Daily Kennebec journal., 1901-12-04


"eEare or tnc aggregate or ciC1,ens wr,r,
MAKES the nation must rest upon inai,.td
u2l thrift and energy. resoIution and in
teilistnc". Nothing can take th, nlace or
lhlS lndN iduai capacity. hut wise laeisl, =
uoh and honest and intelligent admins
tratlon can give it the fullest SCOPE tha
largest opportunity 10 work to good effect.
Tho tremendous ana highly complex in
dustrial development which went on with
over accelerated tapitty during the latter
hiH ~ thu nineteenth century brings us
rae" 10 face at the beginning of the TWEEN
ttth WIFI Tery serious social problems.
The old laws ana the old customs which
had almost the binding force Of law were
once quits sufficient to regulate the accu-
mutation ANA distribution of wealth Since
'hc Industrial changes which have so
enormously increased the productive DOW
'r OF markind They are no longer suffi-
cient
lie growth Of cities has gone on beyond
COMPARISON faster than the growth of the
country. and the uphuilding OF the great
industrial contcrs has meant Il startling
increase not merely In the aggregate of
Wc2iih. hut IN the number OF very large
in'iEiduaI and especially of very large
corporate fortunes. The creation of these
great corporate fortunes has not been due
to the tarHf nor To any other government
tIl action. but TO natural causes in the
business world operating Ill other coun-
tries as they operate In our own.
The process has aroused much antaro-
nis1l. a .,rr"t part of which is wholly
without N3rrant. 1t is not true that as
the rich nave grown richer the poor have
grown poorer. On the contrary. never be-
fore has the average man, the wagework-
cr. the farmer. the small trader been so
well of as in this country and ut the pres-
cnt time. There have been abuses con-
nectod With ths accumulation Of wealth.
Yet it remains true that Il fortune accu-
rlulated in legitimate business can be ac-
cunniatcd by the person specially benefit
cd only on condition of comforting i'm
r1e1se incidenta! benefits upon others
Successful enterprise of the type which
benefits an mankind can only exist if the
conditions are such as to offer great prizes
a. the rewards Of success
Rcnsons For Caution
The captains of industry who have driv-
en- the railway systems across this CONT
mont. who have built up cur commerce.
who have developed our manufactures
have on the whole done great good to our
people. Without them the material duvel-
cprnent of which we are SO justly proud
could never have taken place. Moreover,
tancc TO this material development OF
leaving as unhampcred as is compatible
with the public good the strong and force
full men upon whom the success of busi-
ness operations inevitably rests. The
slightest STUDY of business conditions will
satisfy any one capable of forming q
Judgment th1t the personal equation is
the most important factor in a business
operation: that the business ability OF the
.r>as ~ b,a 1f
big or little, is usually the factor which
fixes the gulf between striking success
ANA hopeless failure.
An additional reason for caution in deal
ing Nith corporations is TO be found in the
international commercial conditions of to-
day. The same business conditions which
have produced the great aggresations OF
corporate and individual wealth have
made them very potent factors i'll inter-
national commercial competition. Busi-
ness concerns which have the largest
mcaEs at their disposal and are managed
b. the atlcSt men are naturally those
which take the lead in the strife for com
mcrCial supremacy among the nations or
the world. America has only just begun
to assume that commanding position IN
the international business world which
We believe vii! more and more be hers. 1t
is Of the utmost Importance that this po-
sitiOn be not jeopar rded, especially Al tim {
when the Overlooking abundance OF our
own natural resources and the skill, busi-
ness energy and mechanical aptitude OF
our people make foreign markets essen
tial Under sCch conditions il would be
mos; uuwise 10 Cramp or to fetter the
youthful strength Of our nation.
interests of All Endangered.
Moreover. it cannot too often be pointed
ont that to strike with ignorant violence
at the interests OF one set OF men almost
inevitably endanCers the interests Of all
Tho Fundamental rule in our national lie.
the 1ui.. which luderlies ali others. = that
on TIE whole ana in the long run We shall
70 ,iU or down together. There are cXccp-
tions. ana in times of prosperity some Will
prosper far more and in times or ADVERSE
" some will suffer far more than others;
but. speaking generally, period OF good
times means that all share more or less
in them. an3 in 4 period ot hard times all
feel the stress TO q greater or less degree
Ii surely ought not TO be necessary TO en-
Tor into any proof of this statement. The
memory Of the lean years which began IN
1899 is still vivid. aud We can contrast
them with the conditions IN this very year
which is now closing. Disaster 10 great
brsii ass enterprises can never have IT'S q -
fcct5 limited 10 tho men at the top IL
spreads throughout, and while 1t IS bad
for c.cryD body IL is worst lor tnoSc lar
thret down. The capitalist may be shOria
of his luXuries. but the wageworker may
be deprived Of even bare necessities.
The nieC hauism of modern business - 50
delicate that extreme care must be taken
not to interfere with II in n spirit Of rash
ness or ignorance. Many OF those who
have mace. it their vocation to deuounce
the great industrial combinations which
are rutularIy although with technical in
accuracy. known IS trusts appeal cSpe-
cia!-t. to hatred aud fear These are pte-
cisnIl the two emotions. particularly when
combined with ignorance which Untt men
for -na exercise Of cooi ANA steady judG-
mont In facin. new industrial conditions
the whole history of the world shows that
LEGISLATION will generally be both unwISc
and Ineffective unless undertaken after
,olr1, ird,lir, and with sober self restraint
,Trc1 Of the legislation directed III the
trusts would have been exceedingly mis-
cli,vnus had il Tot also been entirely III
Affective In accordance with well
known sociological law the ignorant or
rec,:ess aEitatur has been the really et-
factfva friend Of the evils which lie has
bncu nonliually opposing. In dealing with
h,einass interests Tor III. government 70
,,,dort,k. by crude and i'll considered leg
,eIatinr 10 do what may turn cut to be
,aI ,,o,IId 81 Ia incur the risk Of such
far-,aching national disaster that 1t
would he preferable TO undertake nothing
AZ iii Thc men who demand the impossi-
ble or the undesirable serve as the aliles
of tha forces With which they are nomi-