The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1902-12-04
PRESIDENTS; MESSAGE.
To the Senate and House of Representa-

"A q
We still continue in a period of IN.
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
whieh made 1t possible, and by unwise leg
isiat1Sn ~ would be easy enough to destroy
II mere will undoubtedly be periods of
depression. The wave will recede, but the
tide Will advance. This nation is seated
on continent hanked by two great
oceans. 1t Is composed of men the de-
scenoants of pioneers or. in a sense pio-
LEES tnemselVes-of men winnowed out
rom among the nations Of the old world
Dy the energy, holiness and love Of adj
venture found in their own eager hearts.
Sucn nation SO placed will surely wrest
success from fortune
AS people we have played a large part
IN the world. and we are bent upon max
ing our future even larger than the past
In particular the events of the last four
years have definitely decided that for woe
Of OF .or veal our place must be great among
or succeed greatly, but we cannot avoid
tnS endeavor from which either great
iaiiure or great success must come. Even
should We erS a taas aou1d td 1s5
would be that we should play 81 large part
tgnobly and shamefully. 1 u, -
But our people, the Sons of the men OF
had iron in their blood. rejoice in the
present and face the future high of heart
and resolute of will. Ours is not the
ours sso is the aee gospel N hope a and Of tri
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 prop.
LENS abroad and still graver at home-but
we know that we can solve them, ana
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 1t.
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 a century; to our laws.
our sustained and continuous policies;
q cur citizenship hd s Great fortunes have
been won by those who have taken the
lead In this phenomenal industrial devel-
been Won not by doing evil, but as an in
community as q whole. Never before has
fused among our People. Great sfoftanes
have been accumulated, and yet In the
aggregate these fortunes are small M
people as whole. The plain people are
better off than they have ever been be-
fore. The insurance companies, which
~
especially helpful to men Of moderate
means-represent Accommodations of CAPT.
tai which are among the largest In this
savings banks. more owners Of farms
more well paid wageworkers In this coun-
try now than ever before ~ our history.
v6red the growth of so much that was
good they have also favored somewhat
the growth Of what was evil. It is emf
to cut out this evil, but let us keep due
sense Of proportion; let US not in fixing
our gaze upon the Lesser is evil forget the
some of them are rnenacing, but they are
the outgrowth not of misery or decadence,
eIs of
dustrial development must not be checked.
but side by side with it should go such
regH hId ,s as VIII ,,r d dtn IL
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 endeavorng to get rid OF the latter.
In my message TO the present congress
the question of the regulation of those
big corporations commonly doing an in
terstate business. often with some tenden-
ey to monopoly which are popuiarly
past year has emphasized. in my opinion,
the desirab ility of the steps l then pro-
posed A fundamental requisite of social
efficiency Is a high standard OF individual
wise inconsistent with power to act in
com bina ton 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 right or
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 a way as to
prevent the misuse OF these powers. Cor
pora lions. and especially combinations of
corporations should be managed under
public regulation. Experience has shown
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
trialism, and the effort to destroy them
would 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 corporation
until we fix clearly in our minds that we
are not attacking the corporations but
endeavoring 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 welldoer, not wrong
doer, provided only he works in proper
and legitimate lines We wish to favor
such a man when he does we'll. We wish
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 about
sparing the dishonest corporation.
In curbing and regulating the combina-
tons of capital which are or may become
Injurious to the public we must be care
full not to stop the great enterprises which
have Iegitimately reduced the cost of pro-
duction, not to abandon the place which
our country has won in the leadership OF
the international industrial world, not to
strike down wealth with the result OF
closing factories and mines. OF turning
leaving the farmer without market for
what he grows. Insistence upon the I'M
nossibIe means delay in achieving the pos
sible exactly as, on the other hand, the
stubborn defense alike of what Is good
and what is bad in the existing system,
the resolute effort to obstruct any at
tempt at betterment, betrays blindness to
the historic truth that wise evolution Is
the sure safeguard against revolution.
No more important subject can come
before the congress than this of the regu-
iation of interstate business This country
cannot afford to sit supine on the plea
that under our peculiar system OF govern.
the new conditions and unable to grappie
with them or to cut out whatever OF evil
has a risen in connection with them. The
nower of the congress to regulate inter-