Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1902-09-03

| Doubtless. on the average. the most useful
| man 10 his fellow citizens is apt to be he
/ whom IL has been given what The psalmist
! prayed for. neither poverty ncr riches, but
! the great captain of INDUSTRY, the man OF
! wealth. who alone or In combination with
/ his fellows drives through orr great bus
| mess enterprises is factor without when
| this country could not possibly malh'ali4
| its present industrial position In the WORT.
| Good not harm. normally comes from the
| piling up OF wealth through business enter
| prises. Probably the most serious harm
| resulting TO us, me people OF moderate
| MEANS is when ge harm ourselves by lei
| ting the dark 40 vii vices OF envy ana
| hatred towards or. fellows eat into our
| natures.
Control of the Ira SITS.
| Still there is other harm of more evil
| dent kind, and such harm II is our clear
duty TO try to eradicate If possible, and
| in any event to minimize. The corpora
| lions, and therefore those great corpora
| tions containing some tendency to monop-
| oily, which we have grown to speak OF
/ rather loosely as trusts are the creatures OF
| the State, and the state not only has the
| right TO control them but is In duty bound
| to control them whenever the need for sueh
| control is shown There is clearly need
| of supervision-need to exercise the power
of regulation on the part of the representa-
| tives of the public wherever, as In our
| country at the present time, business cor
| porations become so very strong both for
/ benetcent work and for work that is not
| always benehcent. 1t is idle TO say that
! there is no need for such supervision. A
/ sufficient warrant for IL Is to Ae found
| over and over again In any of the various
! evils resulting from the present system, Or,
I rather lack of system.
| There Is In our country a peculiar ar
| ficulty IN the way of exercising such super
| vision and control because of the pecu-
| liar division of governmental power. When
! the Industrial conditions were simple very
| little control was needed, and no trouble
was caused by the doubt as 20 where power
| was lodged under the Cor stitution. Now
| the conditions are comp lcated, and we
find IL difficult to frame national legisla-
| ton which shall be adequate; while, as a
! matter of practical experience, State action
| has proved entirely insufficient, and In all
| human probability can not or Will not be
| made sufficient to meet the needs Of the
case. Some If our States have excellent
| laws-laws which it would be well, indeed,
! to have enacted by the national legislature.
| But the wide differences in these laws,
| even between adjacent States, and the uncer-
| tanty of the power Of enforcement, result
practically In altogether insufficient con
| troll. / believe that the Nation must as
| sumo this power of control by legislation,
| and If Ii becomes evident that the Consti-
| tuition will not permit needed legislation,
| then by constitutional amendment.
Duty of the Government.
The immediate need in dealing with trusts
| Is TO place them under the real, not nom
inal control of some sovereign to which,
/ as It's creature, the trusts shall owe ale
| glance ami in whose courts the soyereign's
] orders may with certainty be enforced
This is not the case with the ordinary so
| called trust to-day. for the trust Is a
! large State corporation, generally doing
| business in other States also, and often with
/ a tendency to monopoly. Such q trust Is
an artificial creature, not wholly respon-
| sible TO or cOntrollable by any legislature
nor wholly subject to the jurisdiction Of
any one court. Some governmental sover-
| eign must be given full power over these
| artificial and very powerful corporation be-
| ings. In my judgment this sovereign must
be the National Government. When 1t has
| been given full power. then this full power
can be used to control any evil influence
| exactly as the government is now using the
/ power conferred upon it under the sherman
| antitrust law.
| Even when she full power has been
| conferred, it would be highly undesirable
/ to attempt too much or to begin by strin-
| gent legislation. The mechanism Of mod
| ern business is as delicate and complicated
| as it is vast, and nothing could be more
productive of evil to all of Us, and espe
| cially to those least well off in this worlds
| goods than Ignorant ineddlng with tins
| mechanism, and, above all, If the meddling
was done in spirit of class or sectional
rancor. II H. desirable that this power
! should be possessed by the Nation, but 1t is
| also quite rs desirable that the power
| should be exercised with moderation and
| The tirst exercise of that power should
| be the securing Of publicity among all
| great corporations doing an Interstate bus
| iness. The publicity. though non-inquisi-
| torial. should be real and thorough as to all
| important facts with which the public
has concern. The full light of day Is a
| great dscourager of evil. Such publicity
! would. by itself tend to correct the evils
! of which there is just complaint, and where
| the alleged evils are imaginary it would
| tend to show that such was the case When
| publicity is attained ii would then be pos
| sible to see what further should be done
! in the way Of regulation.
| Above all. 1t behOoyes us to remember
| that not only ought TO try 70 do what
| we can. but that orr success in doing 1T
[ depends very much upon our neither at
tempting nor expecting the impossible Dis
trust the man who offers patent cure
| all for the evils of the body polite, just as
| you would distrust him who tries to sell
| you medicine TO cure all the diseases of
your corporal bodies.
Mankind has moved slowly upward
| through the ages, sometimes little faster.
| sometimes little slower, but rarely in-
| deed by leaps and bounds. AT times great
| crisis comes in which great people, per
| chance led by great man, can at white
/ heat strike some mighty blow for the right
| make some long stride in advance along
( the path Of orderly liberty and Justice Iiut
| normally we must be content if each of
! us can do something-by no means all that
we wish. but still sOmething-for the adj
! vancement Of those principles of righteous
! ness which underlies all real national great
ness. all real civilization
Laws Will BE Enforced.
see no promise Of complete solution
! tor nil the problems We group together when
we speak of the trust question. But we
I can make II beginning In solving these prob
lens. and good beginning If only we ap-
preach the subject with sunlclency of
resolution of honesty and Of that hard com
: mon sense which Is one Of the most valua-
BILE and unfUrt unately not one of the most
common assets in the equipment Of any
people.
| / think the National Administration has
shown its firm intention 10 enforce the laws
they now stand on the statute books
without regard to persons. and think that
good viii come from this enforcement
think further that additional legislation
should he had and can he had which
VIII enable us to accomplish much more
than has been accomplished along these
same lines. Ma promise with
p@rfrcI solution. at least in the immediate
future but something has already been
done aHC much more can be done II we
| temI"rately and determine1iy Will that 1t
shall toe done
la conclusion. let me add one word. While
W" 'iv" not to be excused if we fail TO do
whatever Is possible through the agency Of
that no action by the government.
no action by any combination among
ourselves. can take the place II the indi-
vl'!t..,f qualities To which ia the long run
each pan ufu>t nvc his success Therg has
uCrsr hFth devised. and there never VIII
! lie devised any law which viii enable
"a ~, Eu succeed save hr thr exercise IF
Z prerequisites - success thu qualities ct
harj work, ef keen Intelligence. If uBfiuch-
INK WllI. No action by tht S5ate ga any
J fsrfu casa .iH sl"r- than supplement- ih- +-.i-
( tiHt.Va 81 ego indy idual AMI ordinarily gEe
action at tl' state can ao $50 Ha-rs il=u
! So lre te e;.rh individual she tl5a %. 10
f show 1tfs.Itr ~ favora ll- rpnI.fIa-s So l,,t,
b.