Daily new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1897-1906, 1903-04-04
Speech of the President Before
Merchants and Manufact-
urers Association.
REGULATION Of CORPORATIONS
And Legislation Bearing on Subject
Fully Reyiewed-combines Are the
outsrowth of Industrial Changes.
Must Obey the Law.

Roosevelt was the guest of the Mill
waukee Merchants and Manufacture
ers association at a banquet at tho
| Plankinton house, the occasion being
| the climax of the presidents 10-hour
visit to Milwaukee. Covers were laid
for $50 banqueters. A score of skillful
| decorators had worked out a complete
transformation of the banquet room,
which was fairly eanopied with Ala
| bama smilax.
| The president sat in the center of
long table with other guests CT
honor. At his immediate right sat
Senator Quarles, while e. A. Wad-
hams, president of the Milwaukee
| Merchants and Manufacturers asso-
citation and the POSTMASTER of the oc-
casion, was seated on his left Ex-
tending in opposite directions from
the presidents table were IL other
tables at which the members of the
association and their friends were
seated. After the banquet had been
served POSTMASTER Wadhams intro
duced President Roosevelt, who re-
sponded to the toast, 1.-THE President
of the United States" The president
took this occasion to give his views
on the subject of Trusts
Speech of the President.
Mr.. POSTMASTER, Gentlemen:
| Today / wish TO speak to you on the
| question of the control and regulation #
| those great corporations which are popn-
| lnrly, although rather vaguely, known az
| trusts dealing mostly with what has aetu-
ally been accomplished in the way of leg
| islation and in tae way of enforcement %
! legislation during the past Is months, the
| period covering the two sessions of the
| Fifty-seyenth congress. At the outset
shall ask You to remember that do not
| approach the subject either from the
standpoint of those who speak of them.
| selves antitrust or anti-corporation
| people, nor vet from the standpoint OK
those who are fond Of denying the exist
| enee of evils in the trusts, or who appar
| emily proceed Upon the assumption that it
corporation Is large enough 1t can do no
wrong.
| think / speak for the great majority
OF the American people when / say that
| we are not In the least against wealth as
such, whether individual or corporate.
that we merely desire to see any abuse If
| corporate or combined wealth corrected
| and remedied: that we do not desire the
| abolition or destruction of big corpora.
| tons, but, on the contrary recognize them
| as being in many cases efficient economic
instruments, the results of an inevitable
| 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 govern.
ment II we disseminated, either by leg
islatlon or administration. either for n
against man because of either his wealth
or MS 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 Cypress and wrong his
neighoors, nor yet for the demagogic agI-
tator who seeks, in a spirit of Ignorant
rancor, to overthrow the very foundations
upon which rest our national well being.
IN consequence of the extraordinary H.
dustrial changes of the last half century.
ana notably of the last two or three dee.
ades, changes due mainly to the rapidity
ana complexity of our Industrial growth,
we are confronted with problems which
III their present shape were unknown %
our forefathers. Our great prosperity.
with its accompanying concentration Of
population and of wealth, it's extreme
specialization of faculties, and it's devei.
opment Of giant industrial leaders. has
brought much good and some evil. and it
Is as foolish 10 ignore the good as will
fully to blind ourselves to the evil For
portion of the evil, at least, we think
that remedies can be found
Discrimination Shown.
Some IS months ago the Industrial COM
mission, an able and non partisan body,
reported to congress the result of their
investigation Of trusts and Industrial COM
binations. One of the most important Of
their conclusions was that determinations
in freight rates and facilities were granted
favored shippers by the railroads and that
these Determinations clearly tended to-
ward the control of production and prices
In many fields of business by large com
bnations. That this conclusion was justi-
fable was shown by the disclosures in the
investigation Of railroad methods pursued
In the fall and winter Of 1901-1902. These
unjust practices had prevailed to such m
extent and for so long time that many
of the smaller shippers had been driven
out of business, until practically one
buyer of grain on each railway system had
been able by bis Illegal advantages to Sc
cure a monopoly on the line with which
his secret compact was made; this monop
oily enabling him to fix the price to both
producer and consumer. Many of the
great packing house concerns were shown
to be In combination with each other and
WIN most DI the great railway ines
whereby they enjoyed large secret conees-
lions in rates and thus obtained practi
cal monopoly of the fresh and cured meat
Industry OF the country. These fuslons.
though violative of the statute, had pre-
vailed unchecked for so many years that
they had become intrenched in and inter
woven with the commercial life Of certain
large distributing localities.
Under these circumstances 1t was a seri-
GUS problem 70 determine the wise course
to follow in vltalizing law which had IN
part become obsolete or proved incapable
aft enforcement.
1t Is clear that corporations created for
gasi public purposes, clothed for that rea-
bon with the ultimate power of the state
to take private property against the will OF
the owner, hold their corporate powers as
carriers In trust for the fairly impartial
service Of all the public. Favoritism N
the use OF such powers, unjustly enrichlng
some and lrnpoverishing others. diserimin-
ating In favor of some places and against
others, is palpably violative Of plain prin-
ciples OF justice. Congress enacted most
important anti-rebate law, which greatly
strengthens the Interstate commerce law.
This new law prohibits under adequate
penalties the giving and as well the de-
WSpdtngs or receiFIng Of such pxefereacesv