The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-09-05

Fitchburg. Mass, september --ihe
first important stop OF PreslGeht feoo1e-
Welt after he resumed his travels
through Massachusetts today was aI
this city, where he found the people
keeping a general holiday. stop Oh an
hour was made here and the president
delivered an address, thousands OF peo-
DIe being assembled TO hear him. In MS
address here the president devoted him.
self almost exclusively 10 the trusts, in
answer to his critics. lie said IN part:
If some of those VINO nave seen
cause for wonder in what l have said
this fall on the subject OF tht great cor
porations which are popularity, although
with technical i~naccuracy, as
trusts, would AXE the trouble TO reau
my message when 1 was governor, what
I said on the stump two years ago, and
what I put into my first message TO
congress-, 1 think they would nave peen
less as~tonished. 1 said nothing on the
stump that 1 could not MAKE good ano
1 say it now to take The position Whlch
I then advocated. l am even more anS-
ions that you who near what say,
should think of it than that You should
applaud it. / am not going TO try 10
define with technical accuracy Whal
ought TO be mean when we SPEAK OF a
trust. But if by trust we mean merely
a big corporation, then l ask you 10
ponder the utter folly of he man who
either in a spirit of rancor or III a spirit
of folly says, destroy TIC trusts WITH
out giYin you an idea OF What ne
means really to do. l %rl1 &c with him
if he says destroy the evil in The trusts,
gladly. (Applause). l VIII try to lind
out that evil. 1 will seek 10 supply rem
edies. which l have already outlined IN
other speeches. But if his policy from
whatever motive, whether hatred, fear,
panic or just sheer ignorance, Is to de-
stroy the trusts in a way that VIII de-
strOy all our prosperity, no.
Those men who advocate Wild ana
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 II we
are brought face to face with the
naked issue. or either keeping or total
" destroying a prosperity IN Whlch the
majority share but in which some share
improperly, why as sensible men we
must decide that it is a great deal bet
ter tina some people should prosper too
much than hat no n should prosper
enough. So that the man Who advo-
Gates destroying the trusts by measures
which will paralyze the industries of
the country, is at best a quack and at
worst an enemy TO the republic"
Now it does not 10 anybody any
good. and it would do most of us d
great deal of harm to take steps which
will check any proper S1oWth IN a cor
poration. We wish not to penaliZe but
to reward a great captain OF industry
or the men banded together in q corpor-
nfinn u-hn hny the hIISI1aSC FORE
thought and energy,snecessary to build
up a great industrial enterprise. Keep
that in mind. A big corporation may
be doing excellent work for the whole
country and you want above all things,
when striving to get a plan which will
prevent wrong doing, by a corporation.
which desires to do wrong, not at the
same time to have a scheme which will
interfere with a corporation doing we'll,
if that corporation is handling itself
honestly and sQuarely. Now, what I
am saying is to be treated as simple
elementary truth, and is the ocly reason
it is necessary to say them at all is that
/ believe something car Oe dom by ma
tional legislation. When l state that
ask you to note my word, l say 1 be-
lieve. 1t is not in my power to say ]
know. When l talk to you OF my own
executive duties I can tell you definitely
what Will and what ylll not be done,
When I speak Of the action OF any one
else, / can only say that 1 believe
something more can be done by nationa
legislation. / believe i will bc one
think we can get laws which will mea-
surably increase the power of the fedora
government over corporations, but, gen,
tlemen, / believe firmly that in the enc
there will lave to be ali amendment tC
the constitution of The nation. con
ferring additional power upon the fed
eral government to deal with corpora
tons. To get that will be a matter OF
difficulty n a matter of time.
Il want you TO think of what 1 have
said, because it represents all of the
sincerity and earnestneSS that ! have
and l say to you here from his plat.
form. nothing hat 1 have not already
stated and nothing hat : would not say
at a private table with any % the big
geSt corporation managers of The land