PRESIDENT SCORES
CORPORATE ABUSES
IN SPECIAL MESSAGE
Calls for Legislation Against Ills
to Which Country Is
Heir.
NOT TO BLAME FOR PANIC
“Policies of Administration Are Earnest
ly Defended Against Critics—Docu
ment One of Most Striking
State Papers of History.
Washington, Feb. 3. — President
Roosevelt today sent to congress a
special me see ere, in which he vigor
ously defen-5 the course of the ad
oi.nfsiration in its correction of cor
porate abuses, and recommends legis
lation along various lines. The mes
sage. which Is In many respects one
of the most remarkable state papers
over submitted, follows.
The recent decision of the supreme
court in regard to the employers’ liability
set, the experience of the Interstate Com
merce commission and of the department
of Justice in enforcing the Interstate com
merce and anti-trust laws, and the grave
ly significant attitude toward the law and
Its administration recently adopted by
certain heads of great corporations, ren
der it desirable that there should be ad
ditional legislation as regards certain of
the relations between labor and capital,
and between the great corporations and
As regards the employers’ liability law,
I advocate Its immediate re-enactment,
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
tills scope. Interstate employment being
thus covered by an adequate rational law.
the held of intrastate employment will
be left to the action of the several states.
With this clear definition of responsibility
the states will undoubtedly give the per
formance of their duty within their field
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 ser
vice. Under the present laws an injured
workman in the employment of the gov
ernment 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 humiliation to the nation that there
«hould not be on our statute books 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.
The same broad principle which
ehonld apply to the government
•should ultimately be made applic
able to all private employers
Where the nation has the power it should
•enact laws to this effect. Where the
•states akme have the power they should
snact the laws. It is to be observed that
an employers’ liability law does not really
mean mulcting employers in damages. Tt
merely throws upon the employer the bur
den of accident Insurance against injur
ies which are sure to occur.
As to Injunctions.
T again call your attention to the ne-'l
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 boycot
ting. the whole subiect Is covered in ad
mirable fashion by the report of the
anthracite coal strike commission, which
report should serve as a c hart for the
guidance of both legislative and executive
officers. As regards injunctions. 1 can do
little but repeat what I have said in my
last message to the congress. Even
though It were possible. T should consider
tt 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 thev mav
In effective manner check disorder and
violence.. The judge who uses it cautious
ly and conservatively, but who. when the
need arises, use it fearlessly, confers th*
greatest service upon our people, and his
pre-eminent usefulness as a public serv
ant should be. heartily recognized. But
there Jr no question in my mind that It
bus sometimes been used heedlessly and
unjustly, and that some of the injunc
tions issued inflict grave and occasionally
irreparable wrong upon those enjoined
This matter \v .5aily becoming of graver ,
Importance, and I can not too urgently
recommi .m that the congress give careful
consideration to the subject. if some
way of remedying the abuses is not i
found the feeling of indignation against
them among large numbers of our 1
citizens will tend to grow so extreme as
to produce a revolt against the whole
use of the process of injunction. The
ultra-conservatives who object to cutting
out the abuses will do well to remember |
that if the popular feeling does become 1
strong many of those upon whom they
rclv to defend them will he the first to :
turn against them. Men of property can i
not afford to trust to anything save the
spirit of justice and fair play; for those
very public men who. while it is to their
Interest, defend all the abuses committed
by capital and pose as the champions of
conservatism, will, the moment they
think their interest changes, take the
lead in just such a matter as this and
nander to what they esteem popular feel
ing by endeavorlag. for instance, effec
tively to destroy the power of the courts
In matters of injunction; and will even
seek to render nugatory the power to
funlRh for contempt, upon which power
he very1 existence of the orderly admin
istration of justice depends.
i It In my purpose as soon as may be :
t to submit some further recommenda- ;
i lions In reference to our laws rcgu- :
: latlng labor conditions within the :
i sphere of federal authority. A very :
: recent decision of the supreme court :
: of the United States rendered since :
: this message was written. In the case :
: of Adair vs. United States, seemingly :
: of far reaching Import and of very :
i 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 consideration :
: of the opinions therein filed before it :
: Is possible definitely to decide in what :
: way to call the matter to your atten- :
: tlon. :
t :
Control of Railroads.
Not only should there be action on cer
tain laws affecting wage earners; there
■should also be such action on laws better
to secure control over the great business
concerns engaged in Interstate commerce,
ond especially over the great common
carriers. The Interstate Commerce com
inis* ion should be empowered to pass
upon any rate or prac tlce on its own in
itiative. Moreover, It should be provided
that whenever tl»o commission has reason
to believe that a proposed advance in a
rate ought not to bo made without in
vestigation, it should have authority to
Issue an order prohibiting the advance
pending examination by the commission.
