Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1902-12-11

10 the SENATE anu HOUSE Oh Representa-
We still continue in a period of I'M
bounded prosperity. This prosperity Is not
the creature OF law but Undoubtedly the
laws under which we work have been IN
slrumental III creating the CONDITIONS
Which made 1t possible. and 10y unwlse
legislation 1t would be easy enough To de-
stroy IL. There Will undoubtedly be perl
odS of depression. The wave VIII recede;
but the tlde Will advance. This nauon Is
seated on continent nanked by TWO great
oceans. 1t is composed of men the de-
scendantS of pioneers, or, III sense, plo-
neers themselves of men winnowed out
from among the nations OF the old world
by the energy, boldness, ana love OF al
venture found in their own eager hearts.
Such nation, SO placed Will surely wresI
success from fortune.
As a people we have played a large part
in the world, and we are bent upon max
ing our future even larger than The past.
years have definitely decided that, for woe
or for veal, our place must be great
among the nations We may either 1all
greatly succeed greatly; but we can not
avoid the endeaYor from which either great
failure or great success must come. EVEN
if we would, we can not pay small part.
If we should try, all that would follow
would be that we should play large part
ignObly and shamefully.
But our people, the sons of the men of
the civil war, the sons of The men Who
had iron in their blood, rejoice in the pres
ent and face the future high of heart and
resolute of will. Ours is not the creed or
the WedhlluS anu Tic SoNdlu Oulo 40 Inv
gospel of nope and of triumphant en-
deayor We 40 not shrink from the strug-
gle before us. There are many problems
for us to face at the outset OF the TWEEN
tieth century-grave problems abroad and
still grayer at home; but we know that we
can solve them and solve them Wen, pro
the qualities of head and heart which were
shown by the men who, i'll the days of
Washington, founded this government, and,
in the days of Lincoln, preserved It,
No country has ever occupied a higher
plane of material well-being than ours at
the present moment. This well-belng is
to the play of the economic forces IN THIS
country for over a century, to our laws,
our sustained and continuous policies;
above all, to the high individual average OF
our citizenship. Great fortunes nave been
won by those who have taken the lead IN
this phenomenal industrial development,
and most of these fortunes have been won
rot by doing evil, but as an incident TO
action which has benefited the community
as a whole. Never before has material
our people. Great fortunes have been ac-
cumulated, and yet in the aggregate these
fortunes are small indeed when compared
to the wealth of the people as whole.
The plain people are better off than they
have ever been before The insurance COM
panies, which are practically mutual bene.
tit societies-especially helpful to men OF
modern meanS-repreSent Accommodations OF
capital which are among the largest IN TINS
country. There are more deposits in the
savings banks, more owners of FARMS more
well-paid wage-workers in this country
now than ever before in our history. VI
course, when the conditions have Favored
the growth of so much that was good they
have also favored somewhat the growth
of what was evil. 1t is eminently neces-
sary that we should endeayor to cut out this
evil but let us keep due sense OF proper
ton; let us not in fixing our gaze upon the
lesser evil forget the greater good Inc
evils are real and some of them are men
acing but they are the outgrowth not OF
misery or decadence, but of prosperity,of
the progress Of our gigantic industrial de-
yelopment. This industrial development
must not be checked, but side by side with
it should go such progressive regulation as
will diminish the evils; We should d ran +h IN
evils, but we shall succeed only If we pro-
coed patiently, with practical common
good from the bad and holding on to the
former while endeavoring to get rid OF
the latter.
REGULATING TRUSTS,
In my message to the present congress
at it's first session l discussed at length
the question of the regulation of those Dle
corporations commonly doing an interstate
business, often with some tendency to
monopoly, which are popularity known as
trusts. The experience OF the past yeai
aas emphasized, in my opinion, the deslfa
bility of the steps l then proposed. run ~
high standard of individual energy and ex.
ceIence; but this is in no wise inconsistent
with power to act in combination Tor arms
which can not so well be achieved by the
Individual acting alone. fundame ntal
base of civilization is the inyiolability OF
property; but this is in no wise lnconslst
ent with the right of society to regulate
the exercise of the artificial powers wnlch
it confers upon the owners OF properly
under the name of corporate franchises
i'm such a way as to prevent the misuse OF
these powers Corporations, and especially
combinations of corporations, should De
managed under public regulation. expert
ence has shown that under our system oil
government the necessary supervision can
not be obtained by state action. 1t must
therefore be achieved by national action
Our aim is not to do away with corpora
tions; ON the contrary, these big aggrega
lions are an inevitable development OF
modern industriaiism. and the effortEo de
stroy them would be futile unless accomp
Iished in ways that would work the utmost
mischief to the entire body polite. we
can do nothing of good in the way of reg
ulating and supervising these corporations
until we fix clearly in our minds that we
are not attacking the corporations, put en-
them. We are not hostile to them we art
merely determined that they shail De $
handled as to subserve the public good
We draw the line against misconduct moi
against wealth. The capitalist who. alone
or in conjunction with his fellows, per
forms some great industrial feat by whlcL
he wins money is welldoer. not wrong
doer provided only he works In proper anC
legitimate lines, We wish TO favor suen l., q
pervise and control his actions only to pre-
vent him from doing i'll. Publicity can Dc
no harm to the honest cOFpOFdliuu. anu w
need not be cvertender about sparing tht
dishonest corporation.
Ia curbing and regulating the combina
lions of capital which are or may becom'
Injurious TO the public Te must he earefu
not to stop the great enterprises whlci
have iegitimately reduced the cost OF Pre-
duction. not to abandon the place which
our country has won in the leadership O
the international Industrial world. not Z
strike down wealth with the result OF clos
ing factories and mines. of turning tn
wage-worker idle in the streets and leav
ing the farmer without a market for VIVA
he grows Insistence upon the impossibl
means delay in achieving the possible: ex
actly as. on the other hand. the stubborn
defense alike of what is good and what
had in the existing system the resolut
effort TO ohstruct any attempt at better
men. betravs blindness TO the histori
truth that wise evolution is the sure safe
guard against revolution.
No more important subject can come he
fore the congress than this of interstat
business This country can not afford t