The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-08-24
AT PROVIDENCE.
President Discusses Combinations and
the Remedy for Trust Evils.
AT PrOvfdapca President DooSav-ert e,oI,o

I'VE are passing through a period of
great material prosperity and such a pc
ROD Is as sure adversely itself TO bring
mutterings of discomfort. At a time when
most men prosper somewhat it always hap
pens that few men prosper greatly and it
IS as true now it was when the Tower
OF Sloan fell on all who were under il,
that good fortune does not come only to
the Just. nor bad fortune only TO the un-
Just When the weather is good for crops
IL Is also good for weeds. Moreover, not
only do the wicked flourish when the times
are such that most men flourish, but what
Is worse, the spirit of envy and jealousy
ald hatred springs up in the breasts of
those who, though they may be doing
fairly well themselves. yet see others, who
are no more deserving, do far better.
Wise laws, and fearless and upright adj
mlnlstrat1on of the laws, can give the OPP
portunity for such prosperity as that we
see about us. But this is all they can do
When the conditions have been created
Wnicn make prosperity possible, then each
individual man must achieve il for himself,
by his own thrift, intelligence. energy, in
dustry and resolute purpose. If, when
people wax fat they kick, as they have
been prone to do since the days of JeshUr-
UNI, they will speedily destroy their own
prosperity. If they go into wild speculation
ana lose their heads, they have lost that
when WhIch no legislation can supply. and the
business world will suffer in consequence.
IL IN spirit OF sullen envy, they insist on
pulling down those who have profited most
by the years of fairness. they will bury
themselves In the crash of the common dis
aSter. IL Is difficult to make our material
condItlon better by the best laws, but it is
easy enough by bad laws to throw the
Whole nation into an abyss of misery.
Now, the upshoOt of all this is that it is
pecuharly incumbent on us in time of
such material well-being, both cOlec-
lively as nation, and individually, each
on his own account, to show that we
possess the qualities of prudence, self
knowledge and Self-restrafnt. In gov
eminent we need above all things stability,
economic " m
ing that this fxity must not be fossiIza-
ton; that there must not be inability to
shape our course anew to meet the shifting
needs of the people as these needs arise.
There are real and great evils in our social
and economic life, and these evils stand out
with ugly badness during good times for
the wicked who prosper are never pleas
ant sight. There is every need of striving in
all possible ways, individually and cOllec-
lively. by combinations among ourselves in
private life and through the recognized or
ganS OF government, for the cutting out of
these evils. Only let us be sure that we
do not use the knife with ignorant zeal.
which would make it more dangerous TO the
patient than to the disease.
COMBINATIONS.
lone of the dangers of the tremendous in
dustrial growth of the last generation has
been the very great increase in large pri-
yate, and especially in large corporate firms.
We may like this or not, just as we please.
but IL is a fact, nevertheless. and as far
as we can see, it is an inevitable result
Of the working of various causes, promi-
nent among which has been the immense
Importance steam and electricity have
sumed in modern life. Urban population
has grown in this country, as in all civilized
countries, much faster than the population
as whole during the last century, and
where men are gathered together in great
masses it inevitably results that they must
work far more largely by means of COM
binations among themselves, than when
they live isolated from one another Now, L
suppose that most of US prefer on many ac-
counts the old conditions of life, under
which the average man lived more by
average community was more self
dependent and where, even though
the standard of comfort was lower
on the average yet there was less of the
glaring inequality in worldly conditions
which see in our glories.
1T is not true that the people have grown
poorer, but some of the rich have grown so
very much richer that where multitudes of
men are herded together in limited space
the contrast strikes the onlooker as more
violent than formerly. On the whole, our
people earn more and live better than ever
before, and the progress of which we are
so proud could not have taken place had it
not been for the great up-building of indus
trial centers, such as our commercial and
manufacturing cities. But, together with
the good there has come measure of evil.
Life is not so simple as IL was, and surely
/
the simple life is normally the healthy life.
There is not in the cities the same sense of
common, underlying brotherhood which
| there is still in country localities, and the
lines of social cleavage are far more clearly
marked.
For some of the evils which have at
| tended upon the good of the changed condi-
| lions we can at present see no complete
/ remedy For others the remedy must come
| by the action of men themselves in their
/ private capacity, whether merely indi-
viz nv bln1fiOn
/ other. For yet others some other remedy
/ can be found in legislative and executive
| action, national, state or municipal. Much
/ OF the complaint against combinations is
entirely unwaFranted. Under preSent-da y
conditions il is as necessary to have corpO-
/ rations in the business world as ii is to
/ have organization among wage-workers.
/ But we have a right to ask in each case
| that they shall do good and not harm. Ex-
/ actly as labor organizations, when man
I aged intelligently and IN spirit of justice
and fair play. are of very great service
/ not only TO the wage-wOrkers, but to the
/ whole community as the history Of many
| labor organizations has cOnclusively shown
| so wealth. not merely individual, but cor
\ pOrate. when used Alright, is not merely a
benefit 10 the community a whole but
/ indispensable to the upbuilding of the cOun-
try under the conditions which at present
/ the country has grown not only to accept
\ but 20 demand as normal This is so OBJ
! Vious that is seems trite to state il. and
yet If we are TO judge from some OF the ar
! guments advanced against. and attacks
/ made upon wealth as such, il is a fact
| worth keeping in mind.
THE MOST USEFUL MAN.
"a great fortune, if not used Alright
makes its possessor in a peculiar sense a
menace to the community whole, just
| as a great intellect does if it is unaccom-
! panied by developed conscience by char
acter. But obviously this no more affords
grounds for condemning wealth than it does
! for condemning intellect. Every man OF
power. by the very fact of that power, is
| capable of doing damage TO his neighbors
but we cannot afford TO discourage the de
velopment of such men merely because Il
/ IL possible they may use their power 4
/ wrong ends. II We did so we should leav,
our history a blank for should hav,
! no great statesmen. soldiers or merchants
! no great men OF arts, Of letters, or OF
| science.
Doubtless on the average the most use
ful man TO his fellOw-citizens is apt TO b,
he 10 whom has been given what tht
psalmist prayed FOR. neither poverty MOI
| riches, but the great captain OF industry
the man OF wealth, who alone, OF In com
bination with his fellows, drives through
! our great business enterprises. is a factor