: The Interstate Commerce comm is- ;
; sioi; should ho provided wMth the :
: means to make a physical valuation :
: of any road as to which It deems this ;
: value tlon necessary. :
In some form the federal government
*houid exercise supervision over the
financial operations of our interstate rail
roads. In no other way can justice be
done between the private owners of those
.properties and thfe public which pay their
charges. When once an Inflated capital
ization has go.vo upon the market and
has become fix oil in value, its existence
must be ro> ogntaed. Ao a practical mat
ter it is then often absolutely necessary
<o tako account of the thousands of in
nocent stockholders who have purchased
their stock In good faith. The usual re
sult of such inflation is therefore to im
pose upon the public an unnecessary but
everlasting tax, while the Innocent pur
chasers of the stock are also harmed and
only a few speculators are benefited. Such
wrongs when once accomplished can with
difficulty be undone: but they can be pre
\ anted with safety and with justice.
When combinations of 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
ernment; when that government makes
sure tha t the proceeds of every stock and
bond issue go into the Improvement of
the property and not the enrichment of
some individual or syndicate; when,
whenever it becomes material for guid
ance in the regulative action of the gov
ernment. the physical value of one of
these properties is determined and made
known—there will be eliminated from
railroad securities that element of un
certainty which lends to them their spec
ulative quality and which has contributed
much to the financial stress of the recent
past.
1 think that the federal government
must also assume a certain measure of
control over the physical operation of
railways in the handling of interstate
traffic. The commission now has author
ity to establish through routes and joint
rates. In order to make this provision
effective and in order to promote in times
of necessity the proper movement of traf
fic, I think It must also have authority to
determine the conditions upon which cars
shall be interchanged between different
interstate railways. It is also probable
that the commission should have author
ity. in particular instances, to determine
the schedule upon which perishable com
modities shall be moved.
in rererence to tr.a tsnerman anti-trust
law, I repeat the recommendations made
in my message at the opening of the
present congress, as well as In my mes
sage to the previous congress. The at
tempt In this law to provide In sweeping
terms against all combinations of what
ever character, if technically in restraint
of trade as such restraint has been de
fined by the courts, must necessarily be
either futile or mischievous, and some
times both. The present law makes some
combinations illegal, although they may
be useful to the country. On the other
hand, as to some huge combinations which
are both noxious and Illegal, even If the
action undertaken against them under the
law by the government is successful, the
result may be to work but a minimum
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 supervision over
the acts of the combination in all its
parts, so as to prevent stock watering,
improper forms of competition, and, in
short, wrong doing generally. The law
should correct that portion of the Sher
man act which prohibits all combinations
of the character above described, whether
they he reasonable or unreasonable; but
this should he done only as part of a gen
eral scheme to provide for this effective
and thorough going supervision bv the
national government of all the operations
of the big Interstate business concerns.
Campaign Against Privileges.
Superficially it may seem that the laws,
the passage of which I herein again ad
vocate—for I have repeatedly advocated
them before—are not connected. But in
reality they are connected. Each and
every one of these laws, If enacted, would
represent part of the campaign against
privilege, part of the campaign to make
the class of great property holders
realize that property has Its duties no
less than its rights. When the courts
guarantee to the employer, as they should,
the rights of the employer, and to prop
erty the rights of property, they should
no less emphatically make It evident that
they will exact from property and from
the employer the duties which should
neeessarly accompany thpsc rights; and
hitherto our taws have failed in precisely
this point of enforcing the performance
of duty by the man of property toward
the man who works for him, by the man
of great wealth, especially if he uses that
wealth in corporate form, toward the in
vestor, the wageworker and the general
public. The permanent failure of the man
of property to fulfill his obligations would
uttmately assure the wresting from him of
the privileges which he is entitled to enjoy
only if he recognizes the obligations ac
companying them. Those who assume or
share the responsibility for this failure are
rendering hut a poor service to the cause
which they believe they champion.
I do not know whether it Is possible,
but if possible, it is certainly desirable,
that in connection with measures to re
strain stock watering and overcapitaliza
tton there should be measures taken to
prevent at least the grosser forms of gam
bling in securities and commodities, such
as making large sales of what men do
not possess and "cornering" the market.
Legitimate purchases of commodities and
of stocks and securities for investment
have no connection whatever with pur
chaser of stocks or other securities or
commodities on a margin for speculative
and gambling purposes. There is no moral
difference between gambling at cards or
in lotteries or on the race track and gam
bling in the stock market. One method
is just as pernicious to the body politic
as the other in kind, and In degree the
evil worked la far greater. Bnt it is a
far more difficult subject with which to
deal. The great bulk of the business
transacted on the exchanges is not only
legitimate, but is necessary to the work
ing of our modern industrial system, and
extreme care would have to be taken
not to interfere with this business in doing
away with the "bucket shop" type of oix-r
ation. It would seem that the federal
government could at least act by for
bidding the use of the malls, telegraph
and telephone wires for mere gambling in
stocks and futures, just as it does in
lottery transactions.
