The Savannah morning news., 1902-12-03

To the Senate and House of Represent
tativeS.
We still continue in a period of UNI
bounded prosperity. This prosperity is
not the creature of law, but undoubt-
eddy the laws under which we work
have been instrumental in creating the
conditions which made IL possible, and
by unwise legislation it would be easy
enough to destroy it. The wave will
recede: but the tide will advance. This
nation is seated on a continent flanked
by two great oceans. 1t is composed
of men the descendants of pioneers, OF.
in a sense, pioneers themselves; of
men winnowed out from among the
nations of the old world by the en-
ergy, boldness 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 de-
cided 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 en-
deavor from which either great fall
ure or great success must come. Even
If we would, we can not play a small
IL
follow would be that we should play "a
large part ignobly and shamefullX.
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 and resolute of will. Ours is
not the creed of the weakling and the
coward; ours Is the gospel of hope and
of triumphant 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 grav-
er 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
II.
Development of the Country
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 acci-
dental causes, but to the play of the
economic forces in this country for
over a century; to our laws. our sus-
tanned and continuous policies: above
all, to the high individual average 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 not by doing evil but
as an incident to action which has ben
efited the community as whole. New
er before has material well-being been
so widely diffused among our people
Great fortunes have been accumulated,
and yet in the aggregate these for
tunes are small indeed when compared
TO the wealth of the people as a whole.
The plain people are better off than
they have ever been before. The insur-
ance companies. which are practically
mutual benefit societies-especially
helpful to men of moderate means-rep-
resent 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 coun-
try now than ever before in our his
tory. OF course, when the conditions
have favored the growth of so much
that was good. they have also favored
somewhat the growth of what was
evil. 1t Is eminently necessary that
we should endeavor to cut out this evil,
but let us keep a due sense of proper
ton; let us not in fixing our gaze upon
the lesser evil forget the greater good.
The evils are real and some of them
are menacing, but they are the out
growth, not of misery OF decadence,
but of prosperity--of the progress of
our gigantic industrial DEVELOPMENT
This industrial development must not
be checked, but side by side with it
should go such progressive regulation
as will diminish 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 res
olution. separating the good from the
bad and holding on to the former
while endeavoring to get rid of the
latter.
Trusts Get Early Mention.
gress at its first session discussed at
length the question of the
regulation of those big COR
porations commonly doing an
interstate business. often with some
tendency to monopoly, which are popu-
larly known as trusts. The expert
ence of the past year has emphasized,
in my opinion, the desirability of the
steps then proposed. A fundamental
requisite of social efficiency is a high
standard of individual energy and ex-
cellence: but this is in no wise incon-
sistent with power to act in combina-
ton for aims which can not so we'll be
achieved by the individual acting alone.
A fundamental base of civilization is
the inviolability of property; but this
is in no wise inconsistent with the right
of society to regulate the exercise OF
the artificial powers which ii confers
upon the owners of property, under the
name of corporate franchises, in such
way as TO prevent the misuse of
these powers. Corporations, and espe-
cially combinations of corporations,
should be managed under public reg
ulation. Experience has shown that
under our system of government the
necessary supervision can not be OBJ
tanned by state action. 1t must there
fore be achieved by national action
Our aim is not to do away with cor
porations; on the contrary, these big
aggregations are an inevitable develop
ment of modern industrialism, and the
effort to destroy them would be futile
unless accomplished in ways that
would work the utmost mischief to the
entire body polite. We can do moth
Ing of good in the way of regulating
and supervising these corporations un-
I'll we fix clearly in our minds that
we are not attacking the corporations,
but endeayoring 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 SUBJ
serve 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 wrongdoer, provided only he