Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-04-04
president ON TRUSTS
Roosevelt Reviews the Work
Done For CURLING the
Trust Evil
TAKES A CONSERVATIVE VIEW

PLEASED With the Record Made in
Congress and, the Administration
Control, Not Destruction Desired.
| Milwaukee. Wis, April 4.-The
lcrowning feature of President Roose-
yeIt's ten hour visit to Milwaukee was
| the banquet given last night in his
honor at the Plankinton house by the
milwaukee Merchants and Manufacture
lers' association. Covers We're laid tol
1880 representative citizens. A corps
of skillful decorators had worked out 9
Icomplete transformation of the ban
quet- room, which was fairly canopied
with Alabama smilax rising from
twelve chandeliers and spreading out
| in graceful arches in all parts Of the
room. Lines of asparagus vines trailed
from chandelier to chandelier in all
directions, supporting at regular inter
walls fern balls filled with American
beautiful blossoms. A thousand cleo
| trio lights lent enchanting beauty to the
room.
The president sat in the center of
long table with other guests of honor.
at his immediate right sat United
States Senator Quarles, while F. A.
Wadhams. president of the Milwaukee
Merchants and Manufacturers associa-
ton, and POSTMASTER of the occasion,
was seated at his left. Extending in
opposite directions from the president
table were twelve other tables, at
which the members of the Merchants
and Manufacturers association and
their friends We're seated.
After the banquet had been served,
POSTMASTER Wadhams introduced
President Roosevelt, who responded to
the toast, The president of the Uni-
ted States" The president took this
occasion to give his views on the sub
ject of Trusts" He said in part:
Il think speak for the great majori-
ty 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 Of corporate or combined
wealth corrected and remedied; that we
do not desire the abolition or de-
struction of big corporations. but. on
the contrary, recognize them as be-
ing 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
subserve the public good. We should
be false to the historic principles of
our government il we Disseminated.
either by legislation or administration,
either for or against man because
of either his wealth or his poverty"
President Roosevelt quoted extracts
from his speech at the Minnesota state
fair two years ago, his speech last fall
at Cincinnati, and from his message
to congress for 1901 on the subject of
regulation of corporations doing inter
state business, and added:
In its wisdom congress enacted the
very important law providing a depart
ment of commerce and labor, and fur
tier providing therein under the sec
rotary Of commerce and labor for a
commissioner of corporations, charged
with the duty of supervision Of and
of making intelligent investigation into
the organization and conduct of corr
porations engaged in interstate COM
merce. His powers to expose illegal
or hurtful practices and to obtain all
Information needful for the purposes
of further intelligent legislation seem
adequate, and the publicity justifiable
and proper for public purposes is salts
factorily guaranteed.
THE enactment of this law is one of
the most significant contributions
which have been made in our time to-
ward the proper solution of the problem
OF the relations to the people of the
great corporations and corporate COM
binations.
But much tho this is, 1t is only a
part of what has been done in the effort
to ascertain and correct improper trust
or monopolistic practices. Some eigh-
teen months ago the industrial COM
mission, an able and non-partisan body,
reported to congress the result of their
investigation of trusts and industrial
combinations. One OF the most i'm
portant Of their conclusions was that
determinations in freight rates and fa-
cilities We're granted favored shippers
by the railroads, and that these dis
examinations clearly tended toward the
control of production and prices in
many fields OF business by large COM
binations.
"These unjust practices had prevailed
to such an extent and for SO long !, time
that many Of the smaller shippers had
been driven out of business, until prac-
tically one buyer of grain on each rail-
way system had been able by his illegal
advantages to secure a monopoly on the
line with which his secret compact
was made; this monopoly enabling him
to fix the price to both producer and
consumer.
Many of the great packing house
concerns were shown to be in combina-
ton with each other and with most of
the great railway lines, whereby they
enjoyed large secret concessions in rates
and thus obtained a practical mon
opoly of the fresh and cured meat In
dustry of the country. These fusions,
tho violative of the statute, had pre-
vailed unchecked for SO many years
that they had become intrenched in
and interviewer with the commercial
life of certain large distributing To-
calities, altho this was, of course, at
the expense of the vast body of law
abiding merchants the general public
and particularly of unfavored local.
tiles.
"UJnder those circumstances it was a
seriO,lS problem to determine the wise