Letters btiow l rust Methods.
I Inclose herewith n statement issued by
the chief of the bureau of corporation's
in answer to certain statements (which I
also inclose) made by and on behalf of
the agents of the Standard Oil corporation
and a letter of the attorney general con
taining an answer to certain statements,
also inclosed, made by the president of
the Santa Fe Railway company. The
Standard Oil corporation and the
railway company have both been
found guilty by the courts of criminal
misconduct; both have been sentenced to
pay heavy fines; and each has issued and
published broadcast these statement®, as
serting 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 following letter and in
closure from Mr. Heney sufficiently illus
trate the methods of the high officials
of the Santa Fe and ehow the utter fal
sity of their plea of ignorance, the similar
plea of the Standard Oil being equally
without foundation:
"Department of Justice, Office of the
United States Attorney, District of Ore
gon, Portland. Jan. 11, 1908.—The Presi
dent, Washington, D. C.—Dear Mr. Presi
dent: I understand that Mr. Ripley, of
the Atchison. Topeka Sc Santa Fe railway
system, has commented with some severity
upon your attitude toward the payment
of rebates by certain transcontinental
railroads and that he has declared that
he personally never knew anything about
any rebates being granted by his road.
• * * I Inclose you herewith copy of
a letter from Edward Chambers, general
freight traffic manager of the Atchison,
Topeka & Santa Fe railway system, to
Mr. G. A. Davidson, auditor of the same
company, dated February 27, 1907. * * *
This letter does not deal with interstate
shipments, but the constitution of the state
of California makes the payment of re
bates by railroads a felony, and Mr. Rip
ley has apparently not been above the
commission of crime to secure business. 1
You are at liberty to use this inclosure j
in any way that you think it can be of 1
service to yourself or the public. * * •
Sincerely, yours,
“Francis J. Heney.“
“San Francisco, February 27, 1907—Dear
Sir: I hand you herewith a file of papers
covering the movement of fuel oil shipped
by the Associated Oil company over our
line from January 1. 1906, up to and in
cluding November 15, 1906.
"We agreed with the Associated Oil
company’s negotiations with Mr. Ripley,
Mr. Wells, and myself, that hi considera
tion of iheir making us a special price
on oil for company use, which is cov
ered by a contract, and the further con
sideration that we would take a certain
quantity, they would in turn ship from
Bakersfield over our line to San Fran
cisco bay unities a certain minimum num
ber of barrels of fuel oil at rate of 25 cents
per barrel from Bakersfield, exclusive of
the switching charge.
“These statements cover the movement
except that they have included Stockton,
which is not correct, as it Is not a bay
point and could not be reached as con
veniently by water. We have paid them
on account of this movement $7,239 which
should be deducted from the total of
movement shown in the attached papers.
“I wish you would arrange to make up
a statement, check the same, and refund
to the Associated Oil company down to
the basis of 25 cents per barrel from
Bakerslleld where they are the shippers,
regardless of who is consignee, as all their
fuel oil is sold delivered. Yours truly,
“Edward Chamber#,
“Shlpmentfl-Associatcd Oil Company,
“Mr. G. A. Davidson, Auditor,
“Los Angeles.”
Reply to Attacks.
The attacks by these great corporations
on the administration’s actions have been
given a wide circulation throughout the
country, in the newspapers and otherwise,
by those writers and speakers who. con
sciously or unconsciously, act as the rep
resentatives of predatory wealth—of the
wealth accumulated on a giant scale by
all forms of iniquity, ranging from the
oppression of wageworkers to unfair and
unwholesome methods of crushing out
competition, and to defrauding the pub
lic by stock jobbing and the manipulation
of securities. Certain wealthy men of
this stamp, whose conduct should be ab
horrent to every man of ordinarily decent
conscience, and who commit the hideous
wrong of teaching our young men that
phenomena! business success must or
dinarily be based on dishonesty, have
during the last few months made It ap
parent that they have banded together
to work for a reaction. Their endeavor
Is to overthrow and discredit all who hon
estly administer the law, to preveat any
additional legislation which would check
and restrain them, and to secure If pos
sible a freedom from all restraint which
will permit every unscrupulous wrongdoer
to do what he wishes unchecked provided
he has enough money. The only way to
counteract the movement In which these
men are engaged is to make clear to the
public just what they have done in the
past and just what they are Booking to
accomplish in the present.
The administration and those who sup
port its views are net only not engaged
In an assault on property, but are stren
uous upholders of the rights of property.
