Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1902-08-28
WANTS
CHANGE
President Roosevelt Dis
Cusses Question of Con-
troll of the Trusts
SENSATIONAL Government
Has Not Sufficient
Power
Would Enforce Anti=Tru t
Laws as Far as
They 90

Boston, Aug. 26.-The weeks work
for President Roosevelt in his trip
through New England began in earn
est yesterday afternoon, when he de-
parted from the summer home of Sen
ator Lodge, at Nahant, and, amid the
enthusiasm of the greatest number of
people he has faced since the Pitts
burg visit July a, rode into Lynn I'M
der a cavalry escort and spoke from
the platform at the city hall. Then he
was taken to Boston by special train
and on his arrival went to Symphony
hall there addressing a great gather
irg of business men. His speech here
was devoted almost entirely to con-
sideration of the trust question.
From the hall the president went to
the Hotel Touraine, where a little
later in the evening he was the guest
of Governor Crane at dinner.
This morning the presidential party
will start for Maine.
Speaks on Trusts.
The president last night spoke on
trusts, declaring at the opening that
he did not come to say he had discov-
cred a cure-all for trusts. Then as a
preliminary to the main topic, he de-
voted considerable time to showing
the duty of the citizen in response to
his relations to government
Il am far from being against proper
ty when | ask that the question of
trusts be taken up" said the presi-
dent. Il am acting in most conserv-
ative sense in property's interest
When a great corporation is sued for
violating the antitrust law it is not a
move against property; it is a move in
favor of property, because when you
can make it evident that all men, big
and small alike, have to obey the law,
you are putting safeguard of law
around all men. When you make it
for violating the law you make it evil
dent that every man will be protected
from a violation of law. | am inclined
to think that much of the greatest
trouble in any immediate handling of
a question of trusts comes from our
system of government. On the whole
our system of government has worked
marvelOusly well, the system of di-
vding the functions of government, of
arranging a scheme under which
Maine, Louisiana, Oregon, Idaho, New
York and South Carolina can all come
in together for certain purposes and
yet each be allowed to work it's saliva
ton of its desires, along certain lines.
But while l most firmly believe in the
fiXity of policy, do not believe policy
should be fossilized, and if it is to be
changed we must change our govern
mental method to meet it,
The president declared he was not
advocating anything very revolution
airy; that he was advocating action
to prevent anything revolutionary.
Continuing, he said:
Now when we can get adequate con-
troll by the nation of these corpora
tons, then we can pass legislation
which will give us the power of regu-
lation and supervision over them. If
the nation had that power, mind you,
should advocate as StrenuouSly as
knew how that that power should be
exercised with extreme caution and
self restraint. No good will come
from plunging in without having
looked carefully ahead"
The president placed much stress
on publicity as to the essential facts
in which the public las interest, ex-
pressing the belief that publicity itself
would cure many evils Antitrust
laws, he said, will be enforced as far
as they go.
Il want laws to enable us to deal
with it, no matter what shape it takes.
| want to see government able to
get at it definitely, so that the action
OF the government cannot be evaded
b. any turning within or without the
federal or state statutes | do not
think you can get action by the
United States, action by all states, that
trusts or big corporations, and the re-
suit is at present that we have great
powerful artificial creation, which has
no creator to which it is responsible
What hope to see is power given the
national legislature which shall make
the control real. 1t would be an excel
lent thing if we could have all the
states act on somewhat similar lines
SO it would be unnecessary for the
national government to act but all OF
you know perfectly we'll the states
will not act on somewhat similar
Ines
The president expressed a belief
that it was possible to frame nationa
legislation which will give more pow
er, at any rate, over corporations do
ing interstate business.