The San Francisco call., 1901-11-12
THE PRESIDENT ON TRUSTS.

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NV erroneous, there is reason for believing
that President Roosevelt has changed his
position the trust issue. AS Governor of New
York he did all that Governor may do to enforce
that publicity in trust affairs which should be
qured of all corporations that have stocks listed for
investment by the public. During his candidacy for
the Vice Presidency last year he called attention to
this record and reafirmed his position
The antitrust press and politicians, and by anti
trust we mean those that have used the issue solely
for party advantage, have widely advertised an
overdrawn estimate of the power and profits of trusts
to make it easy for reckless promoters to vicize
the investing public The enormous aggregate of
captaizations last year, stupendous it was hardly
satisfied the craving for trust stocks, and then
said likely to lay the foundation for stock
panic
President Roosevelt is no amateur in business laws
and logic. He is not rich man, nor a specuator,
and has been content live largely upon the gener
income furnished by his pen. But he knows
thoroughly the ins andauts of stock speculation and
the difference between the intrinsic and speculative
values of stocks The law protects the people against
wildcat insurance, and should equally guard them
against commercial paper that is without value to
justify its price.
AS long as promoters can sell stocks that represent
the imitation of paper property will continue Upon
this imitation is built structure of credit ready to
tumble at the first sign of panic
The limitation of this possibility by the Presidents
plan for law that will guarantee the public against
fraud anil inform investors who buy industrial stocks
will be curb bit in the mouth of speculation. Con
currently with this policy, it is understood that the
President favors any legislation that will protect also
the industrial organization of labor. This is of as
much importance as the trust legislation. When
poratons responsible under their charter, and ndi
vidual employers responsible in their property, be-
come parties to industrial contention with labor
organized under special statute, State Federal
labor is at disadvantage by of the uncertainty
as to its legal responsibility. Let it have the
position and advantage as corporation, and great
change will come over the situation. Then instead
of violence there will be negotiation and instead of
restraint of trade by destructive strikes there will be
orderly settlement on the lines of law and mutual
responsibility.
AS far it is disclosed in his record and express
sions the policy of President Roosevelt in these two
particulars is just of major importance to the
country. A righteous law rgdly enforced that will
leave the energy of combined capital unimpared, and
the time improve the morals of that artificial
person. the corporation, which represents the COM
check of industrial development and progress, and
the putting of labor organizations on legal equality
with organizations OF capital will combine the in
terests of the two that their differences will be
adjustable by agreement by judicial intervention
and industrial progress will be free of hindrance
by strikes.
1t is to be expected that the minority IN Congress
will oppose these Presidential recommendations The
leaders of that minority do desire the correction
of any evils that may appear in the trust organiza-
tions, do they desire anything that will give to
labor legal responsibility commensurate with its
necessities Whatever evil is abroad in this issue
capital for the minority and therefore op-
poses any wise legislation that will abridge its politi
cal capital. If the trusts curbed properly and
their industrial energy left unipaired conquest
of the worlds commerce will be unchecked and our
domestic prosperity will continue None of these
results agreeable to the partisanship and the
political ambition of the minority leaders, so we may
expect that the Presidents position will be attacked
and his policy denounced for its nsuficiency by the
minority which confessed by its recent candi-
date for Governor CT Massachusetts to be without
hope while the country is prosperous.