Under no circumstances would we coun
tenance attacks upon lawabiding prop
erty, or do aught but condemn those who
hold up rich men as being evil men be
cause of their riches. On the contrary,
our whole effort Is to insist upon con
duct. 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 honest man of
Pfreat wealth we have a hearty regard.
Just as we have a hearty regard for the
honest politician and honest newspaper.
BiP. part of the movement to uphold hon
esty must be a movement to frown on
dishonesty*
We attack only the corrupt men of :
: wealth, who And In the purchased :
: politician the most efficient Instru- :
: ment of corruption and In (he pur- :
; chased newspaper the most efficient :
: 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 btit ;
: puppets who move as the strings
: are pulled.
It is not the puppets, but the :
: strong cunning men and the mighty :
: forces working for evil behind and :
: through the puppets, with whom we :
: have to deal. ;
•..
We seek to control law-defying wealth;
n the, first place to prevent Its doing dire
'Vil to the republic, and In the next place
to avoid the vindletivo and dreadful rad
icalism which, If left uncontrolled, It is
certain In the end to arouse. Sweeping
attacks upon all property, upon all men
if means, without regard to whether they
3o well or 111, would sound the death
knell of the republic; and such attacks
oecome inevitable If decent citizens per
mit those rich men whose lives are cor
rupt and evil to domineer in swollen
pride, unchecked and unhindered, over
the destinies of this country We act in
no vindictive spirit, and we are no re
specters of persons. If a labor union does
wrong, we oppose it as firmly as we op
pose a corporation which does wrong; and
we stand equally stoutly for the rights
if the man of wealth and for the rights
if the wageworker. We seek to protect
the property of every man who acts hon
;stly, of every corporation that represents
wealth honestly accumulated and honest
ly used. We seek to stop wrongdoing,
and we desire to punish the wrongdoers
only so faa- as la necessary to achieve this
end.
One Law for All.
tui'K4'' tuakvi >ai irttdlUS 1UI
those who serve with fidelity the mammon
3f unrighteousness; but they are dearly
paid for by the people who permit their
representatives, whether in public life, in
the press, or in the colleges where their
young men are taught, to preach and to
practice that there is one law for the
rich ard another for the poor. The
amount of money the i*epresentatlves of
certain great moneyed interests are wili
ng to spend can be ganged by their re
rent publication broadcast throughout the
papers of this country, from the Atlantic
lo the Pacific, of huge advertisements at
:aeklng with envenomed bitter the admin
istration's policy of warring against suc
cessful dishonesty, and by their circula
tion of pamphlets and books prepared
with the same object; while they likewise
push the circulation of the writings and
speeches of men who, whether because
they are misled, or because, seeing the
ight, they yet are willing to sin against
the light, serve these their masters of
?rcat wealth to th6 coat of the plain peo
ple. The books and pamphlets, the
controlled newspapers, the speeches
py public or private men to
which 1 refer, are usually and especially
n the interest of the Standard Oil trust
md of certain notorious railroad combina
tions, but they also defend other Indi
viduals and corporation of great wealth
that have been guilty of wrongdoing. It
s only rarely that the men responsible
.'or the wrongdoing themselves speak or
write. Normally they hire others to do
their bidding, or find others who will do
t without hire. From the railroad rate
aw to the pure food law, every measure
'or honesty in business that has been
jassed during the last six years has been
>pp6sed by these men on its passage and
n its administration with every resource
hat bitter and unscrupulous craft could
juggest and the command of almost un
lmited money secure.
But for the last year the attack ha? jeen
■nade with most bitterness upon the actual
Administration of the law, especially
through the department of justice, but
Also through the Interstate Commerce
commission and the bureau of corpora
ilons. The extraordinary violence of the
Assaults upon our policy contained in these
jpeeches, editorials, articles, advertise
ments, and pamphlets, and the enormous
>uins of money spent in these various
ways give a fairly accurate measure of
;he anger and terror which our public
Actions have caused the corrupt men of
imst wealth to feel in the very marrow
>f their being. The attack is sometimes
made openly against us for enforcing the
aw. and sometimes with a certain clin
ging, for not trying to enforce it In some
)tfcer way than that which experience
’hows to be practical. One of the favorite
method** of the Latter class of assailant
s to attack the administration for not
procuring the Imprisonment Instead of the
ine of offenders under these anti-trust
aws. The man making this assault is
usually either a prominent lawyer or an
editor who takes his policy from the finan
viers and his arguments from their attor
neys. If the former, he has defended and
Advised many wealthy malefactors, and he
oio».s well that, thanks to the advice of
,awycis .ike himself, a certain kind of
modern corporation has been turned into
*n admirable instrument by which to
render it well nigh Impossible to get at
the head of the corporation, at the man
who is really most guilty. When we arc
Able to put the real wrongdoer In prison
this is what we strive to do; this is what
we love actually done with some vary
wealthy criminals, who, moreover, repre
sented that most baneful of all alliances,
Lhe alliance between the corruption of or
ganized politics and the corruption of high
finance. This is what we have done in
the Gaynor and Greene case, In the case
jf the misapplication of funds in con
nection with certain great banks In Chi
cago, in the land ftax’d cases, where, as
;n other cares likewise, neither the hWh
eat politico, p^ltion nor the pot&ett&ion
r
RECOMMENDATIONS.
