Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1902-09-21
Audience is Prevented.

these annual carnivals. The weather
was threatening when the President ar
rived, and during the indoor receptions
Of the morning. but exceptionally pleas
ant for the afternoon and evening demon
strait President Roosevelt was the
attraction, as well as the guest OF honor.
and he served his hosts with untiring
Willingness continuously from ~ a M.
until 10 p NJ, with out consulting MS
own convenience or comfort.
The President was kept on his feet ana
busy for more than twelve hours, win
the exception of the time at the noon
luncheon and the evening banquet
Among his indulgences of the DAY was
an hour or more in the afternoon, spent
in sightseeing at the fall festival. Alter
this experience he was escorted lnto liie
auditorium of Music Hail. and deiNeieu
an address to an immense audience, WIN
more than 1000 business men and manu-
facturer's seated on tie stage win iiliil.
The Presidents address was largely OF
local application. He was Interrupted by
enthusiastic demonstrations when ne re-
ferred to the late President Mckinney
Ovation No. =.
The crowd in the buildings and grounds
of the festival tonight were like those
of the afternoon. The President was
greeted with loud cheering as his carrlaSe-
approached the entrance, and when he
was escorted into the auditorium the
demonstrations continued for some time
After being welcomed officially by Mayor
Julius Fleischmann and introduced. he
a. rf,-ci in}
that the bands broke in to secure order.
After thanking Mayor Fleischmann and
the officers of the festival for their cour-
tesies. and the audience for its hearty
greeting the President especially re-
uUeSted attention. as he proposed, as the
Chief Executive of all the people. without
regard to party, to make an argument or
a serious question Silence then prevailed
until the first mention of the trusts. when
the applause broke. out. and continued at
frequent intervals. Whom he was speaking
about holding corporations to the same
responsibility as individuals, he was in
terrupted by demonstration or approval.
There was another marked demonstrate ton
when he advocated such a constitutional
amendment as would give national con-
troll of such corporations as had outgrown
the jurisdiction of the State. The Presi-
dent said in part:
I'm dealing with the big corpora tons
we intend to proceed not by revolution,
but by evolution. We wish to face the
facts declining to have our vision blind
ed either by the folly Of those who say
there are no evils. or by the more dan
gerous folly of those VINO either see or
make believe that they see nothing but
evil in all the existing systems. and who,
if given their way, would destroy the evil
by the simple process of bringing ruin
and disaster to the entire country. The
evils attendant upon over pitallZa ton
alone are, in my Judgment sufficient to
warrant a far closer supervision and con-
troll than now exists over the great cor
pora tons. Wherever a substantial mono
poly can be shown to exist, we should
certainly try our utmost to devise an eX-
pertinent by which it can be controlled.
Doubtless some of the evils existing in,
or because of the great corporations. can
not be cured by any legislation which
has yet been proposed. and doubtless
Others which have really been incident
to the sudden developm ent in the forEa-
ton of corporations of all kinds. will in
the end cure themselves. But others viii
remain that can be cured it we only set
about curing them with sanity. Corpora
lions that are handled honestly and fairly,
so far from being evil, are natural bust
ness evolution. and make for the general
prosperity of our land. We do not wish
to destroy corporal ton. We wish to make
them subserve the public good.
.'The savings banks show what can be
done in the way Of genuinely benehcent
work by large corporations when fntelll-
gently administered and supervised. They
now hold over twenty-siX hundred mill
-4ons of the people money, and pay an
nually about one hundred millions of in
terest or profit to their depositors. There
is no talk of danger from these corpora
tons; yet they possess great power, hold
ing over three times the amount of our
national debt. The chef reason for there
being no talk of danger from them is
that they are. on the whole faithfully adj
mnistered, for the benefit of all. under
wise laws, which require frequent and
full publication of their condition, and
which prescribe certain needful regula-
tons with which they have to comply.
while at the same time giving full scope
for the best enterprise of their managers
within these limits.
Now of course. savings banks are
not as highly specialized as a class of
corporations as railroads. and we cannot
force too far the analogy with the other
hut in,