The Savannah morning news., 1903-04-04
IN BREWERS HANDS
ROOSEVELT HAD A BUSY DAY IN
MILWAUKEE,.
SPENT TEN HOURS THERE
ENTERTAINMENT CROWNED WITH
A BANQUET.

covers Were Laid For $50 at the
Danquet Given by the Merchants
and Manufacturers of MiIwauke e
in Honor of the President-Pres
dent Made a speech, Discussing
Trusts-Reviewed Recent LeGisIm-
ton Designed For the Control OF
the Great COrpOratiOns-HOw Ills
Day Was Spent.
Milwaukee, Wis, April 3.-President
Roosevelt was the guest of the Milwau-
kee Merchants and Manufacturers
Association at a banquet at the Plank
inton House tonight, the occasion be-
inc the climax of the Presidents ten
hour visit to Milwaukee.
Covers were laid for $50 banqueters
corps of skilful decorators had
worked out a complete transformation
of the banquet room, which was fair
" canopied with Alabama smilax,
which, spreading from twelve chande-
liers. radiated in graceful arches to all
parts of the room.
The President sat at the center of a
long table, with other guests of honor
At his immediate right sat United
States Senator Quarles, while E. A.
Wadhams president of the Milwaukee
Merchants and Manufacturers Asso-
cation, and POSTMASTER of the oCca-
sion, was seated at his left.
After the banquet had been served
POSTMASTER Wadhams introduced
President Roosevelt, who responded to
the toast, THE President of the Unit
ed States" The President took occa-
sion to give his views on trust, speak
ing, in part, as follows:
To-day 1 wish to speak to you on
the question of the control and regu-
lation of those great corporations
which are popularity, although rather
vaguely, known as trusts; dealing
mostly with what has actually been ac-
complished in the way of legislation
and in the way of enforcement of leg
istation during the past eighteen
months, the period covering the two
sessions of the Fifty-seventh Congress.
Il think l speak for the great ma
jority of the American people when 1
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 being
in many cases efficient economic in
struments, 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 if we Disseminated,
either by legislation or administration,
either for or against a man because
of either his wealth or his poverty.
In consequence of the extraordinary
industrial changes of the last half
century, and notably of the last two
or three decades, 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 forefa-
theirs. Our great prosperity, with it's
accompanying concentration of popu-
lation and of wealth, its extreme spe-
cialization of faculties, and it's devel-
opment of giant industrial leaders, has
brought much good and some evil, and
it is as foolish to ignore the good as
WiIlfully to blind ourselves to the evil.
In its wisdom Congress enacted the
very important law providing a De-
partment of Commerce and Labor, and
further providing therein under the
Secretary of Commerce and Labor for
commissioner of corporations, charg-
ed with the duty of supervision of and
making intelligent investigation into
the organization and conduct of cor
poratlons engaged in interstate COM
merce. His powers to expose illegal or
hurttul practices and to obtain all in
formation needful for the purposes of
turther intelligent legislation seem ade-
quate; and the publicity justifiable and
proper for public purposes is Satisfac-
torlly guaranteed. The law was passed
at the very end of the session of Con-
gress. Owing to the lateness of its pas
sage Congress was not able to provide
proper equipment for the new depart
ment; and the first few months must
necessarily be spent in the work of or
ganlzation, and the first Investigations
must necessarily be of a tentative
character. The satisfactory develop
ment of such system requires time
and great labor. Those who are In
trusted with the administration of the
new law Will asSuredly administer it
IN a spirit of absolute fairness and
Justlcs and of entire fearlessness, with
the nrm purpose not to hurt any cor
poratlon doing a legitimate business
on the contrary to help it-and, on the
other hand, not to spare any corpora
ZION which may be guilty of illegal
practices, or the methods of which
may make 1T menace to the public
welfare. Some substantial good will be
done in the immediate future; and as
the department gets fairly to work I'M
uer the law an ever larger vista for
GOOD work will be opened along the
lines indicated.
~ Is clear that corporations created
hH 4