Among the most important recom
mendations of the president are the fol
lowing:
The immediate re-enaetment of the
employers' liability law.
The passage of an act providing com
pensation from the government for all
persons injured in its service.
Regulation of the use of the injunc
tion in labor matters.
Provide the Interstate Commerce
commission with the means to make a
physical valuation of any railroad as
to which the valuation seems neces
sary.
Declaring his firm belief that the
financial distress was not brought on
by the actions of the administration,
but by world wide causes, the presi
dent makes a strong reply to his critics
in which lie reiterates his faith that the
government should attempt to scourge
the country of sin. He does not re
treat one lota in his policy heretofore
declared.
As he progresses in the discussion of
the subject he grows more emphatic
and the best passages of his message
are to be found near Its close.
of great wealth has availed to save the
offenders from prison.
: The federal government does :
: scourge sin; It does bid sinners
: fear; for it has put behind the :
: bars with Impartial severity, the :
: powerful financier, the powerful :
: politician, the rich land thief, the :
: rich contractor—all, no matter :
: how high their station, against :
: whom criminal misdeed* can be
: proved. All their wealth and :
: power cannot protect them. ;
But It often happens that the effort to
Imprison a given defendant is certain to
be futile, while it Is possible to fine him
or to fine the corporation of which he Is
head; so that, in other words, the only
way of punishing the wrong is by fining
the corporation, unless we are content to
proceed personally against the minor
agents. The corporation lawyers to whom
I refer and their employers are the men
mainly responsible for th'a state of things,
and their responsibility is shared with all
who ingeniously oppose the passing of just
and effective laws, or who fall to execute
them when they have been put on the
statute books.
“Innocent Stockholders.”
Much is said, In these attacks upon the
policy of the present administration, about
I the righto of “innocent stockholders.’*
| That stockholder is not innocent who
! voluntarily purchases stock in a corpora
j tion whose methods and management he
knows to be corrupt; and stockholders are
j bound to try to secure honest manage*
| ment, or else are estopped from complain
ing about the proceedings the government
finds necessary in order to compel the
corporation to obey the law. There has
been In the paet grave wrong done inno
cent stockholders by overcapitalization,
stock-watering, stock-jobbing. «tock-ma
uipulatlon. This we have sought to pre
vent, first, by exposing the thing done and
punishing the offender when any existing
law had been violated; second, by recom
mending the passage of laws which would
make unlawful similar practices for the
future. The public men, lawyers, and
editors who loudly proclaim their sym
pathy for the “innocent stockholders”
when a groat law-defying corporation Is
punished, are the first 10 protest with
frantic vehemence against all efforts by
law to pt t a stop to the practices which
are the real and ultimate sources of the
damage alike to the stockholders and the
public. The apologists of successful dis
| honesty always declaim against any ef
fort to punish or prevent it, on the
ground that any such effort will “unsettle
business.” It 1b they who by their acts
have unsettled business; arid the very
men raising this cry spend hundreds of
thousands of dollars in securing, by
speech, editorial, book, or pamphlet, the
defense by mis-statements of what they
have done; and yet w'hen public servants
correct their mis-statements by telling
the truth they declaim against them for
breaking silence, lest “values be depreci
ated.” They have hurt honest business
men, honest workingmen, honest farm
ers; and now they clamor against the
truth being told.
The keynote of all these attacks upon
the effort to secure honesty in business
and in politics is well expressed in brazen
protests against any effort for the moral
regeneration of the business world, on
the ground that It is unnatural, unwar
ranted, and injurious, and that business
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 on 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 busi
ness which will prevent a repetition of
the insurance, banking, and street rail
road scandals In New York; a repetition
of the Chicago and Alton deal; a repe
tition of the combination between certain
professinal politicians, certain profes
sinal labor leaders, and certain big finan
ciers, from the disgrace of which San
Francisco has just been rescued; a repe
tition of the successful effort by the
Standard Oil people to crush out every
competitor, to overawe the common car
riers, and to establish a monopoly which
treats the public with 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 against stopping dia- :
: honest practices among wrongdoers :
: who happen to be wealthy is precise- :
: ly similar to the outcry raised :
; against every effort for cleanliness :
: and decency in city government, be- :
; cause, 1 orsooth, It will “hurt busl- :
: ness. :
The same outcry Is made against the
department of justice for prosecuting the
heads of colossal corporations that has
been made against the men who in San
Francisco have prosecuted with impartial
severity the wrongdoers among business
men, public officials, and labor leaders
alike. The principle is the same in the
two cases. Just as the blackmailer and
bribe giver stand on the same evil emi
nence of infamy, so the man who makes
an enormous fortune by corrupting leg
islatures and municipalities and fleecing
his stockholders and the public, stands on
the same moral level with the creature
who fattens on the blood money of the
gambling house and the saloon. More
over, in the last analysis, both kinds of
corruption are far more Intimately con
nected than would at first sight appear;
the wrongdoing is at bottom the same.
