The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-09-25
ROOSEVELT OPENS
THE CAMPAIGN

mics of the nation as a whole, as al
ready by their action on the currency
they have shown themselves to be the
enemies of honesty within the nation.
Truly Mr.. Bryans new dispensation
begins with queer catalogue of saints,
when they canonize Aguinaldo as
hero and Altgeld as a sage. The COM
bination is entirely appropriate. Those
who would encourage anarchy at home
most naturally strike hands with the
enemies of our country abroad. Tho
friend of the bomb -thrower and his
apologists are doing what Is fit and
meet when they strike hands across
the seas with those who are fighting
our soldiers in foreign lands.
Make no mistake! In the Philippines
we are at open war with an enemy
who must be put down. 1t is abso-
lutely impossible to save our honor eX-
Cept through victory, and it is equally
impossible to win peace, to restore or
der in the islands or to prepare the
way for elf-goVernment there save
through victory.
A weak nation can be pardoned for
giving up a work which it does badly,
but strong nation cannot be pardoned
for fllnching from a great work be-
cause fOrsooth there are attendant diff
culties and hardships.
Our opponents are fighting against
the stars in their course, for they are
striving to bring dishonor upon the
American republic. They can qualify,
refine, differentate and differ all they
wish, but fundamentally their attitude
is the attitude of hostility to the flag,
of hostility to our sailors and soldiers,
of hostility to the greatness of the ma
tion-the greatness of the race. If we
finch from doing our task in the face
of the nations, if we flee from the Phil
ippines, we shall have written a shame
full page in the history of our country,
a page which our sons and grandsons
will read with bowed heads. | verify
believe that the shame and anger such
action would arouse in our bOsoms
would force us in a few brief years
again to tread the path upon which we
have now entered; only the delay would
increase beyond measure the difficulty
and danger.
A Destructive Attitude.
Our opponents seek to make their
points by denouncing trusts and ex-
pansion. In both cases they occupy a
purely destructive attitude. They ad-
vocate nothing constructive. The
Democratic party, with that fatal
facility 1t has shown for many years
in appearing at every recurring presi-
dental election as the enemy of the
workingman. now once more comes 10
the front as the champion of the forces
that tell for economic destruction.
They denounce the trusts, but the
measures they propose against them
are purely political; are not economic,
not remedial. They strive to win by
inflaming ignorant passion, and trust
that the passion thus inflamed will
overcome sound judgment.
Corporations for what we commonly
call trusts are generally merely big
corporations) render great services, and
are indispensable instruments of in
dustry in our modern life, but their
growth has been accompanied by the
growth of evils which we cannot but
remedy by common sense and common
honesty-not demagogic outcry. Oul
opponents say We have no plan. We
have. And the plan is, as a first step,
to try the effect of publicity and then
to supplement publicity by taxation
and then by licensing or whatever
measure experience shows to be effect.
i've Before hitting we must know eX,
actly what we are hitting at, and
whether the blow will hurt more than
1t helps. The first thing to do is Il
provide for full investigation Of anC
exhaustive report on all these corpora
tions, especially all the corporations
which have grown to be of such por-
tentous dimensions as TO control any
considerable portion of a given trade
industry or produce-in short, all those
corporations which we mean when WI
speak of trusts.
The mere letting in Of the light viii
In itself cure many evils, especially
those of over capitalization and tbs
undue suppression of competition, and
as for the evils that remain, when once
we can see them clearly and distinctly
the remedy can readily be devised
without entailng upon the innocent tn,
awful misery that will surely follow
any blind and ignorant attempt tC
smash parts of our modern industrial
machinery without taking the trouble
TO find out their relations to our indus
trial life itself.
Let US find out every important de-
tail of the business of the great cor,
porations examined; the amount OF
stock, the amount Of bonds, the terms
upon which issued, the salaries of the
highest employees. the wages and ag-
gregate of wages paid TO the others, the
output OF the product and the price al
which II Is sold, so that in each ease
we may find whether the combination
has resulted in raising or diminishing
production, and, in short, learn every
detail which will show exactly what
the process has been,
The Question of Favors.
Especially let us find out whether The
trusts have any unduly favored rela
tions with great transportation com
panies; whether favoTs are shown then
that are not shown their smaller com,
petitors, in violation of the spirit oi
our interstate commerce legislation