Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1902-12-08

PROSPERITY AND WORLD POWER.
70 the Senate and House of Representa-
tiyeS:- g
We still continue in "a period OF IN
bounded prosperity. This prosperity Is not
the creature of law, but undoubtedly Inc
laws under which we work have Deen III
strumental in creating the cOndItIonS
which made it possible, and by unWlSe
legislation it would be easy enough TO De
sUToy it, There will undoubtedly De per-
DDS Of depression. The wave VIII receoe
l.ut the tide will advance. This natlon Is
seatad on a continent thanked by two great
oceans 1t is composed OF men the qe-
scendants Of pioneers, OF, in sense, plo-
ueers themselves; OF men Wlnhoweu III Ia
from among the nations OF the ola worm
bv the energy, holiness, and love Oh du-
venture found in their own eager ne 55,ios
Such a nation, SO placed VIII surely "ie''
success from fortune. 4
AS a people we have played large part
in the world, and we are DenI upon nl"N
ing our future even larger IMAM Ine pass.
In particular the events OF the last Tour
wears have definitely decided that, Tor woe
or for veal, our place must pF 70 faii
among the nations. We may either Lall
greatly or succeed greatly; put we cdn noC
avoid the endeavor from which either great
failure or great success must come. EEen
if we would, we can not play a small pdIt
If we should try, all that would lollOW
Woud be that we should play large part
tgnobly and ShametuIly.
But our people, the sons OF the men o., u
the civil war, the sons OF the men VINO
mad iron in their blood, rejoice IN the pres,
ant and face the future high of heart and
resolute OF will. Ours is not the creed OF
the weakling and the coward; ours Is the
goSDpI of hone and of triumphant en-
deavOr. We do not shrink from the Strug-
gle before US. There are many pfoplems
for us to face at the ouJseL OF Tue I"G VEL
tieth century-grave problems ABROAD anu
stiII graver at home; but we know that we
can Solve them and solve them well, pro
ded only that we 0 pd Re 20 Which
shown by the men who, in the days OF
Washington, founded this government, and'
in the days of Lincoln, preserved II.
No country has ever occupied higher
nIane of material Well-being than ours at
the present moment. This Well-DelnS IL
due to no sudden or accidental causes p ~
TO the play of the economic FORCES III ILLS
country for. over a century; to our laws,
our sustained and continuous poHcles:
above all, to the high Individual average u
0ur citizenship. Great fortunes nave peen
won by those who have taken the lead III
this phenomenal industrial development,
and most of these fortunes nave Deen won
not by doing evil, but as an lncluenL - ~
action which has benefited the community
as a whole Never before has material
well-being been so widely dlfused ahong
onr DeOpIe Great fortunes have been ac-
cumnlated and yet in the aggregate CheSe
fortunes are small indeed when compared
to the wealth of the people as a Wnole.
The plain people are better OFF than tney
have ever been before. The insurance com
NAMES, which are practically mutual oeheo
tit societies-eSpecially helpful to men OF
modem meansErepreSent Accommodations of
capital which are among the largest III Ills
country There are more deposits III the
savings banks, more owners OF IarIhs, nnQ Q'
weIl-paid Wage-WorkerS in TINS country
now than ever before in our history. VI
course when the conditions have Favored
the growth Of so much that was good, tney
have also favored somewhat the growth
of what was evil. 1t is emlnently neceS-
sarv that we should endeaVOr to cut out TINS
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 OutgfoWth, not OF
misery or decadence, but of prOsperity-ot
the progress of our gigantic Industrial de
veIopment. 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 fail IN
our duty if we did not try to remedy the
evils. but we shall succeed only If we pro
coed patiently. with practical common
sense as we'll as resolution, separating the
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
ut its first session | discussed at length
the question of the regulation OF those Olg
l.OrpOratiOns commonly doing an interstate
business, often with some tendency to
monopoly, which are popularity known as
trusts. The experience of the past year
aas emphasized, in my opinion, the deslra
Lility Of the steps l then proposed. A tun-
damental requisite of social efficiency Is q
high standard of individual energy and eX,
ceIlence; but this is in no wise inconsistent
with power to act in combination for aims
which can not so well be achieved by the
individual acting alone. A fundamental
base of civilization is the inviolability OF
property; but this is in no wise 1ncOnSlSt-
ent with the right Of society to regulate
he exercise of the artificial powers Whlch
it cOnfers upon the owners OF property,
under the name of corporate franchises,
in such a way as to prevent the misuse OF
these powers. Corporations, and especially
combinations of corporations, should be
managed under public regulation. EXperl,
auce has shown that under our system of
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-
tons are an inevitable development OF
modern induStrialiSm, and the effort TO de-
stroy them would be futile unless accomp-
lished 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 corporatlons
until we fix clearly in our minds that we
are not attacking the corporations, but en-
deayOring to do away with any evil III
them. We are not hostile to them; we are
merely determined that they shall be SO
handled as to SubSerVe the public good.
We draw the line against misconduct, not
against wealth. The capitalist who, alone
or in conjunction with his fellows per-
forms some great industrial feat by which
he wins money is WelldOer, not wrong
doer. provided only he works in proper and
legitimate lines We wish to favor such a
man when he does well. We wish to SUI
perviSe and control his actions only to pre-
vent him from doing i'll. Publicity can do
no harm to the honest corporation; and we
need not be overtender about sparing the
dishonest corporation.
In curbing and regulating the cOmbina-
tiOns of capital which are or may become
injurious to the public we must be careful
not to stop the great enterprises which
rave legitimatey reduced the cost of pro
luctiOn. not to abandon the place which
)ur country has won in the leadership of
he international industrial world. not to
trikP down wealth with the result of clos
ng factories and mines, of turning the
yage-wOrker idle in the streets and leav-
7g the farmer without a market for what
grows. InSstence upon the impossible
lpans delay in achieving the possible ex-
city as. on the other hand. the stubborn
afense alike of what is good and what is
ad in the existing system the rPsOlute
fort to Obstruct any attempt at better
zen betravS blindness to the historic
nth that wise evolution is the sure safe
lard against revolution.
No more important subject can come be-
ro the congress than this of interstate
'siness. This country can not afford to