Corrupt business and corrupt politics act
and react with ever increasing debase
ment, one on the other; the corrupt head
of a corporation and the corrupt labor
leader are both in the same degree the en
emies of honest corporatiosn and honest
labor unions; the rebate taker, the fran
chise trafficker, the manipulator of se
curities, the purveyor and protector of
vice, the blackmailing ward boss, the bal
lot-box stutter, the demagogue, the mob
leader, the hired bully, and niankiller—
all alike work at the same web of cor
ruption, and all alike should be abhorred
by honest men.
Hurts Right Business.
The “business which is hurt by the
movement for honesty is the kind of bus
iness which, l.: the long run, it pays the
country to have hurt. It is the kind of
business which has tended to make the
very name “high finance" a term of scan
dal to which all honest American men of
business should jo.n in putting an end.
The special pleaders for business di.~hon
esty, in denouncing the present admin
istration for enforcing the law' against
the huge and corrupt corporations which
defied the law, also denounce it for en
deavoring to secure sadly needed labor
legislation, su< h as a far-reaching
law making employers liable for in
juries to their employees. It is meet
and lit that the apologists for corrupt
wealth should oppose every effort to re
lieve weak and helpless people from
crushing misfortune brought upon them
by injury In tlie business from which th« y
gain a bare livelihood. The burden shoti.d
be distributed. It is hypocritical baseness
to speak of a girl who works la a lac
tory where th« dangerous machinery Is
unprotected as having the "right" freely
to contract to expose herself to dangers
to life and limb. She hae no alternative
but to suffer want or else to expose her
self to such dangers, and when she loses
a hand or Is otherwise maimed or disfig
ured for life. It Is a moial wrong that
the whole burden of the risk necessarily
Incidental to the business should be placed
with crushing weight upon her weak
shoulders, and all who profit by her work
escape scot-free. This Is what opponents
of a Just employers’ liability law advo
cate; and It Is consistent that they should
usually also advocate immunity for those
most dangerous members of the criminal
class—the criminals of great wealth.
Our opponents have recently been bit
terly criticising the two Judges referred
to In the accompanying communications
from the Standard Oil company and the
Santa Fe railroad for having Imposed
heavy flues on these two corporations;
and yet these same critics of these two
Judges exhaust themselves In denouncing
the most respectful and cautious discus
sion of the official action of a Judge which
results In immunity to wealthy and pow
erful wrongdoers. Most certainly It be
hooves us all to treat with the utmost
respect the high office of Judge; and our
Judges, as a whole, arc brave and up
right men. Respect for the law must go
hand In hand with respect for the judges;
and. as a whole, It Is true now us In the
past that the Judges stand In character
and service above all other men among
their fellow servants of the public. There
Is all the greater need that the few who
fall In this great office, who fall below
this high standard of Integrity, of wis
dom. of sympathetic understanding and of
courage, should have their eyes opened
to the needs of their countrymen.
A judge who on the bench either :
: truckles to the mob and shrinks from :
: sternly repressing violence nnd dls- ;
: order, or bows down before a eorpor- :
: atlon; who falls to stand up valiantly :
: for the rlglVts of property on the one ;
: hand, or on the other by misuse of :
: the process of Injunction or by his :
: attitude toward all measures for the :
: betterment of the conditions of labor, :
: makes the wageworker feel with bit- :
: terness that the courts nre hostile to :
: him: or who falls to realize that all :
: public servants In their several sta- :
: tlons must strive to stop the abusos :
: of the criminal rich—such a man per- :
: forms an even worse service to the :
: body politic than the legislator or :
: executive who goes wrong. :
Spirit Is Ethical.
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
are engaged was purely economic. It has
a large economic aide, but it Is funda
mentally an ethical movement. It is not
a movement to be completed in one year, j
or two 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 conscl nee of the whole,
people. It Is always Important to
choose the rleht moans to achieve
our purpose, but It la even more important
to keep this purpose clearly before us:
and this purpose lei to secure national
honesty In business and politics. We do
not subscribe to the cynical belief that
dishonesty and unfair dealing are essen
tial to business success, and are to be
condoned when the sucocab Is moderate
and applauded when the success Is great.
