The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-09-07
THIS CANNOT BE DAM MED
Levees May be Built to Keep it With.
in Bounds.
so OF IRNsls. They MAY Be CON TRoLLED
But The First Thing is TO Give The National
Government Power. This Address at
Wheeling is Greeted With
Great Applause.
Great Applause
(By the Associated Press.)

Wheeling, w. Va, Sept. 6.-President
Roosevelt and party arrived over the
Baltimore and Ohio at s: 80 this morning
from Washington. He was greeted by
vast crowd at the depot and smiled his
appreciation despite his badly discoIored
face His right cheek was rather badly
swollen and confused, and his left eve
showed signs of discoloration
Mayor Sweeney, President Laughlin
and Secretary Birch, of the Board of
Trade, Postmaster Hall and Councilman
Waterhouse formed committee which
received the President. The entire par
ty, which embodied Secretary Cortelvou
Secret Service men and staff of corre
spondents, entered vehicles and were
driven to the Mcclure House. headed bv
military band.
Throughout the entire route enthusiasm
was rife, the streets being lined with
people from western Pennsylvania. east
ern Ohio and West Virginia. At the
hotel the Chief Executive met a dele
cation of the prominent citizens of
wheeling, introduced by enator Nathan
Scott
President Roosevelt seemed in very
Jovial hun1or and joked with his newly
made acQuaintances. He addressed ar
enormous crowd from the balcony of the
hotel. He spoke long beyond his sched-
uied time. which necessitated the cur
tallment of the regular program. The
President said:
great period of national materia&
well-heing is unavoidably one in which
human minds are turned to the wav in
Whlch those interested in the manage
hent or the gigantic eapitalistic CORPORA
uonS, whose growth has been so noted
period Of the past half century, flour
lsn. we nave grown to speak of certain
corporations rather loosely gas trusts
using the word in its usual and common
significance of big corporation. usually
doing business in several States at least
beside the State in which 1T is ncorpora
ted. 1t seems to me that in dealing with
thls problem of the trusts (perhaps it
would be more correct to call it a grouD
OF problems), we have 10 class all of our
fellow citizens. One is composed of those
men who refuse to admit that there is
any action necessary at all The other
Is composed of those men who advocate
some effective action or action
which Ii effective, would be effective onlv
by destroying everything good and bad
connected with our industrial develop
ment In every governmental process,
the aim that people capable of self
government should keep in mind is to
proceed by evolution rather than by revo-
luton. On the other hand every people
that has self-government must beware
OF this fosslization of mind which re-
fuses to allow of anv change. as condi-
tions change. Now in dealing with the
problem of a change in our great indus
trial civilization in dealing with the ten
dency which has been accentuated to an
extraordinary degree by steam and cleo
tricity. and by the tremendous upbuilding
OF industrial ENTERPRISES dealing with
these problems, | think we must set be-
fore ourselves. a desire not to accept less
tnan the possible, and at the same time
not TO bring ourselves to a complete
standstill by demanding the impossible
IL IS good deal like taking care.
through the engineers. of the lower Mis-
Sissippi River. No one can dam the Mis-
sissippi If the nation starts to dam it.
its time would be wasted 1t would not
hJure the Mississippi, it would only
damage the population along the banks.
Fou cannot dam the current. so you
"uIid teNeeS, ana keep the current wit hin
bounds and shane its direction. Now. 7
think that is exactly what we can do
with these great corporations. known as
trusts. We cannot dam them. we cannot
reverse the industrial tendencies of the
age. You can control and regulate them
so that they will do no harm.
I'VE can do something. 7 believe wc
can do a good deaf, is conditional uuon
setting to work in 4 spirit as far removed
as is possible from hysteriaa A spirit
of sober, steadiast. kindly Il want to
emphasize the word kindly. letcrmina-
tion not to submit to wrong ourselves
and not to wrong others. Not 10 interfere
with the great business development of
the country, but at the same time so as
to shape our legialation and a1mini@tra-
tion to regula5e. if we cannot remedy
the vicious features connected with that
industrial development | am sufticiCrt-
ly fortunate to be defel1ia5 now as
President, precisely the remedies that
| advocated two years ago. | am adVo-
eating the nnot IN any partisan spirit.
because. gentlsm this is a problem
which affects the life of tine nation as a
whole. | am Advocating tirn simply
san American citizen>who for The time
being stands as the chic. executive an1