The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1902-09-09
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT
Answers. Critics on the Trust
Question at Dalton. Mass.

dent defined his position on the trust
question, aud devoted most of his time
to that topic. He said, in part:
IF some of those who have seen
cause for wonder inI what / have said
this fall on the subject of great cor
porations, who are popularity, although
with technical inaccuracy, known as
trusts, would take the trouble to read
my messages when l was Governor,
what said on the stump two years ago,
and what put in my first message to
Congress, think they would have been
less astonished. said nothing on the
stump that did not think could make
good, and l shall not hesitate now 70
take the position which 1 then advo-
Gated:
81 am even more anxious that you
who hear what l say should think Of IL
than you should applaud it. l am not
going to try to define with technical &C
curacy what ought to be meant when
we speak of trust. But II by trust we
hcoh hcfcig q ois Sof pofossoaf shca
ask you to ponder on the utter folly OF
the man who either in spirit of ran
cor or in spirit Of folly says, Destroy
the trusts without giving you an idea
of what he means really 70 do. 1 will
go with him if he says destroy the evil
in the trusts, gladly. IApplause
al will try to find out that evil. i
will seek to apply remedies, which !
have already outlined in other speeches.
But il his policy, from whatever mo-
tive, whether hatred, fear, panic or
just sheer ignorance. is TO destroy the
trusts, in that he will destroy all our
prosperity, no. Those men who advo-
cate wild and foolish remedies, which
would be worse than the disease, are
doing all in their power to perpetuate
the evils against which they nominally
war because il we are brought face 10
face with the naked issus of either
keeping or totally destroying a pros
perity in which the majority share, but
in which some share improperly, why,
as sensible men, we must decide that IL
is great deal better that some people
should prosper too much than no one
should prosper enough. So that the
man who advocates destroying the trust:
by measures which would paralyze tbs
Industries of the country is at best 9
quack and at worst an enemy to the re
public"
Referring to the conditions which
existed in 1898, the President con
claded
No Trouble In 1898.
There was no trouble about any
body making too much then. Tht
trusts were down, but the trouble wa:
that we were all OF US down. Nothing
but harm to the whole body polite car
come from ignorant agitation, carried
on partially against real evils, PARTIAL,
against imaginary evils, but in spiri
which would substitute for the rea
evils just as real and infinitely greater
Those men, II they should succeed
could do nothing to bring about q soIu
tion of the great problems with which
we are concerned. II they should de
stroy certain of the evils at the cost o
overthrowing the well being Of the en-
tire country it would mean merely tina
there would come n reaction in whicl
they and their remedies would be hope
lessly discredited.
"Now, 1t does not do anybody an.
good and it will do most OF us grea
deal of harm to take steps which vii
check any proper growth in corpora
tion. We do not wish TO penalize, bu
to reward, q great Captain of industr..
or the men banded together in q cor
poration who have the business fore
thought and energy to build PIP grea
industrial enterprise. Keep that Ii
mind. A big corporation may be doinl
lexcellent work for the whole country
and you want, above all things, whel
striving to get plan which will pre-
vent wrongdoing by q corporation whicl
desires to do wrong, not at the sam
time TO have a scheme which will inter
fere with q corporation doing well,
that corporation is handling itself hon
testify and squarely.
Hopes In Legislation.
snow, what l am saying ought to b
treated as simple, elementary truth:
The only reason IL Is necessary to sa
them at all Is that apparently some pee
pie forget them. believe somethin
can be done by National Legislation
when I state that, ask you to note m
words. say believe, IL is not In m
power to say / know. When | talk I
You Of my own executive duties l ca
iell you definitely what will and wba
will not be done When / speak Of tn
actions of any one else / can only say
believe something more can be done b
: National legfslation- | believe it wi
be done. think we can get laws wbic
/ will measurably increase the power {
the Federal Government over corpors
; tIons, but, gentlemen, | believe fra
lly that in the end there will have to b
an amendment to the Constitution {
/ the Nation comforting additional powe
. upon the Federal Government to de,
5 with corporations. To get that will /
a matter of difficulty and matter
. time.
; II want you TO think of what hay
D said, because it represents all of th
o sincerity and earnestness that | hav,
{ and | say TO you here from this platforl