The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-09-07

long rnn n is more Comfortable to make
promises that can be kept instead OF max
ing promises which are sure OF an I'M
mense reception when made. but which
entail fntoIerabIe humiliation when IL Is
attempted TO carry them out.
IT am sufficiently fortunate 10 De oe-
Tending now as President. precisely the
remedies that L advocated TWO years aeo.
/ am advocating them not In any partisan
spirit because, gentlemen, this problem Is
a problem which affects the life or the
Nation as a whole. / am advocating thenl
simply as an American citizen, VINO TOT
the time being stands as the chieI eAeSu
tive and the special representative of his
fellow-citiZens OF all parties. ,E5
"a quarter of a century ago there na1
been no development of Industries such
as to make il a matter of the least I'M
portance whether the Nation OF the STAT
took charge of the great corporations ana
supervised the great business ana lhuuslI !
ORGANIZATIONS A century and a quarter
ago here at Wheeling commerce was car
RED on by pack trains, by wagon trans
and by boats. There had then been no rau-
zeal change in any essential features IN the
ways of commerce from the days When tue
Phoenician galleys piled the waters OF tne
wears. perhaps longer, the great civilized
nations, dating back into the immemorlsa al
past when Babylon and Uneven $1,000 III
MesopOtamia, when Thebes ana Mem
were mighty in the valley OF the Mic
from that time on through the supremacy
of Greece and of Rome. through the , up
building of the great trading cltles Hhe
Venice and Genoa in Italy. like the cities
of the Rhine and the Netherlands in north
ern Europe-on through the period OF tne
great expansion of European CIVILIZATION
which followed the voyages or columbus
and Vasco da Cana, right on down 10
the time when this country became a ns,
fion-the means of commercial intercourse
remained substantially unchanged. Those
means therefore. limited narrowly what
could be done by any ,orporauons' oo ure
growth that could take place IN any com-
suddenly during our own lifetime
nation-a lifetime OF trivial duraton com
pared to the period of recorded history
there came a revolution In the means or
intercourse which made a change IN COM
merce and in all that springs from COM
merce. i'm Industrial development, greater
than all the changes Of the preceding thou
sands of years. greater change mas Ia
ken place since Wheeling was founded,
greater change in the intercourse OF man
kind has taken place, than In all the prev1-
Gus periods during which man mad nved.
You have right in this neighoornood very
much larger population than any similar
region in all the United States when the
Continental Congress first sat: The change
in Industrial conditions has been literally
immeasureable Those changed conditions
make necessary governmental changes
through regulation and supervision such
changes were not provided for and could
not have been provided for in default OF
knowledge of prophecy by the men who
founded the Republic. In those days each
State could take care perfectly well OF any
corporations within its limits, and all 1t
had to do was to try to encourage their
upbuilding.
STATE LAWS NOT UNIFORM
'Now the big corporations, although NOM
inally the creatures of one State. usually
do business in other States, and in a very
large number Of cases the wide variety of
State laws on the subject Of corporations
has brought about the fact that the cor
poration is made in one State. but does al
most all its work in entirely different
States. 1t has proved utterly impossible to
get anything like uniformity of legislation
among the States Some States have passed
laws about corporations, which, If they
had not been ineffective, would have total
~ prevented any important corporate work
being done within their limits. Other States
have SUCH lax laws that there is no effective
effort made to control any of the abuses
AS a result. we have a system of divided
controI-where the Nation has something
TO say, but IL is little difficult to know ex-
actly how much, and where the different
SNes have each something to say, but
where there is no supreme power that can
speak with authority. Ii is, of course, q
mere truism to say that every corporation.
the smallest well as the largest is the
creature of the State. Where the corpora
tion is small. there is very little need of
exercising much supervision over it, but
the stupendous corporations of the present
day certainly should be under governmental
supervision and regulation. Applause. i
The first effort to make is to give some
body the power to exercise that supervi-
sion, that regulation. We have already
laws on the statute books. Those laws will
be enforced and are being enforced with
ell the power of the national government.
and wholly without regard to persons. lap
plause.l But the power is very limited.
Now, / want you 10 take my words at
their exact value. think-I cannot say
i am sure, because 1t has often happened
In the past that Congress has passed laws
rrff civ In xrfaU and hon
that law has been judicially interpreted
IL has proved that the purpose was not
achieved-but I think that by legislation
additional power in the way of regulation
of at least a number of these great cor
porations can be conferred. But, gentle
men, firmly believe that in the end power
must be given. probably through a consti-
tutional amendment, to the national gov
eminent to exercise full supervision and
regulation OF those great enterprises. lap
plauseI Inat Is not new doctrine for me.
That is the doctrine that L advocated on
the stump two years ago.
MEANS WHAT HE SAYS
Some of my ultra conservative friends
have professed to be greatly shocked at my
advocating governmental control of cor
porations. i would explain to those gen.
tlemen once for all that they err whenever
they think that I advocate on the stumI
anything 1 will not try to put into effect
after election. IGreat appIause.l
Now the point is made that WORKING
along these lines will take time. So it will
Let me go back to my illustration of the
Mississippi river. 1t took some time Il
build the levees. but we built them. And i
We have the proper intelligence, the proper
resolution and the proper self-restraint
we can work out che solution along tn,
lines that have indicated. The first thin.
is to give the national government tn,
power. What power is given, / can ASSURE
sible from rancor, but with the firmes
determination TO make big men and littl
men alike obey the law. IApplause.1 Wha
We need first Is power. Having got tn
power, gentlemen. remember that the worl
won't be ended. Ii will be only fairly be
gun. And let me say again. and again an,
again. that you will not get the millennium
The millennium is some way off yet Blu
you Will be in a position to make lon!
strides in the direction OF securing a juste
and fairer and more intelligent and NOR
both as regards the general public and a
regards their relationships among them
selves
when you have the power I shoul
most earnestly advocate that il be use,
with the greatest wisdom and self-restraint
The first thing would be 10 find out tn
facts. For that purpose l am absolutel
clear that we need publicity, not as a favo
from any one corporation, but as matte
OF right. The mere fact OF the publicit,
itself VIII tend to stop many OF the evils
and IL Will show that some of the alleges
evils are imaginary. and finally, in MAXIM
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