: The methods by which the
: Standard Oil people and those en- :
: gaged In the other combinations :
: of which I have spoken above :
: have achieved great fortunes can :
: only be Justified 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 vio- :
: lence, corruption, and fraud, from :
: murder to bribery and ballot box ;
: stuffing In politics.
We are trying to secure equality of op
portunity for all; and the struggle for
honesty 1« the same whether it is made
on behalf of one set x)f men or of another.
In the interest of the small settlers and
landowners, and against the embittered
opposition of wealthy owners of huge wan
dering 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 al! 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 a stop to rebates or
to prevent the upgrowth of uncontrolled
monopolies. Our effort Is simply to en- j
force the principles of common honesty |
and common sense. It would indeed be
111 for the country should there be any
halt In our work.
Must Have Justice.
'T’Virt Iowa must tn the fnturo he admin
Istered as they are now being adminis
tered, so that the department of Justice
may continue to be, what it now is, in
very fact the department of justice, where
so far as our ablmj permits Justice is
meted out with an even hand to great
and small, rich and poor, weak and strong. !
Moreover, there should be no delay in j
supplementing the laws now on the statute
books by the enactment of further legis- j
latlon as outlined In the message I 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 experience that they can be enforced
against the wealthiest corporation and the
richest and most powerful manager or
manipulator of that corporation, as rigor
ously and fearlessly as against the hum
blest 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 corporations of Immense wealth,
which, until within the last half dozen
years, have treated themselves and have
expected others to treat them as being
beyond and above all possible check from
It Is especially necessary to secure to
the representatives of the natlonul gov
ernment full power to deal with the great
corporations engaged In Interstate com- ,
merce, and above all, with the great inter
state common carriers. Our people should
clearly recognize that while there are dif
ficulties In any course of conduct to be
followed In dealing with these great cor
porations, these difficulties must be faced,
and one of three courses followed.
The first course Is to abandon all effort
to oversee and control their actions In
the Interest of the general public and to
permit a return to the utter lack of con
trol which would obtain if they were left
to the common law. I do not for one
moment believe that our people would
tolerate this position. The extraordinary
growth of modern industrialism has ren
dered the common law, which grew up
under and was adopted to deal with totally
different conditions, in many respects in
adequate to deal with the new conditions.
These new conditions made it necessary
to shackle cunning as in the past we j
have shackled force. The vast Individual
and corporate fortunes, the vast combina
tions of capital, which have marked the
development or our Industrial system,
creat new conditions, and necessitate a
change from the old attitude of the etate
and the nation toward the rules regulat
ing the acquisition and untrammeled busi
ness use of property, in order both that
property may be adequately protected,
and that at the same time those who
hold it may be prevented from wrong
doing.
The second and third courses arc to
have the regulation undertaken either by
the nation or by the states. Of course
In any event both the national government
and the several si ate governments must
do each its part, 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 wo; king
heartily together within their respective
spheres.
: liut In my Judgment thoroughgoing :
; and satisfactory control can in the :
: end only be obtained by the action :
: of the national government, for al- :
; most all the corporations of enorm- :
: ous wealth—that is, tho corporations ;
: which it is especially desirable to :
: control—are engaged in interstate :
: commerce, and derive their [*ower :
: and their importance not from that :
; portion of their business which is In- :
: trastate, 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. Thin
line must ultimately bo drawn by
the federal courts. Much of the effort
to secure adequate control of the great
corporations by state action ha* been
wise and effective, but much of It has
been neither; for when the effort ts made
to accomplish by tho action of the etate
what can only be accomplished by the
action of the nation, the result can only
be disappointment, and In tho end the
law will probably be declared unconsti
tutional. So likewise In the national
arena, we who believe In the measures
herein advocated are hampered and not
aided by the extremists who advocate
anion so violent that tt would either be
useless or clas would cause more mischief
than it would remedy.
It can not too strongly be insisted that
the defenders and apologists of the great
corporations, who have sought tn the
past and still seek to prevent adequate
action by the federal government to con
trol these great corporations, are net
only proving false to the people, but are
laying up a day of wrath for tho great
corporations themselves. The nation will
not tolerate an utter lack of control over
very weaithy men of enormous power In
the industrial, and therefore tn the so
cial, lives of all our people,, some of
whom have shown themselves cynically
and brutally Indifferent to the Interests
of the people; and If the congress does
not act. with good tempered and sensible
but resolute thoroughness, In cutting a«i
the evils and In providing an effectlv# su
pervision, the result .Is certalri to be ac
tion on the part of the separate states,
sometimes wise, sometimes ill-judged and
extreme, sometimes unjust and damaging
to tho railroads or other corporations,
more often ineffective from every stand
point, because the federal courts declam
It unconstitutional.
