The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-09-03
STAND ON TRUSTS
WHAT THE PRESIDENT REPLIES
TO HIS CRITICS.
AGAINST EVILS OF TRUSTS.
NOT WITH THE MAN WHO SAYS
"DESTROY THE TRUSTS"

Great CorporntiOn-After COrrec-
ton of Evils. Not the Destruction
of the COrp0ratiOns-OppOs Those
ieves LAW 10 Prevent Abuses
Can he Enacted.
Fitchburg, Mass, Sept. 1.-The first
important stop of President Roosevelt,
after he had resumed his travels
through Massachusetts, to-day, was st
this city, where he found the. people
keeping a general holiday. A stop of
an hour was made here, and the Pres
ident delivered an address, thousands
of people being assembled to hear him.
In his address here the President de-
voted himself almost exclusively to the
trusts. in answer to his critics. He
said, in part:
IF some of those who have seen
cause for wonder in what l have said
this fall on the subject of the great
corporations, which are popularity, al
though with technical inaccuracy,
known as trusts, would take the trou-
BILE to read my messages when 1 was
Governor, what 1 said on the stump
two years ago, and what l put into
my first message to Congress, think
they would have been less astonished.
Trusts and Corporations.
II said nothing on the stump that l
did not think l could make good, and
1 shall not hesitate now to take the
position which / then advocated. L am
even more anxious that you, who hear
what 1 say, should think of it than
that you should applaud it. 1 am not
going to try to define with technical
accuracy what ought to be meant
when we speak of a trust But, if by
trust we mean merely a big corpora
ton, then I ask you 70 ponder the
utter folly of the man, who, either in
a spirit of rancor or in a spirit of
folly says, Destroy the trusts, without
giving you an idea of what he means
really to do. 1 will go with him if
he says destroy the evil in the trusts,
gladly. 1 will try to find out that evil.
Il will seek to apply remedies which
/ have already outlined in other
speeches. But, if this policy, from
whatever motive, whether hatred, fear,
panic or just sheer ignorance, is to
destroy the trusts in "a way that will
men who advocate wild and foolish
remedies, which would be worse than
the disease, are doing all in their
power to perpetuate the evils against
which they nominally war, because If
we are brought face to face with the
naked issue of either keeping or to-
tally destroying a prosperity in which
the majority share, but in which some
share improperly, why, as sensible
men, we must decide that it is a great
deal better that some people should
prosper too much than that no one
should prosper enough. So that the
man who advocates destroying the
trusts by measures which would par
alyze the industries of the country, is
at best a quack and at worst an enemy
to the republic.
Reward Al Captain of Industry.
Now it does not do anybody any
good, and 1t will do most of us a great
deal of harm, to take steps which will
check any proper growth in a corpor-
alton. We wish not to penalize, but 20
reward a great captain of industry or
the men banded together in a corpor-
alton, who have the business fore
thought and energy necessary to build
up great industrial enterprise. Keep
that in mind. A big corporation may be
doing excellent work for the whole
COuHtIys gnu YOU WdHl, dDONt till
things, when striving to get a plan
which will prevent wrong-doing by a
corporation, which desires to do wrong,
not at the same time to have a scheme
which will interfere with a corpora
ton doing well if that corp oration is
handling itself squarely and honestly.
Now, what I am saying ought to
be treated as simple. elementary
truths. The only reason 1t is necessary
to say them at all is that apparently
some people forget them. I believe
something can be done by national leg
islation. When ! state that. | ask you
is not in my power to say I know.
When I talk to you of my own exe2u-
tive duties / can tell you definitely
what will and what will not be done,
When l speak of the actions Of any
one else, l can only say that l believe
something more can be done by ma
tional legislation. believe it will
be done. I think we can get
laws which will measurably increase
the power of the federal government
over corporations; but, gentlemen, 1
believe firmly that in the end there
will have to be an amendment to the
constitution of the nation, comforting
additional power upon the federal gov
eminent to deal with corporations. To
get that will be matter of difficulty,
and a matter of time.
81 want you to think of what have
said, because it represents all of the
sincerity and earnestness that I have,
and l say to you here from this plat
form nothing that l have not already
stated, and nothing that | would not
say at a private table, with any of the
biggest corporation managers of the
land"