The Minneapolis journal., 1903-04-04
ROOSEVELT ON TRUST PROBLEM
He Tells the Milwaukee Banqueters That Republican
Congress Has Begun It's Solution in Spirit Of Fair
ness and Common Sense and Intimates That the Laws
Will Be Enforced in the Same Spirit. S. 4

-
Milwaukee, April 4.-The president was /
formally welcomed yesterday afternoon at /
the exposition building. The PRESIDENT
spoke on the subject of Ancestry" Many
people of many nationalities Wer present
he said hut they came together as, Amer
leans and as nothing else. - -. I
Woe will beset this country he said,
''tf we draw lines Of distinction between
class and class or creed and creed or
along any other lines save that which de- I
vides good citizenship from bad Citizen
ship " Z - >.z<'5~A @ '>at-I
At"the conclusion Of the ceremonies at
the exposition. building the presidential
party was driven to the ;Deutscher club, I
where he was rendered a reception. !
He was then driven to the Milwaukee,
Press club. where happy half hour was
spent. During the presidents stay in
these quaint quarters he inscribed his
name in chalk on one Of the panels of the
wairscoting where are inscribed the
names of many other notable men. On
this occasion, too, the president was pre-
sented with beautiful certificate Of
honorary membership in the Milwaukee
Press club. - =. I.... -. 49, .s;t~4' =. Il
President Roosevelt was then driven to
the Plankinton house, where he rested
about an hour before attending. the ban
quet which was given In his honor by the
Milwaukee Merchants and Manufa cturers,
association. - .,.-.Et ~
Atethis banquet plates were laid for $50
representative citizens. : .-5 @s--t .
A. corps Of skillful decorators had,
worked out a complete transformation Of
! the banquet room. The president sat, in
+ the center of long table with other
| guests Of honor At his immediate right
J sat United States Senator Joseph V.
! Quarles, while E. A. Wadhanns. president
Of the Milwaukee Merchants and Manu-
! facturers' association and POSTMASTER of
the occasion, was seated at his left Ex
| tending in opposite directions from the
presidents table: were twelve other tables.
After Senator Quarles and Mayor Rose
had spoken. the president spoke on the
trusts. He said: .", ,.>. .
Mr.. Toastmaster, Gentemen-To-d day
wish to speak to you on the question of
the control and regulation of those great
corporations which are popularity, al
though rather vaguely, known as trusts;
!dealing mostly with what has actually
been accomplished in the way Of legis-
lation and In the way of enforcement Of
legislation during the past eighteen
months. the period covering the two .ses-
sions Of the flfty-seventh congress. At
the outset 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 are fond of denying
the existence of evils in the trusts, or
who apparently proceed upon the assump-
tion that If a corporation is large enough
1T can do no wrong,
No Opposition to Wealth al Such.
T think I 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 of
corporate or combined wealth corrected
and remedied: that we do not desire the
abolition Or destruction of big corpora
tlons, but, on the contrary. recognize
them as being in many cases efficient eco
nomic instruments, the results of an in
evitable process of economic evolution.
and only desire to see them regulated and
controlled SO far may be necessary to
subserve the public good. We should be
false to the historic principles of our gov
ernment If we Disseminated either by leg
islaton or administration either for or
against a man because of either his wealth
OF his poverty. There is no proper place
I'm our society either for the rich man who
uses the power conferred by his riches tc
enable him to Cypress and wrong his
neighbors, nor yet for the demagogic agi.
tator, who instead Of attacking abuses az
all abuses should be attacked wherever
found. attacks property, attacks prosper
ity, attacks men Of wealth, as such
whether they be good or bad, attacks cor
pOTdtlO1S WHetUer Iney 90 well or Ill, an(
seeks, In spirit of ignorant rancor, t,
overthrow the very foundations upo,
which rest out national we'll being
New Problems Before Us.
In consequence of the extraordinary in
dustr1al changes of the last half century
~ and notably of the last two or three de
cades. changes due mainly to the rapidit
and conplexity Of our Industrial growth
we are confronted with problems which |
their present shape were unknown to ou
1orefathers. Our great prosperity, wit
Its accompanying concentration of popu
lat1on and Of wealth, its extreme special
1zation Of faculties, and it's developn er
of giant industrial leaGers has brougt
much good and some evil, and it is a
foolish to ignore the good as willfully
blind ourselves to the evil.
The evil has been partly the inevitab]
accompaniment of the social changes an
where this Is the case it can be cure
neither by law nor by the administratio
Of the law. the only remedy lying in tt
slow change Of character and of econon
environment. But for portion of II
evil, at least, we think that remedies ca
be found. We know well the danger ,
false remedies. and we are against a
violent, radical and unwise change. B,
E we believe that by proceeding slowly y.
resolutely, with good sense and moders
tion, and also with a firm determinatic