Daily new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1897-1906, 1902-08-26
EVILS IN THE TRUSTS
President Thinks Certain Peo-
pie, Some Moneyed, Are
Foolish in Denying it.
MORE NATIONAL POWER NEEDED
Better Laws to Meet Trusts, No Mat
ter How They Try to Evade Pros
ecution, Necessary-visits Boston
Left for Maine Today.

Boston, August 26-The weeks
work for President Roosevelt in his
trip through New England began in
earnest this week, when he departed
from the summer home of the junior
senator OF Massachusetts,, Hon. Henry
Cabot Lodge, at Nahant. and, amid the
enthusiasm of the greatest number Of
people he has faced since the Pitts
burg visit on July 4, rode into Lynn
under cavalry escort and spoke from a
latform at city hall. Then he was
taken to Boston by special train and
on arrival went to Symphony hall,
there addressing a great gathering of
Boston business men. His speech
here was devoted almost entirely to
consideration of the trust question.
From the hall the president went to
Hotel Touraine, where little later in
the evening he was the guest of Gov
ernor Crane at dinner.
This morning. bright and early the
presidential party will start for Maine.
In speaking of the evils of trusts
President Roosevelt said in part:
No Use in Denying.
TT is little difficult to set clearly
before us all of the evils. but | think
that those gentlemen, and especially
those gentlemen of large means, who
eeny that the evils exist, are acting
With great folly | am far from being
against property when | ask that the
question of trusts be taken up. | am
acting in the most conservative sense
In property's interest. When a great
corporation is sued for violating the
antitrust law, it is not a move against
property; 1t is a move in favor OF
property. because when you can make
it evident that all men, big and small
putting the safeguard of law around
all men. When you make it evident
hat no man shall be excused for vic.
lating the law, you make It evident
that every man will be protected from
violation of the law. | am inclined to
think that much the greatest trouble
IN any immediate handling of the dues
ton of the trust comes from our sys.
TEN Of government. Let me go back
enc moment | want to guard what |
am saying. | want you to understand
that my words are being taken at their
exact face value. Remember | am
MT saying that even If We had all the
power we could completely solve the
rust question. Gentlemen, if what we
read in the papers is true they are
epeaking of a number of international
trusts now.
Doing Much, Can do More.
at would be very difficult for any
pletely with a problem which becomes
international in its bearings, but a
great deal can be done in various
ways now. A great deal is being done
ind great deal more can be done if
We can see that the power is put
somewhere to do it. On the whole,
tur system of government has worked
r1arvelously well, the system of di.
yiding the functions of government, OF
arranging scheme under which
Maine, Louisiana, Oregon, New York
and South Carolina can all come in to.
gether for certain purposes, and yet
each be allowed to work it's salvation
az it desires along certain lines. But
while | most firmly believe in fixity
of policy, | do not believe that that
policy should be fossilized, and if it
Is to be changed, we must change our
governmental method to meet it.
Il believe with all my heart in the
New England town meeting, but you
cannot work the New England town
meeting in Boston. You have got to
try something else. Now, when this
government was founded, there were
10 great individual or corporate for
tunes, and commerce and industry
were being carried on very much as
they had been from the days when
N'nevah and Babylon stod in the
Mesopitamian valley. The wagon
train and the pack train and the sail
ing craft-these were the methods of
commerce. Everything has been rev
olutionized in the business world
since, and the progress of civilization
: q
a torrent There was no particular
thing at that time to bother as TO
whether the nation or the state had
control of the corporations. They
were easy to control. Now, however,
the exact reverse is the case, and re-
member | say Corporations, | do
not say merely trusts, merely com.
binations of corporations or corpora
lions under certain peculiar condi-
tions. For instance, some time ago
The attorney general took action
against certain trust. There has
been considerable discussion as to
whether the trust aimed at would not
seek to get out from under the law by
becoming single corporation.
Want Laws That Can't be Evaded.
Il want laws to enable us to deal
with 1t no matter what shape 1t takes
| want to see the government able to
get at it definitely, so that the action
of the government cannot be evaded
ty any turning, within or without fed
cral or other statutes. At present we
1--we really no efficient control over
big corporation which does business
In more than one state. Frequently
the corporation has nothing whatever
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