Evening star., 1902-08-26

ent committeeman which may
object very much to the methods of iucOr-
poration in the state named. ] do not
think that you can get action by any state.
action by all the states. that will give us
satisfactory control Of the trusts or big
corporations. and the result is at present
that We have great, powerful artificial
creation which has no creator To whi-h Il
is responsible.
'Ot course. 1t is a mere trulsm that the
corpora ton Is the creature OF the state;
that the state Is sovereign. Now, ! want to
make a real and not a nominal sovereign.
to have some one sovereign 20 which the
corporation shall be really and not noml-
naily responsible.
AT present if We pass laws nobody can
tell whether they will amount to anything.
Now. that has two bad effects. In the first
place, the corporation becomes Indifferent
to the lawmaking body. and IN the next
place gentlemen. the lawmaking body gets
into that most perncious custom Of pass
ing law, not with reference to what will
be done under 1t. but with reference to its
effects on the opinions OF the voters.
That Is bad thing. When any body OF
lawmakers passes a law not solely with
reference as to whether that law Will do
good or III, but with the knowledge that
not much will come of IL, and yet that per
hapS the people. as a whole. viii likely
think ii was good does not speak well for
the lawmakers. and II does not speak very
well for the people. either. What | hope to
see is power given to the national legisa-
ture which shall make the control real.
1T would be an excellent thing IL we
could have all the states act on somewhat
similar lines, that II would be uuueces-
sary for the national government TO act,
but all of you know perfectly well the
states will not act on somewhat similar
lines.
States Have Done Little.
Nothing has been done In the direction
Of intelligent dealing by the states as
collective body with these great corpora
tions. Here in Massa you have
what I regard as, on the whole. excellent
corporation laws 7 think that most Of our
difficulties-here again remember | am not
promising the millennium: It is not in my
power to promise it-would be I'm a fair way
of solution IL We had the power to put
the national statute books and did put
them laws for the nation much Ike those
you have here the subject OF corpora
tions In Massachusetts.
so you can see, gentlemen, / am not ad-
vocating anything very revolutionary. am
advocating action to prevent anything revo-
lutiouary. Now. II can get adequate
control by the nation of these corporate
then we can pass legislation which will
give us the power Of regulation and super
vision over thep. II the nation had that
power. mind you, l should advocate as
strenuously as l knew how that the power
should be exercised with extreme caution
and self-restraint. No good will come from
plunging In without having looked carefully
ahead.
1.-The first thing we want is publicity, and
I do not mean publicity as favor by some
corporations. ] mean IL a right from all
corporations affected by the law. I want
publicity to the essential facts IN which
the public has an interest I want the
knowledge given TO the accredited repre-
sentatives of the people of facts on which
those representatives can, if they see fit.
base their actions later. The publicity it.
self would cure many evils.
Laws Will Be Enforced"
Some of these things 1 have said can
be done now. y good deal is being done
now. AS far as the antitrust laws go they
will be enforced. No suit will be under
taken for the sake of seeming to undertake
it. Every suit that is undertaken will be
begun because the great lawyer and up
right man whom We are so fortunate as t.
have as Attorney General. Mr.. Knox be
lieves that there is violation of the law
which We can get at, and when the suit is
undertaken ii won't be compromised eN-
cepting on the basis that the government
wins.
''of course. gentlemen, no laws amount
to anything unless they are administered
honestly and fearess,y.
Then, | believe-I am not going TO say
| am sure of it-hut | believe It is possible
to frame national legislation which shall
give us more power than we have now. at
any rate over corporations doing an inter
state business. l cannot guarantee that be
cause in the past 1t has more than once
happened that we have got laws on the
statute books which those who made them
intended to mean one thing and when they
came up for decision it was found that the
intention had not been successfully put into
effect. But L believe that additional legis-
lation can be had
Il think We have got to make up our
minds to the fact that no matter what our
reverence for the past may be, our duty to
the present and to the future will force us
to see that more power is conferred upon
the national administration. When the DOW
er has been conferred it will rest with the
national government to exercise 1t. At
present we are going TO do the best we can
with strawless bricks, but remember they
are bound to be strawiess.
Object to Be Attained.
Finally. men and women of New Eng
land. men and women of a state that rep
resents so much. that has always represent
ed so much Of the highest and best in the
spirit of true Americanism. I ask YOU to
remember that after all has been done that
can be done by governmental action: after
you have exerc sed your best wisdom and
exercised 1t In the most resolute and lofty
spirit; after you have given all the needed
power to the national government and
after that power has been exercised in the
wisest and most resolute fashion, It will
still mean that what has been done is not
TO make everything smooth for each man,
but simply to give better opportunity for
each man to work out hts own future on
good terms for himself
Wise laws can do something and we
are not to be excused IL we fal to insist
upon those wise laws Honest administra-
ton of the laws can do something more.
and still less are we to be excused as a
people il we condone connive at a fail
ure to administer the laws by the public
servants of the people. After those laws
have been enacted. after they have been
enforced. 1t will remain true here In this
century, 1t has been true in every CEN
tury Throughout history. that the funda-
mental factor in each mans success in life
must be that mans own character; the to-
tai sum Of the qualities Of truthfulness,
earnestness, energy, thrift and business
ability on his port.
THE state cannot carry anyone. The
state cannot do as much for you as you can
do for Z. Under no circumstances Will IL
be possible by law to shape character so
that each man shall succeed. II the man
has not got In him the stuff out Of which
he can work success the state cannot sup
ply 1t.
IF he fails am sorry for him. 1 will
help him far as possible. will lift him
up IL he stumbles, but I won't try to carry