The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-09-22
President Roosevelt Sounds
Keynote for 1904.
Takes Stand in Opposition to
Tariff Changes.
NOT A TRUST REMEDY.
But Would Disturb Business
and Prevailing Prosperity.

Cincinnati Sept 22.-President Roose-
welt delivered his antitrust speech here
that has been awaited anxiously Satur
day night. Music hall was crowded to
the doors and there were still people
who couldn't get inside. Whatever may
have been the hopes of the Republicans
who are against the high protective tar
if, they were shattered. Not only did
Mr.. Roosevelt talk against a tariff re-
duction, but he attempted to prove that
reductions in tariff would be detri-
mental to all business and would not
cure the evils of the trusts. He said
trust question, and that is to curb the
evils with legislation. This legislation.
he said too. must be careful, cautious
Legislation that will not bring about a
panic in financial conditions.
The president spoke as follows:
Today 1 wish to speak to you on the
subject, or group of subjects, which we
mean when we talk of the trusts. The
word is used very loosely and almost
always with technical inaccuracy. But
the average man when he speaks of the
trusts means rather vaguely all of the
very big corporations, the growth of
which has been SO signal feature of
our modern times, and especially those
big corporations which, though organ
lied in one state, do business in several
states, and some of which have a tend
ency to monopoly.
This whole subject of the trusts is of
vital concern to us, because it presents
one, and perhaps the most conspicuous.
of the many problems forced upon our
attention by the tremendous industrial
development which has taken place dur
ing the last half century in all civilized
countries, and notably in our own.
Many factors have @concurred in bring
Ing about these changed industrial con-
ditions. OF these. steam and electricity
are the chief The extraordinary change
in the methods OF transportation of
merchandise and of transmission of in
oil hoe
sible, but inevitable, the immense in
crease in the date of growth of indus
trial centers-that is. of great cities
Hence has resulted in the specialization
of industries, and the unexampIed OPP
portunities offered for the employment
of huge amounts of capital, and there
fore for the rise in the business world
of those master minds through whom
alone it is possible for such vast sums
of capital to be employed with profit.
Now, it matters very little whether or
not we like these new conditions. the
creation of these new opportunities
Many admirable qualities which were
developed in the older, simpler, less pro-
gressive life have. to some degree.
atrophied under the conditions of our
rather feverish, high-pressure, complex
and specialized life of today. But our
likes and dislikes have very little to do
with the matter. The new conditions
are here: They have produced both
good and evil. We-can not get rid of
them-even if it were not undesirab BILE
to get rid of them-and our instant
duty Is to try to accommodate our So
cial, economic and legislative life to
them, and to frame a system of law and
conduct under which we shall get out
of them the utmost possible benefit and
the least amount of harm.
1T is foolish to pride ourselves on our
marvellous progress and prosperity. upon
our commanding position in the inter-
national world. and at the same time
have nothing but denunciation for the
men to whose commanding business
ability we in part owe this very prog
ress and prosperity, this commanding
position.
REMEDY HARD TO FIND.
Whenever great social or industrial
changes take place. no matter how
much good there may be to them, there
is sure to be some evil and it usually
takes mankind a number of wears and
good deal of experimenting before
they find the right ways in which so
1ar as possible to control the new evil
without at the same time multiplying the
new good. In these circumstances the
effort to bring the new tendencies to a
standst1ll is always futile, and generally
In1schievous, but it is possible some
what to develop them Alright. Law can
to degree guide protect and control
industrial development, but it can new
er cause it, or play more than a subor-
dinate part in it's healthy development
unfortunately. it is easy enough by bad
laws to bring 1t to an almost complete
stop.
The homeiy simile of what can be
done with great river is far from
inaccurate. The lower Mississippi fer
tlilzeS great country and also at
times ravages it by floods. To attempt
to dam it in order to stop these floods
would be futile. and even il not futile
would be harmful. But it is entirely
feas1ble to build system Of levees by
which these foods shall be largely con-
trolled. The levees take time and trou-
BILE to make and to keep in order and
they do not by anv means avert all
mischief Yet they do accomplish much
good, and they offer the only methods
of accomplishing any good The only
way In which to build them or to exer-
else control over the current is by
thoroughly examining into the facts in
the Arst place. and in the second place
by proceeding In a spirit of combined
sanity and resolution. avoiding above
all things every form of hysteria panic
and blind rage, and not expecting the
impossible either in time or achieve
mehts. incidentally, 1t is also necessary
to beware os the type of excellent per
son who insists that floods do good and
not harm. and that in any event the
effort to control them will doubtless
somehow interfere with the water sup
ply. and damage the Mississippi river.
I'm dealing with the big corporations
we intend to proceed. not by revolution,
but by evolution We wish to face the
ldctS, uecliHlHx TO nave our wisdom
blinded either by the folly of those who
say there are no evils. or by the more
dangerous folly of those who either see
or make believe that they see nothing
but evil in all the existing system, and
who If given their way. would destroy
the evil by the simple process of bring
ing ruin and disaster to the entire coun-
try
OvERCAPITALIZATT
THE evils attendant uponoverca pitaliz-
alton alone are, in my judgment, suf1i-
cisnt to warrant a far closer supervis-
ion and control than now exists over the
great corporations. Wherever substan-
tial monopoly can be shown to exist we
should certainly try our utmost to de-
wise an expedient by which it can be
controlled. Doubtless, some of the evils
existing in or because of the great cor
porations can not be cured by any leg
islation which has yet been proposed,
and doubtless others, which have really
been incident to the sudden develop
ment in the formation of corporations of
all kinds, will, in the end, cure them
selves. But others will remain that can
be cured If we only set about curing
them with sanity The surest way to
prevent the possibility of curing any OF
the evils is to approach the subject on
spirit of violent rancor, complicated
with total ignorance of business condi-
tons. and of fundamental incapacity or
unw1llingness to understand the limita-
tons on the power of all lawmakine
bodies. No problem, and, least of all,
SO difficult a problem as this. can be
solved. " the qualities brought by its