River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1902-08-28
TALKS ABOUT TRUSTS
Notable Address by the President at
Providence, R. |.
lie Declares That Combines Must Be
Closely Supervised by the Gov
ernment and FavOrs Strong
Legislation.

Providence, r. l., Aug. 25.-Not
since the visit here of President
Hayes IS years ago has chief ex-
ecutive been accorded so brilliant
and thoroughly general a reception
as that rendered Saturday to Presi-
dent Roosevelt on the occasion of his
tour through this state. People
came from every part of the state
and gathered $4,000 strong about the
platform at the city hall, from which
the president delivered an address.
An ovation which lasted five min
utes was the presidents greeting
when he rose to speak.
I'VE are passing through a period of
great material prosperity, and such pc
rlods as is as sure as adversely itself to
prlng mutterings of discomfort AT a
time when most men prosper somewhat it
always happens that few men prosper
greatly, and it is as true now as it was
when the Tower of Sloan fell upon all
who were under it. that good fortune does
not come only to the just, nor BAD fortune
only to the unjust. When the weather is
good for crops it is also good for weeds.
moreover, not only do the wicked flourish
When the times are such that most men
envy and jealousy and hatred springs up
IN the breasts of those who, though they
may be doing fairly well themselves, yet
see others, who are no more deserving,
Going far better,
Presence of Great Evils.
There are real and great evils in our
social and economic life, and these evils
stand out with ugly badness during good
times, for the wicked who prosper are
never pleasant sight. There is every need
OF striving in all possible ways, indlV1d-
ually and collectively, by combinations
among ourselves in private life and through
the recognized organs of government, for
the cutting out of these evils. Only let US
be sure that we do not use the knife with
an ignorant zeal, which would make it
more dangerous to the patient than to the
disease.
Remedies for Existing Evils.
For some of the evils which have at
tended upon the good of the changed con-
0lt1OnS we can at present see no complete
remedy. For others the remedy must come
by the action of men themselves in their
private capacity, whether merely as in
dividuals or by combination one with an
other. For yet others some other remedy
can be found in legislative and executive
action national, state or municipal. Much
of the complaint against combinations is
entirely unwarrarted. Under present day
conditions it is as necessary to have cor
pOrations in the business world as it is to
have organization among wage workers.
But we have right 10 ask in each case
that they shall Go good, and not harm.
Exactly as labor organizations, when man
aged intelligently and in a spirit of justice
and fair play, are of very great service
not only to the wage workers, but to the
whole community as the history of many
labor organizations has conclusively
shown, so wealth, not merely individual,
h11 Alright
merely a benefit to the community as a
whole, but Indispensable to the upbuild-
ing of the country, under the conditions
which a t present the country has grown not
only to accept but to demand as normal.
This is so obvious that it seems trite even to
state it, and yet if we are to judge from
some of the arguments advanced against,
and attacks made upon, wealth as such,
it is a fact worth keeping in mind.
Duty Towards Trusts.
''Still there is other harm of a more evil
dent kind and such harm it is our clear
duty to try to eradicate if possible and in
any event to minimize. The corporations
and therefore those great corporations con-
tanning some tendency to monopoly which
we have grown to speak of rather loosely
as trusts, are the creatures of the state,
and the state not only has the right to
control them, but is in duty bound to con-
troll them wherever the need for such con-
H.
supervision-need to exercise the power of
regulation on the part of the representa-
tiVes Of the public, wherever, as in our
own country at the present time, business
corporations become SO very strong both
for beneficent work and for work that is
not always beneficent. 1t is idle to say that
there is no need for such supervision. A
sufficient warrant for it is to be found
over and over again in any of the various
evils resulting from the present system, or
rather lack Of system.
National Government Must Control.
In my judgment this sovereign must be
the national government. When it has
been given full power, then this full power
can be used to control any evil influence,
exactly as the government is now using
the power conferred upon it under the
Sherman antitrust law. Even when the
full power has been conferred it would be
highly undesirable to attempt too much,
or to begin by stringent legislation. The
mechanism of modern business is as deli
cate and complicated as it is vast, and moth
ing would be more productive of evil to
all of US, and especially 20 those least well
off in this world goods, that ignorant
meddiing with this mechanism and above
all. if the meddling was done in spirit
of class or sectional rancOr 1t is desirable
that this power should be possessed by the
nation, but it is quite as desirable that
the power should be exercised with moder-
alton and self-restraint. The first exercise
of that power should be the securing Of
publicity among all great corpora lions do
ing an interstate business. The publicity,
though non-inquisto should be real and
thorough as to ali important facts with
which the public has concern"
In conclusion let me add one word.
While we are not to be excused if we fail
20 do whatever is possible through the
agency of government, We must ever keep
in mind that no action by the government,
no action by any combination among our
selves, can take the place of the individual
qualities to which in the long run each man
must owe his success. There never has
been devised, ard there never will be de-
vised, any law which will enable man to
succeed save by the exercise of those quail
ties which have always been the prerequi-
sites of SUGGESTIVE qualities of hard work,
of keen intelligence, of unflinching will.
No action by the state in any form can
90 more than supplement the initiative of
the individual ard ordinarily the action
of the state can do no more than secure to
each individual the chance to show, under
as favorable conditions as possible, the
stuff of which he is made"
Driven from Their Homes.
Emporia, Kan, Aug. 25.-Hundreds
of farmers are fleeing from the wa
tiers of the Cottonwood river, leav-
ing behind their deluged farms and
flooded homes. The river has been
rising steadily for a week, and great
damage is resulting.
strike Ended.
Huntington, w. Va, Aug. 25.-The
600 employees of the Ashland sheet
mill, who have been on strike for
several months. will resume work.
Concessions having been made by
both sides, the strike was de-