The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-12-10
Recommends the Hawaiian Fire
Claims to Favorable Consid-
Grafton Of Congress.
To the Senate and House Of Renresent..

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
instrumental in creating the conditions
which made 1t possible. and by unwise leg
islation 1t would be easy enough to DESTROY
1t. There will undoubtedly be periods az
depression. The wave will recede but the
TIDE VIII advance This nation is seated
on continent hanked by two great
oceans. 1t is composed of men the de-
scendants of pioneers or, in a sense. MO
neers themselyes-of men winnowed ont
from among the nations of the old world
by the energy. holiness and love of ad-
venture found in their own eager hearts
Such nation so placed will surely wrest
success from fortune
AS people we have played large mart
in the world. and we are bent upon maxi
ing our future even larger than the past.
In particular the events of the last four
years have definitely decided that for woe
or for veal our place must be great among
the nations. We may either fail greatly
the endeavor from which either great
failure or great success must come Even
II we would we cannot play a small part.
If We should try. all that would follow
would be that We should play a large part
ignobly and shamefuly.
But our people, the sons of the men of
the the. ciyn war. the sons OF the men who
present and face the future high of heart
and resolute of will. Ours is not the
creed of the weakling and the coward;
umphant endeavor. We do not shrink
from the struggle before us. There are
many problems for us to face at the out
set of the twentieth century-grave prob
lens abroad and still graver at home-but
we know that we can solve them, and
solve 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 Washington founded
this government and in the days of Lin
coin preserved IL.
No country has ever occupied a higher
plane of material well being than ours at
the present moment. This well being is
due to no sudden or accidental causes, but
to the play of the economic forces in this
country for over century; to our laws,
above all, to the high Individual average
of our citizenship. Great fortunes have
been won by those who have taken the
lead III this phenomenal industrial deyel-
opnent, and most of these fortunes have
been won not by doing evil but as an in
cident to action which has benefited the
material well being been so widely diff
fused among our people. Great fortunes
have been accumulated, and yet in the
aggregate these fortunes are small in
deed when compared to the wealth OF the
people as whole The plain people are
better off than they have ever been be-
fore. The insurance companies, which
are practically mutual benefit societies.
especially helpful to men of moderate
means-represent denominations of capt.
tai which are among the largest in this
country. There are more deposits In the
more well paid wageworkers in this coun-
try now than ever before In our history.
OF course when the. conditions have ia
vored the growth OF so much that was
good they have also favored somewhat
the growth of whatwas evil. 1t is emil
nent1y necessary that we should endeavor
to cut out this evil. but let us keep due
sense of proportions; let us not in fixing
our gaze upon the lesser evil forget the
some of them are menacing, but they are
the outgrowth not of misery or decadence,
but of prosperity, of the progress of our
gigantic Industrial development. This in
dnsatriai development must not be checked,
but side by side with IT should go such
progressive regulation will diminish
the evils. We should fail in our duty II
we did not try to remedy the evils, but we
shall succeed only if we proceed patient,
as resolution. separating the good from
the bad and holding on to the former
while endeaVOring to get rid or the latter.
In my message to the present congress
at it's first session / discussed at length
the question OF the regulation or those
big corporations commonly doing an IN
terstate business often with some tenden-
cy to monopoly, which are popularity
known as trusts. The experience or the
past year has emphasized, in my opinion,
the desirability of the steps | then pro-
Dosed A Fundamental requisite of social
efficiency is high standard OF indlviduai
energy and excellence, but this is In no
wise inconsistent with power to act IN
combination for aims which cannot SO
well be achieved by the individual acting
alone. A fundamental base OF civilization
is the inviolability of property; but this IS
in nowise inconsistent with the rlgnt OF
society to regulate the exercise OF the
artificial powers which it confers upon the
owners of property under the name OF cor
porate franchises in such way as TO
prevent the misuse of these powers Cor
pora TONS and especially combinations or
corporations. should be managed under
public regulation. Experience has s. own
that under our system of government the
necessary supervision cannot be obtained
by state action. 1t must therefore be
achieved by national action. Our aim is
not to do away with corporations on the
contrary, these big aggregations are an
Inevitable development of modern indus
triaIisu and the effort to destroy them
would be futile unless accomplished I'D
ways that would work the utmost mis-
chief to the entire body pohuc. we can
do nothing of good in the way of regulat-
ing and supervising these corporations
until we fix clearly in our minds that we
are not attacking the corporations, pul
endeavoring to do away with any e'iI ~, III
them We are not hostile to them we
are merely determined that they shail pe
so handled as to subserve the pubic goou.
We draw the line against misconduct, nor
against wealth The capitalist VINO aiohe
or in conjunction with his fellows, per
forms some great industrial feat by whlch
he wins money is q weildoer, not WRONG
dOer provided only ne WINS IL
and legitimate lines. We wish 10 1aVoT
snch a man when he does well. we WlSh
to SUPERVISE and control his actions only
to prevent him from doing i'll. Publicity
can do no harm to the honest corporation,
and we need not be oVertender apou'
spariug the dishonest corporation
In curbing and regulating the comolHa-
tious of capital which are or may oeconle
INJURIOUS to the public we must be care
full not to stop the great enterprises whlch
have legitimately reduced the cost OF pro
duction. not to abandon the place WhicI
our country has won in the leadership ol
the international industrial world, nol -
strike down wealth with the result ol
closing factories and mines, or turnlns5
the wa geworker idle in the streets anu
leaving the farmer without market IoI
what he grows Insistence upon the I'M
nossible means delay in achieving the pos
sfhIe exactly as on the other hand, the
Stubborn defense alike of what IS gooo
snd What is bad in the existing system
the resolute effort to obstruct any at
fempt at bstterment, betrays pnndness y
the historic truth that wise eVoiuuoh
the sure safeguard against reVolutloh
No more important subject can COM
before the congress than this OF tne res
iation of Interstate business This coun mr.
cannot afford to sit supine on ttle pic
that under our peculiar system OF govern
mont we are helpless in the preSence ~
tba new conditions and unable 70 grsppi,'
With them or to clIt out whateEer Oh ~, 81
hos arisen in connection With then- ~
ROC