona asks
for an anti-lobbying statute. The fiscal policy of the state is a matter
of some comment in practically every message, and in five states
measures for taxation reform are proposed. In five states, including one
of the previous group, the governors recommend an increase of
inheritance taxes or the establishment of an inheritance tax where it
does not already exist.
Constructive and far-reaching measures are suggested pertaining to
public health. A decided awakening is noticeable in this field. Eight
governors recommend more or less definite reorganization of the public
health service and an extension of the powers of the public health
authorities, state and local. In one additional state (New York) the
governor has appointed an important commission. The results of its
labors will probably be enacted into law at this session of the
legislature. Pure food legislation and better protection of weights and
measures receive attention in two states each, as does the greater
restriction of the liquor traffic in two states. Special provision for
the care of tuberculous persons is mentioned in five states.
Another important and popular subject of recommendation, in which the
results of the last annual conference of governors are noticeable,
concerns the better care of prisoners--their employment in outdoor work
and opportunities for earning wages, part of which shall go to reimburse
the state for the cost of their maintenance and part to the support of
their dependent families. These matters are subjects of favorable
recommendation in nine states. The general reform of the criminal law,
especially the shortening of legal processes and the restriction of the
right to appeal, is urged in four states, including Iowa, in which the
governor recommends the abolition of grand juries.
A direct tax in support of higher education is urged in three states,
and provision for the wider use of school buildings as social centers in
the same number. Even more significant, the governors of two states
(North Carolina and Tennessee) urge state-wide compulsory education. In
four commonwealths co-operation with other states is proposed in
accordance with the recent recommendation of President Taft addressed to
the governors of several states. This urged an extension of rural
credits and the provision of some plan similar to the land banks in
foreign countries, to help the farmer get the necessary capital for a
better system of agriculture. Minimum wage laws are proposed in five
states. In two of these and one additional state public aid to dependent
widows and mothers with children is recommended.
Curiously enough, the reform of marriage laws and of those providing a
remedy for desertion and non-support, a subject reported upon by the
Uniform Law Commissioners, does not figure so largely in the governors'
recommendations as would be supposed. The uniform law commissioners have
proposed an excellent and very carefully worked out statute for uniform
marriage and marriage license laws. This receives only partial
endorsement at the hands of three governors, while stricter desertion
and non-support laws also have the endorsement of three governors.
Guarantee of bank deposits is proposed in three states and three of the
western states (Arizona, Missouri and Tennessee) have recommendations
for an extension of state authority, or the establishment of a state
department, to induce immigrants to settle within their borders. A
better regulation of prize-fighting is being agitated in Nevada. Its
prohibition, along with that of gambling, is strongly urged by the
governors of New Mexico and Oklahoma. The governor of Arizona asks for a
statute prohibiting the carrying of concealed weapons, while the
governor of South Carolina asks the legislature to repeal the present
statute on this subject in that state.
Non-partisan election of judges is recommended in Idaho and
Pennsylvania, and the Kansas legislature is asked to petition for an
amendment to the constitution of the United States to provide for the
election of federal judges.
Better care of juvenile delinquents, state-wide supervision of moving
picture shows, stricter regulation of loan sharks, better inspection of
mines, and compulsory arbitration of labor disputes are each recommended
in at least one state.
Thirty-nine legislatures have already met this year, and some of them
have completed their legislative sessions. Two more will convene within
the next three months, making forty-one in all which will play a part
this year in the formulation of the statute law of the country. Our
statute law is already increasing in volume at a rate that has caused
some alarm. It is sorely in need of revision in many important
particulars. Statesmen and reformers alike desire earnestly that it be
undertaken with greater care and more painstaking labor in order that
our state laws may give better expression to the present standards of
conduct and to the needs of our own times.
THE SAND BED
CHARLES W. JEROME
I have a sand bed, and I play
There in the sand for half the day.
And mother comes, and sits by me;
And little sister likes to see
The many things I make of sand.
But she's too young to understand
About the houses and the hills
The mines and stores and flouring mills
And then I make believe, and say
My sand bed is the sunny bay;
These blocks are boats, and far away
They sail all night and sail all day,
And carry iron. When they return
They bring us coal that we may burn.
And now my sand bed is a farm.
This is the barn. Here, safe from harm,
My horses and my cows I keep.
These sheds are for the wooly sheep.
And there you see my piggies's pens.
This yard holds in the lively hens.
This is the garden, where I hoe
My plants; and here the flowers grow.
These sticks are pines, so straight, so tall
And dark. But these aren't half of all
The things I make each pleasant day
Out in the sand bed where I play.
[Illustration: MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA, IN 1842
A view of the town as it was before the "Gringo" came. Four years later
during the Mexican War Commodore Stockton captured Monterey and left
Walter Colton, a naval chaplain, in charge as Alcalde.]
A JUDGE LINDSEY OF THE "IDLE FORTIES"
LAURA B. EVERETT
Under the colorless title Three Years in California was published in
1850 the diary of Walter Colton, elected Alcalde of Monterey in 1846,
who, during his term of office presented what was, for that day, a
singular spectacle of tolerance, humanity and purity of administration.
He can, indeed, be reasonably compared with Judge Lindsey in the courage
and originality displayed in his dealings with the criminal cases
brought before him.
Colton's work in Monterey succeeded a period spent as editor of the
Philadelphia _North American_, and he established later _The
Californian_, the first newspaper published in California.
