The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-04-04
Roosevelt Delivers His Second Set Speech at Banquet
 in Milwaukee
VARIOUS REMEDIES FOR
 TIE EPIDEMIC SUGGESTED
While In Milwaukee the President Visits the Exposition Building, Where He Is Welcomed By
 10000 PeopIe-Speaks.

Milwaukee, April 3.-President Roose- welt tonight was the guest of the Mill waukee Merchants and Manufacturers association banquet at the Plankington hotel, the occasion being the acme of the Presidents ten-hour visit to Milwaukee. Covers were laid for 5SO representative citizens.
 The President sat in the center of a long table with other guests. United States Senator Quarles sat on the Presi- dents right, while E. A. Wadhams, president of the Milwaukee Merchants and Manufacturers association, as toast master of the occasion, sat on his left. Extending in opposite directions from the Presidents table were other tables al which the members of the Merchants and Manufacturers association and their friends sat.
 After the banquet had been served Toastmaster Wadhams introduced Presi- dent Roosevelt. who responded to the toast, "The President of the United States" The President took this occa- sion to give his views on the subject of trusts.
 
 MT. Postmaster, Gentlemen: Today I wish to speak to you on the question of the control and regulation of those great corporations which are popularly, al- though rather vaguely known as trusts; dealing mostly with what has actually been accomplished in the way of legis- latton and in the way of enforcement of legislation during the past eighteen months, the period covering the two ses- At the outset I shall ask you to remember that do not approach the subject either from the standpoint of those who speak of themselves as antitrust or anti-cor- poration people, nor yet from the stand point of those who fond of denying the existence of evils in the trusts, or who apparently proceed upon the assump- tion that if corporation is large enough it can do no wrong.
 Not Against Wealth.
 I think I speak for the great majority of the American people when I say that we are not in the least against wealth as such, whether individual or corporate; that we merely desire to see any abuse of corporate or combined wealth corrected and remeded; that we do not desire the abolition or destruction of big corpora tions, but on the contrary, recognize them as being in many cases efficient economic
 
 process of economic evolution, and only desire to see them regulated and con trolled so far as may be necessary to sub serve the public good. We should be false to the historic principles of our gov ernment if we discriminate either by legislation or administration, either for or against man because of either his wealth or his poverty There is no proper place in our society either for the rich man who uses the power conferred by his riches to enable him to oppress and wrong his neighbors nor yet for the demagogic agitator who, instead of attacking abuses as all abuses should be attacked wherever found attacks property. attacks pros perity, attacks men of wealth, as such, whether they be good or bad. attacks cor porations whether they do well or il and seeks, in a spirit of ignorant rancor to overthrow the very foundations upon which rest our national well-being.
 PerpIexine Problems.
 In consequence of the extraordinary industrial changes of the last half century and notably of the last two or three dec ades, changes due mainly to the rapidity and complexity of our industrial growth, we are confronted with problems which in their present shape were unknown to our forefathers. Out great prosperity, with it's accompanying concentration of population and of wealth, it's extreme specialization of faculties, and it's devel- opment of giant industrial leaders, has brought much good and some evil. and it IS as ioonsh to ignore the good as will fully to blind ourselves to the evil
 The evil has been partly the inevitable accompaniment of the social changes. and where this is the case 1t can be cured neither by law nor by the administration of the law, the only remedy lying in tba slow change Of character and of economic environment. But for a portion of the evil at least. we think that remedies car be found. We know we'll the danger of false remedies, and we are against all violent, radical and unwise change Rut we believe that by proceeding slowly vet resolutely, with good sense and modera tion, and also with a firm determination not to be swerved from our course either by foolish clamor or by any base or sin ister influence, we can accomplish much for the betterment of conditions.
 Quotes Himself.
 Nearly two years ago. speaking at the state fair in Minnesota I said:
 Tt is probably true that the large ma jority of the fortunes that now exist in this country have been amassed, not by injuring our people, but as an incident to the conferring of great benefits upon the community, and this. no matter what may have been the conscious purpose of those amassing them. There is but the scantiest justification for most of the out cry against the men of wealth as such and it ought to be unnecessary to state that any appeal which directly or in- directly leads to suspicion and hatred among ourselves, which tends to limit opportunity and therefore to shut the door of success against poor men of talent and, finally which entails the possibility of lawlessness and violence, is an att tack upon the fundamental properties of American citizenship. Out interests are at bottom common; in the long run we go up or go down together. Yet more and more 1t is evident that the state, and if necessary the nation. has got to possess the right of supervision and control as regards the great corporations which are it's creatures; particularly regards the great business combinations which de-