The herald., 1897-01-24

| manity are secondary to the rlgnts OF
their capital. we may inquire by what
| right the capital of the corporations,
pools and trusts is more sacred than the
| capital of the many. which is skill and
the power to labor. Is it the divine right
of kings or is it right that has been
| conferred upon them by man? Has man.
| kind created and conferred irrevocable
| rights and powers on these incorpora-
| ted bodis making the things created
| greater than their orator? If society has
! created institutions which have become
| and may continue to be its masters, and
| whose self-asserted rights it may not
oppose, the next step in the march OF
| human progress will be downward
one.
| Laws against these combinations
have been passed by our federal gov
| ernment and by nearly all the states
in the union, but through the power they
| have acquired they have defeated the
| prosecutions and evaded the penalties
of these laws. BY this they have weak
ened our social structure, for by neglect
| or failure to enforce the penalties for
| violations of the law on the few the
restraining influence of penalties is dim
| inished on the many. If the impression
| now abroad in the land that the meshes
| of the law are of cobweb texture. through
| which the strong can escape, is not sue
| cessfully controverted by facts, need we
| think it surprising if the weak should
strive through union to acquire
| strength, though varying in kind. and
| they also oppose the just penalties of
| established law. These conditions and
| their causes cannot be cured by apathy
nor by ridicule The responsibilities
| they place on us are great and the obli-
! cations they impose should be earn
| estly assumed by every thoughtful man.
| 1t is not the province of this paper
| ei bnr To end condemn 1nN OF
| the legislative discussions or enactments
| of the past few gears, Whether efforts
| tending directly or iNcidently towards
| the end desired shall take the form of
| graduated inheritance taxes and grad
| uated income taxes, the latter applying
| alike to persons, partnerships, corpora
| tons and combinations. or of any other
] form which may be suggested, the ques-
| ton itself ought to become the serious
| study of all good citizens. The apathy
| of good men. which is often confounded
with good ctizenshiU and the zealotry
of partisanship have helped to produce
the conditions which threaten us. De-
signing and often INSCRIPTIONS men,
often the tools of more designing and
INSCRIPTIONS combinations, frequently
gain places of power, through the intlu-
ence of that partsan zeal which regards
the effects of paGy nomination as akin
to the spiritual efficacy of the baptismal
font; that it abSolveS the party candi-
date from all sin and endows him with
all the cardinal virtues.
That the doctrine of laissez faire is
not to be employed is evident by the ag-
gressive enactments of our federal and
state govern slents in recent years, and
by the discussions inside and outside OF
our legislative halls. This ought to i'm
pei all men to give these problems care
full and unprejudiced consideration, so
| that the formation of future laws may be
given wise direction. AS long as these
conditions exist our lawmakers. the
cod'ifiers of the public Will cannot re-
main inactive. That the Mosaic law is
silent on the questioniS conclusive eVi.
dence that none. for private profit at
the expense of the public welfare, tried
to control the passage through the Red
sea, corner the mamma as it fell from
heaven, or monopolize the water that
flowed from the smitten rock.
If the question of defining the limits
Of private fortune, when it becomes
public menace, is to be Legislative
problem, we should remember that
| there are no limitations to the sacrlf1ce
which society as a whole may require
Of an Individual. He may be compelled
to risk his life, aye, even give up his iife,
for the welfare of his fellow mar. This
may be done in defending the public well
fare against invasion or domestic insrf-
recton. or as a penalty for uniaW-
full acts His liberty to act has lnl-
tations placed upon it. His rights and
liberties are circumscribed by the rights
and liberties of others, and beyond that
line there is no possible exte0sion.
When our government was formed Sach
and every man sure er,dered so much of
his rights and liberties as were neces-
sary to the equal rights and liberties of
others The problem of the science OF
government is to determine at what
point an exercise of the assumed rights
of an individual come in conflict with
the rights of others; that is. in conflict
with the public welfare.
If the rewards bestowed upon sue
cessful greed are lessened the minds of
men can be easily directed into higher
and nobler paths than those of fortune
making. But as long as inequalities OF
wealth produce inequalities before the
laW-Nhere wealth weighs more than
worth and ability in securing place ana
poWer-When place and power can De
used as instruments to promote private
sain-where mammon is placed on
higher Dedests~t than character, there
will be unworthy and avaricious per-
sons struggling for fortunes by specu-
| lations trusts and combines, With a
degree of unscrupulousnesS that knows
| no bounds. The dangers to society and
| the frequent HdTalSslS OIL our ll+uu5t u ldi
| enterprises do not come from the ef-
| forts of the multitude, who, in any of
| the walks of life are striving in legit-
| imte way for livelihood, for compe-
| tence or for comfort. but from the greed
| of the few. To reform them, even II
! it is necessary to place onerous limita-
tions on them should be the desire and
effort of every good citizen. The cold
| hand of greed should not be allowed
| to tear down the temples of justice, lib
erty and brotherhood
In American manhood there is a sur
plus of energy above that required in
gaining a livelihood. or in gaining a COM
petence. His mental resources are as
| unbounded as the material resources of
our favored land. The present presents
many problems to solve; the future has
many more in store, and il the ener-
gies of our countrymen are applied in
their solution with the zeal their COM
mercialsm receives, America may have
the proud distinction of directing the
thoughts and actions of the world in
ciVics and in ethics. in the arts and in
the sciences. And along this course may
we be the first to produce not types only,
but a nation Of what Herbert Spencer
describes as "the ultimate man: He
viii be one whose private requirements
coincide with public ones. He will be
that maner of man who in spontane-
ously fulfilling his own nature, incl
dentally .erforms the functions of a
social unit. and yet is only enabled TO