Tha Panic.
We have just passed through two
months of acute financial stress. At any
such time It ts a sad fact that entirely
Innocent people suffer , trom no fault of
their own; and everyone must feel tho
keenest sympathy for the large body of
honest business men, of honest Investors,
of honest wageworkers, who surfer be
cause Involved tn a crash, for which they
are in no way responsible. At such a
time thero is a natural tendency on tho
part of many men to feef gloomy and
frightened at the outlook; but* there Is
no Justification for this feeling. Thero
Is no nation so absolutely sure of ulti
mate success an ours. Of course we shall
succeed. Ours Is a nation of masterly
energy, with a continent for Its domain,
and tt feels within its veins the thrill
which comes to those who know that
they possess tho future. We are not cast
down by the fear of failure. We are up
held by the confident hope of ultimate
triumph. The wrongs that exist are to
be corrected; but they In no way iustify
doubt as to the final outcome, doubt as
to the great material prosperity of tho
future, or of the lofty spiritual lffe which
ts to be oullt upon that prosperity as a
foundation. No mlsdeedB done In tha
present must be permitted to shroud from
our eyes the glorious future of the nation;
but because of this very fact It behoove*
us never lo swerve from our resolute pur
pose to cut out wrongdoing and uphold
what is right.
: I do not for a moment believe that x
: the actions of this administration t
: have brought ori.bustness distress; so I
: far as this ts due to local and not t
: World-Wide cause* and to the ac- X
: tlons of any particular Individuals, t
: It la due to the speculative folly and t
: flagrant dishonesty of a few men of :
; great wealth, who seek to shield x
: themselves from the effect of their I
: own wrongdoing by ascribing Its x
: results to the actions of those who t
: have sought to put a stop to tho :
: wrongdoing. I
But tf it were true that to cut out x
: rottenness from the body politic x
: meant a momentary check to an un- t
: healthy seemlhg pi^fcperlty, I should x
: not for one moment hesitate to put :
: the knife to the corruption. i
:. :
On behalf of all our people, on behalf
no less of the honeet man of means than
of the honest man who earns each day’s
livelihood by that day's sweat of his
brow. It Is necessary to Insist upon
honesty In business and politics alike, In
all walks of life. In big things and In lit
tle things; upon just and fair dealing as
between man and man. Those who de
mand this are striving for the right In
the spirit of Abraham I.lncolu when be
said;
"Fondly do we hope, fervently do we
pray, that this mighty scourge may
speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that
It continue until all the wealth piled by
the bondsmen's two hundred snd fifty
years of unrequited toll shall bo sunh.
nnd until every drop of blood drawn with
the lash shall be paid 6v another drawn
with the sword, as was said three thous
and years ago. so stilt It must be said,
•The judgments of the laird are true and
righteous altogether.’
"With malice toward none: with charity
for all; with firmness In the right, aa
God gives us to see the right, let ua
strive on to finish the work we are In."
In the work we of this generation are In,
there Is. thanks be to the Almighty, no
danger of bloodshed and no use for the
sword; but thero is grave need of those
stern qualities shown alike by the men
of the north nnd tho men of the south In
the dark days when gach valiantly bat
tled for the light ns It was given each
to see the light. Their spirit should be
our spirit, ns we strive to bring nearer
the day when greed and trickery and cun
ning shall be trampled under feet by those
who fight for the righteousness that «e
alteth a nation.
_ Theodore Roosevelt.
Atchison Globe Sights.
If a woman’s shoes don’t hurt her
corns, she claims they ore a size toe
large.
The living too often impoverish them
selves to erect monuments over the
dead.
Nothing will make a red headed wom
an more angry than to be asked If
she Is ready.
After a sick man recovers, and le
again able to eat, the first thing be
wants is sausage.
As a rule a boy doesn’t cars for »
rocking chair unless his sister happen*
to be occupying one.
What has become of .that article for
merly found in every kitchen, a bee
ket for holding chips.
Whenever a railroad man builds e
house, people expect to hear of hla be
ing translerred to another town.
Those persons who have a "pleco’*
they want printed In the papers should
have a care; a citizen who has been
quite persistent In this respect of latst
was lately declared Insane.
A thousand years after you are deed
there will be the same old things to
worry about; too much rain, or not
enough; financial flurries, lntemperanes
in eating and drinking, unfaithful
friends, etc. If you are able to over
come worries over the ordinary things
of life. It is a sign that you have ac
quired a title sense. If you “go to
pieces” over nothing, it is a sign you
have learned nothing.
They Said It Was Awful.
Novelist—Did you ever write a trag
edy?
Poet—I thought It was at first, but
from what the managers said I con
cluded it was a farce.
No matter how mueh u man’s funeral
costs. It save him a lot of money aft
erwards.