The office of the Alcalde combined administrative and judicial functions
and, not seldom, even legislative ones. Colton was oppressed by his
power and its responsibility. "Such absolute disposal of questions
affecting property and personal liberty," he observes, "never ought to
be confided to one man. There is not a judge on any bench in England or
the United States whose power is so absolute as that of the Alcalde of
Monterey." But he brought to his work in all its details an unflagging
zeal and constant personal attention which made his administration
unique in the history of the time.
In minor matters, where, as he says, "the Alcalde is himself the law,"
Colton devised methods of appealing to the better instincts of the
wrongdoer. "There is a string in every man's breast," he writes, "which,
if you can rightly touch, will 'discourse music.'" Colton, we see from
his diary, put a sensitive finger on this string in many a heart.
His ideas of punishment belong to the present. "It is difficult," he
says, "to discriminate between offences which flow from moral hardihood
and those which result in a measure from untoward circumstances. There
is a wide difference between the two; and an Alcalde under the Mexican
law has a large scope in which to exercise his sense of moral justice.
Better to err a furlong with mercy than a fathom with cruelty. Unmerited
punishment never yet reformed its subject; to suppose it is a libel on
the human soul."
The following extracts from his account of cases brought before him are
representative:
"A lad of fourteen years was brought before me today charged with
stealing a horse. The evidence of the larceny was conclusive, but
what punishment to inflict was the question. We have no house of
correction, and to sentence him to the ball and chain on the public
works, among hardened culprits, was to cut off all hope of
amendment and inflict an indelible stigma on the youth; so I sent
for the father, who had no good reputation himself, and placing a
riata in his hand, directed him to inflict twenty-four lashes on
his thieving boy. He proceeded as far as twelve, when I stopped
him; they were enough. They seemed inflicted by one attempting to
atone in this form for his own transgressions. 'Inflict the rest,
Soto, on your own evil example; if you had been upright yourself,
you might expect truth and honesty in your boy. You are more
responsible than this lad for his crime; you can never chastise him
into the right path, and continue yourself to travel in the
wrong.'"
"Today I remitted the sentence of my prison cook. He is a Mulatto,
a native of San Domingo; had drifted into California, was attached
in a subordinate capacity to Colonel Fremont's battalion; and while
the troops were quartered in town had robbed the drawer of a liquor
shop of two hundred dollars. For this offence I had sentenced him
to two years on the public works. Discovering early some reliable
traits about the fellow, ... I soon made him cook to the rest of
the prisoners, and allowed him the privilege of the town, so far as
his duties in that capacity were required.... I have trusted him
with money to purchase provisions, and he has faithfully accounted
for every shilling. He has always been kind and attentive to the
sick. For these faithful services I have remitted the remainder of
his sentence, which would have confined him nine months longer, and
have put him on a pay of thirty dollars per month as cook."
The Alcalde settled family difficulties of all varieties, from the case
of the grown son who struck his mother to that of the man who wanted a
divorce because of suspicions he entertained of his wife's conduct
during his absence in Mexico. The judge questioned the plaintiff
severely as to his own behavior during the stay in Mexico, and convinced
him that the wife, though indiscreet, was too good for him.
[Illustration: From "_Sea and Shore_"
WALTER COLTON
Alcalde of Monterey in 1846. The position combined administrative,
judicial and even legislative duties.]
After nearly six months as Alcalde, Colton writes:
"Of the women I have had to deal with here the washerwomen are the
most unmanageable. Two of them entered my office today as full of
fight as the feline antagonists of Kilkenny. It seems they had been
washing in one of the pools created by the recent showers, when one
had taken that part of the margin previously occupied by the other.
War offensive and defensive immediately commenced. One drew a knife
which had a blade two mortal inches in length, and the other a
sharp ivory bodkin. But what their weapons wanted in terror, their
ungentle anger supplied.
"At last one cried out: 'The Alcalde'; the other echoed it, and
both rushed to the office to have their difficulties settled. Their
stories ran together like two conflicting rivulets forced into the
same channel. When the tumult and bubble had a little subsided, I
began cautiously to angle for the truth--a difficult trout to catch
in such waters. But one darter after another was captured, till I
had enough to form some opinion of those that had escaped. These we
discussed till bitter feeling, like biting hunger, became appeased.
Both went away declaring either margin of the pool good enough, and
each urging on the other the first choice."
One deficiency which Colton had to supply was the absence of a
penitentiary system. To quote:
"There are no workhouses here, no buildings adapted to the purpose,
no tools and no trades. The custom has been to fine Spaniards and
whip Indians. The discrimination is unjust, and the punishment
ill-suited to the ends proposed. I have substituted labor, and now
have eight Indians, three Californians, and one Englishman at work
making adobes [sun-dried bricks]. They have all been sentenced for
stealing horses or bullocks. I have given them their task; each is
to make fifty adobes a day, and for all over this they are paid.
They make seventy-five, and for the additional twenty-five each one
gets as many cents. This is paid to them every Saturday night, and
they are allowed to get with it anything but rum. They are
comfortably lodged and fed by the government. I have appointed one
of their number captain. They work in the field; require no other
guard; not one of them has attempted to run away."
Later, Colton had to deal with runaways; two Mexicans each telling him
that the devil incited their flight, while one fellow who stayed behind
in a jail delivery explained that he would not be seen running from
Tophet in such company.
Of a convict who escaped and was brought back Colton says:
"If he will only stop stealing he may run to earth's utmost verge.
He is rather a hardened character, but if he has a good vein in him
I will try to find it. I always like to see a fellow get out of
trouble, and sometimes I half forget his crimes in his misfortunes.
This is not right, perhaps, in one situated as I am; but I cannot
help it."