Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1902-12-06
.4dDENT'S MESSAGE
/. Roosevelt Makes Recommended
lions to Congress
SAYS COUNTRY IS PROSPEROUS
he Touches Upon the Trusts. Tariff,
Our Foreign Relations and Other
1atters Of Public Policy.
INTRODUCTION

tatives:
We still continue in a period of ur-
bounded prosperity. This prosperity Is
not the creature of law. but undoubt-
edly the laws under which We work
have been instrumental in creating
the conditions which made il possible.
and by UNIV Use legislation il would he
easy enough to destroy it. There will
undoubtedly be periods of depression.
The wave will recede; but the tide
viii advance. This Nation is seated
on a continent flanked by two great
oceans. II is composed of men the
descendants of pioneers, or. in a
sense. pioneers themselves; of men
wsnnowed out from among the ma
tons If the Old World by the energy.
iodine IS, and love 81 adventure found
in their own eager Learts. Such ma
tion. so placed. will surely wrest sue
cess rom fortune.
As peopie We have played large
part in the world. and We ar" bent
upon making our future even larger
than the past. In particular. the e"clIs
Of the last four years have definitely
decided that. for woe or for veal. our
place must be great among the ma
tions. We may either fail greatly or
succeed greatly; but We can not avoid
the endeavor from which either great
failure or great success mus; come.
Even il We would, we can not play Il
small part. II We should try, all that
would follow would be that We should
play a large part ignobly and shane
fully.
But our people. the sons of TIE men
of the Civil War. the sons of Ire men
who had i.on in their blood, reiuicc
in the present and face the future
high Of heart and resolute of will.
Ours is not the creed of the weakliag
and the coward; ours is the gospel Of
hope and Of Triumphant endedvor. We
90 not shrink from the struggle be-
for, US. There are many problems for
us tc face at the outset of the twen-
tieth century-grave problems abroad
and still graver at home; but we
know that We can solve them and
zolve them well. provided only that
we bring to the solution the qualities
of head and heart which were shown
by the men who. in the days of Wash
ington, 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
wellbeing is due to no sudden or ac-
cidental causes. but to the play of the
economic forces in this country for
over a century; to our laws. our sus-
tanned and continuous policies; ABOVE
all, to the high individual average o.
our citizenship. Great fortunes have
been won by those who have taken
the lead in this phenomenal industrial
development, and most of these for.
tunes have been won not by doing
evil. but as an incident to action which
has benefited the community as
whole. Never before has material
wellbeing been so widely diffused
among our people. Great fortunes
have been accumulated. and yet in
the aggregate these fortunes are small
indeed when compared to the wealth
81 the people as a whole. The plain
people are better off than they have
ever been before. The insurance co.n-
panies. which are practically mutual
benefit societies-especialiy helpful
TO men of moderate means-represcEt
accumulations of capital which are
among the largest in this country.
There are more deposits in the saw
ings banks, more owners of farms.
more wellpaid wage-workers In this
country now than ever before in our
vi COuISt, WANu tic COnui-
tions have favored the growth of SO
much that was good. they have also
favored somewhat the growth Of what
was evil. II is eminently necessary
that we should endeavor to cut out this
evil, but let us keep a due sense OF
proportion; let us not in fixing our
gaze upon the lesser evil forget the
greater good. The evils are real and
some OF them are menaclng, but they
are the outgrowth. not of misery or
decadence, but Of prosperity-of the
progress of our gigantic Industrial de-
Tslopment This industrial develop
ment must not be checked, but side
by side with il should go such pro-
gressive regulation as will diminish
the evils. We should fail in our duty
IL we did not try TO remedy the evils.
but we shall succeed only if We pro-
coed patiently. with practical common
sense as well as resolution. separating
the good from the bad and holding on
IN the former while endeavoring 10
get rid of the latter.
TRUSTS.
In my Message TO the pres
ent Congress at its first ses-
sion discussed at length
the question of the regulation OF those
big corporations commonly doing an
Interstate business. often with some
tendency to monopoly. which are
popularly known as trusts. The ex-
perience OF the past year has en-
phasized, in my opinion. the desir-
ability OF the steps | then proposed. A
fundamental requisite of social Ell
cheney is q high standard of individual
energy and excellence; but this is in
no wise inconsistent with power TO
act in combination .or aims which can
not so well be achieved by the in
iividual acting alone. A fundamental
base of civilization is the inviolabiiity
of property; but this is in no wis.,
inconsistent with the right of society
to regulate the exercise of the artl.1-
cial powers which it confers upon the
owners of property. under the name
OF corporate franchises. in such ::
way as to prevent the misuse of these
powers. Corporations, and especially
combinations of corporations. should
he managed under public regulation.
Experience has shown that under cur
system of government the necessary
supervision can not be obtained by
State action. IL must therefore be
achieved by national action. Our aim
is not to do away with corporations;
the contrary. these big aggrega-
n; are an inevitable development
modern industrialism and the ef-