The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-08-26

Providence, r. l., August 23.-Not |
since the visit here of President Hayes |
twenty-five years ago, has a chief ex-
ecutive been accorded 80 brilliant and
thoroughly general a reception as that |
rendered today to President Roosevelt |
on the occasion of his tour through this |
state. People came from every part of
the state and gathered Efteen thousand
strong about the platform at city hall
from which the president delivered an
address.
An ovation lasting minutes was the
presidents greeting wlen he rose to
speak. President Roosevelt devoted his
attention to Industrial conditions grow
Ing out of prosperity. especially the in
crease of corporate wealth. He said:
For some of the evils which have at
tended upon the good of the changed
conditions we can at present see no
complete remedy. For others the rem
edy must come by the action of men
themselves in their private capacity
whether merely as Individuals or by
com Dlnat1On one with another For vet
others similar remedy can be found in
legislative or executive action, national.
state or municipal Much of the COM
pla1nt against combinations is entirely
unwarranted. Under present day con-
d!tlonS II is as necessary to have cor
pOratiOnS in the business world as it is
to have organization among wage work
ers. But We have q right to ask in each
case that they shall do good and not
harm.
"A great fortune if not used Alright
makes its posessOr in "a peculiar sense
a menace to the community as a whole
just as a great intellect does if it is un-
accompanied by developed conscience,
by character. But obviously this no
more affords grounds for condemning
wealth than it does for condemning in
tellect. Every man of power by the
very fact of the power is capable of
doing damage to his ncighbors but we
cannot afford to discourage the develop
ment of such men merely because it is
possible they may use their power to
wrong ends.
Probably the most serious harm re-
sulting to us, the people of moderate
means is when we harm ourselves by
letting the dark and evil vices of envy
and hatred towards our fellows, eat
into our natures.
Still there is other harm, of a more
evident kind and such harm it is our
clear duty to try to eradicate if possi-
corporations and therefore those great
corporations containing 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 control them where
ever the need for such control is shown.
There is clearly a need of supervision.
1t is idle to say that there is no need
for such supervision. A sufficient war
rant for it is to be found over and over
again in any of the various evils re-
sulting from the present system or
either lack of system.
There is in our country a peculiar
difficulty in the way of exercising such
supervision and control because of the
peculiar division of governmental pow
er. Now the conditions are complicat-
ed, and We find it difficult to frame ma
q tional Legislation which ,shan be ade-
quate, while as a matter Of practical
experience, state action has proved en-
tirely insufficient and in all human
probability can not or VIII not be made
sufficient, to meet the needs of the case.
believe that the nation must assume
this power of control by legislation and
if it becomes evident that trC constitu-
ton will not permit needed legislation,
then by constitutional amendment. The
Immediate need in dealing with trusts is
to place them under the real, not noml-
nal, control of some sovereign to which,
as it's crea ature.> the trusts shall owe al
legiance, and in whose courts the SOW
ereign's oredrs may with certainty be
enforced, Some governmental sover-
eign must be given full power over these
artificial and very powerful beings. In
my judgment this sovereign must be the
national government.
The first exercise of that power should
be the securing of publicity among all
great corporations doing an interstate
business. The publicity, though nom
inquisitorial, should be real and thor
ough as to all important facts with
which the public has concern. The full
light of day is a great discourager of
evil. Such publicity would by itself
tend to cure the evils OF which there is
inst complaint. and where the alleged
evils are imaginary it would tend 10
show that such was the case. When
publicity is attained 1t would tnen De
possible to see what further should De
done in the way of reCulatlon.
Address at wiIliamantic.
Williamantic Conn.,, August 2S.-Pres-
ident Roosevelt after spending the nlsnt
Hartford today resumed his journey
through New England. His train le1t
that city promptly at o'clock but the
early hour set for his departure did not
deter the people from turning out in
force and giving him hearty send of.
The floral horse shoe presented to the
president by the working men of Hart
ford yesterday was by MS request
nJaced on the engine.
All along the line the small towns
turned out their entire population, eacn
apparentIy anxious to snare in the wei
come which Connecticut is extending.