Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1902-12-11
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.


written in a much shorter time than
Usually occupied in SO important task
| but is exhaustive in the ground 1T COW
| Irs and the language is very meritOri-
Gus in a literary sense
Among the important recommended
| tions are a non-partisan tariff commits
sion, and secretary of commerce as
member Of the cabinet. The message
in full follows:
10 tine Senate and House Of Representa-
tives:
We Will 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 it possible, and by unwise
legislation it would be easy enough to
destroy 1t. There will undoubtedly be
periods OF depression. The wave will re-
cede; but the tide will advance. The
nation is seated on continent hanked by
two great oceans. Tt is composed of men
the descendants of pioneers, or, in
sense, pioneers themselves; of men win
moved out from among the nations of the
Old World by the energy, holiness, and
love of adventure found in their own
eager hearts. Such a nation, so placed,
will, surely wrest success from fortune
AS a people we have played a large
part In the world, and we are bent upon
making 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 or succeed greatly; but
we can not avoid the endeavor from
which either great failure or great sue
cess must come. Even If we would, we
can not play a 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
present and face the future high of heart
creed of the weakling and the coward;
ours Is the gospel of hope and of trium-
phant endeavor. We do not shrink from
the struggle before us. There are many
problems for US to face at the outset of
the twentieth century-grave problems
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 Lincoln
preserved it.
Must Remedy the Evi1e.
No country has ever occupied 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
efes; above all to the high individual av-
erage of our citizenship. Great fortunes
have been won by those who have taken
the lead in this phenomenal industrial de-
Velopment, and most of these fortunes
have been won by doing evil, but as an
incident to action which has benefited the
community as whole. Never before has
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 insurance COM
panies, which are practically mutual ben
emit enthusiastically helpful to men Of
moderate means-represent accommodations
OF capital which are among the largest
In this 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. OF course, when the conditions
have favored the growth of so much that
was good, they have also favored some
what the growth Of what was evil 1t is
eminently necessary that we should en-
deavor to cut out this evil, but let us keep
q due sense of proportion; let US not in
fixing our gaze upon the lesser evil forget
the greater good. The evils are real and
Tome of them are menacing, but they are
the outgrowth, not of misery or deca-
dence, but of prosperity-of the progress
of our gigantic industrial development.
This industrial development must not be
checked, but side by side with 1t should
go such progressive regulation as will di-
minish the evils We should fail in our
duty If we did not try to remedy the evils,
but we shall succeed only If we proceed
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.
In my message to the present congress
at its first session I discussed at length
the question of the regula tion of those big
corporations commonly doing inter
state business, often with some tendency
to monopoly, which are popularity known
as trusts. The experience of the past year
has emphasized, in my opinion, the de-
STABILITY of the steps I then proposed. A
fundamental requisite of social efficiency
IS a high standard of individual energy
and excellence; but this is in no wise in
consistent with power to act In combina-
ton for aims which can not so well be
achieved by the individual acting alone
fundamental base of civilization is the
invtolability of property; but this is in no
| wise inconsistent with the right of socie-
| ty to regulate the exercise of the artifi-
| cia1 powers which 1t conferS upon the
owners of property, under the name of
corporate franchises, in such way as to
| prevent the misuse of these powers. Cor
| pOrations, and especially combinations of
| corporations, should be managed under
| public regulation. Experience has shown
hat under our system of government the
cesSary supervision can not be obtained
state action. 1t must therefore be
rhieved by national action. Our aim is
OF to do away with corporations; on the
Dntrary, these big aggregations are an
levitable development of modern indus
ialism, and the effort to destroy them
ould be futile unless accomplished In
| ways that would work the utmost mis-
chief to the entire body polite. We can
| do nothing of good in the way of regulat-
! ing and supervising these corporations un-
1 til We fix clearly in our minds that we are
not attacking the corporations. but en-
| deavoring to do away with any evil in
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 a weIldoer not a
i NZHOnRdnar rnroHridad H.. L.