The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-08-26
ROOSEVELT ON
 THE TRUST EVIL
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 sued for violating the antitrust law, 1t is not a move against property; 1t is move in favor of. property, because when you can make 1t evident that All men, big and small alike, have to obey the law, you are putting the safeguard of law around all men. When you make 1t evident that no man shall be excused for violating the law you make 1t evil dent that every man will be protected from violation of law.
 A Difficult Problem.
 Tt would be very difficult for any set of laws on our part to deal completely with a problem which becomes interna- tional in It's bearings, but great deal can be done If we can see that the power is put somewhere to do it. On the whole our system of government has worked marvelously we'll the system of dividing the functions of government, of arrang- ing a scheme under which Maine, Louis- iaEa, Oregon, Idaho, New York and South Carolina can all come in together for certain purposes, and yet each be allowed to work It's salvation as 1t de- sires, along certain lines. But while I most firmly believe in fixity of policy, I don't believe that policy should be fos- silized, and If 1t is to be changed, we must change our governmental method to meet 1t.
 At present we have really no actual control over big corporation which does business in more than one state. Ere quently the corporation has nothing to do whatever with the state in which it is in- corporated. except to get incorporated, and its actions may be taken in entire ly different communites-commu which may object very much to the meth ods of incorporation In the state named. 1 do not think you can get action by any state, action by all the states, that will give us satisfactory control of the trusts or big corporations and the result Is at present that we have a great, powerful, artificial creation. which has no creator to which 1t is responsible.
 Creature of the State.
 "Of course, 1t Is mere truism that the corporation Is the creature of the state; that the state is sovereign. Now I want to make real and not nominal sov- ereign; to have some one sovereign to which the corporation shall be really, and not nominally, responsible.
 At present If we pass laws nobody can tell whether they will amount to any thing. Now that has two bad effects. In the first place the corporation becomes indifferent to the law-malSing body and in the next place. gentlemen, the law-mak- ing body gets Into that most pernicious custom of passing a law, not with refer ence to what will be done under 1t, but with reference to Its effects on the opin- ions of the voters. That is bad thing.
 "when any body of lawmakers passes a law not solely with reference as to whether that law will do good or ill., but with the knowledge that not much will come of it and yet that. perhaps the people as a whole, will likely think it was good, it does not speak well for the lawmakers and it does not speak very well for the people either. What 1 hope to see is power given to the national legislature which shall make the con trol real. It would be an excellent thing if we could have all the states act on somewhat similar lines, so that 1t would be unnecessary for the national govern ment to act but all of you know per- fectly well the states will not act on somewhat similar lines.
 Nothing has been done in the direc- ton of intelligent dealing by the states as a collective body with these great corporations. Here in Massachusetts you have what I regard as on the whole excellent corporation laws. I think that most of our difficulties-here again re- member I am not promising the mill lineum-it Is not in my power to promise it-would be in fair way of solution if we had the power to put on the na- tional statute books and put on them, laws for the nation much like those you have here, on the subject of cor porations in Massachusetts.
 Advocates Nothing Revolutionary.
 "So you can see gentlemen, I am not advocating anything very revolutionary. I am advocating action to prevent any thing revolutionary. Now. if we can get adequate control by the nation of these corporations, then we can pass legisla- ton which will give us the power of reg ulation and supervision. over them. If the nation had that power mind you, should advocate as strenuously as I knew how-that power should be exer- cised with extreme caution and se1f-re- straint. No good will come from plung- ing in without having looked carefully ahead.
 "The first thing we want is publicity, and do not mean publicity as favor by some corporations. I mean 1t as a right from all corporations affected by the law. want publicity as to the essential facts in which the public has an interest. I want the knowledge given to the accredit- ed representatives, of the people Of facts on which those representatives can, if they see fit. bese their actions later. The publicity itself would cure many evils. Some of these things I have said can be done now. A good deal is being done now. As far, as the antitrust laws go, they will be enforced. No suit will be undertaken for the sake of seeming to undertake it. Every suit that is under taken will be begun by the great lawyer and the upright man who we are so for tunate to have as attorney general MT. Knox. He believes that there IS viola r-