Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1904-12-17

| certain very evil forces. which more
| less at work everywhere under the
| conditions of modern industrialism, be-
came startlingly prominent
Corporations.
When we come to deal with great cor
| porations the need for the government to
act directly is far greater than in the
case of labor because great corporations
can become such only by engaging in in
terstate commerce. and interstate COM
merce is peculiarly the field of the gen
eral government It is absurdity to ex-
pect to eliminate the abuses in great cor
porations by state action 1t is difficult to
be patient with an argument that such
matters should be left to the states. be-
cause more than state pursues the
policy of creating on easy terms corpora
lions which are never operated within
that state at all, but in other states
whose laws they ignore The national
government alone can deal adequately
with these great corporations To try to
deal with them in an incorporate de-
structive, or demagogic spirit would in
all probability, mean that nothing what
ever would be accomplished. and with
absolute certainty. that if anything were
accomplished it would be of harmful
| nature. The American people need to
continue to show the very qualities that
they have shown-that is. modera ton
good sense the earnest desire to avoid
doing any damage. and yet the quiet de-
termination to proceed. step by step.
without halt and without hurry. in enm-
mating or at least in minimizing what
ever of mischief of evil there is to in
terstate commerce in the conduct of
great corporations They are acting in
no spirit of hostility to wealth, either in
dividual or corporate. They are not
against the rich man any more than
against the poor man. On the contrary,
they are friendly alike toward rich man
and toward poor man, provided only that
each acts in spirit of justice and de-
cency toward his fellows. Great corpora
tions- are necessary. and only men of
great and singular mental power can
manage such corporations successfully
and such man must have great rewards.
But these corporations should be man
aged with due regard to the interest of
the public as a whole. Where this can
be done under the present laws it must
be done Where these laws come short
others should be enacted to supplement
them.
The bureau of corporations has made
careful preliminary investigation of many
important corporations 1t will make
special report on the beef industry
Bureau of Corporations.
The policy OF the bureau is to accom-
plish the purposes of its creation by CO.
operation. not antagonism; by making
constructive legisla ton not destructive
prosecution. the immediate object of it's
inquiries; by conservative investigation
of law and fact and by refusal to issue
, incomplete and hence necessarily inaccu-
rate reports Its policy being thus one
of open inquiry into. and not attack up
on. business, the bureau has been able to
gain not only the confidence. but, better
legitimate business.
The bureau offers to the Congress the
means Of getting at the cost of produc-
ton of our various great staples of COM
merce.
Above all else. We must strive to keep
the highways of commerce open to all
on equal terms; and to do this it is nee
| essary to put a complete stop to all re-
bates Whether the shipper the rail-
road is to blame makes difference; the
rebate must be stopped. the abuses of
| the private car and private terminal
track and side track systems must be
| stopped. and the legislation of the Fifty
| eighth Congress which declares it to be
unlawful for any person or corporation to
| offer. grant. give solicit. accept.
| ceive any rebate. concession. or discrim-
| ination in respect of the transporta ton of
| any property in interstate or foreign
| commerce whereby such property shall
| by any device whatever be transported
| at a less rate than that named in the
| tariffs published by the carrier must be
| enforced While am of the opinion that
| at present it would be undesirable, if it
| were not impracticable, finally to clothe
| the Interstate Commerce Commission
with general authority to fix railroad
| ra ties. do not believe that as a fair Sc
| curity to shippers. the Commission should
be vested with the power. where given
| rate has been challenged and after full
| hearing found to be unreasonable, to de-
| eide subject to judicial review. what
shall be a reasonable rate to take its
/ place, the ruling OF the commission to
| take effect Immediately. and to obtain
unless and until it is reversed by the
| court o. review. In my judgment the
most important legislative act now need
| ed regards the regulation of corpora
lions is this act to confer on the Inter-
| state Commerce Commission the power
| to revise rates and regulations. the re-
| vised rate to at once go into effect. and
| to stay in effect unless and until the
| court of review reverses it
I Much space is here devoted to a
| consideration of the problem of the
! proper housing of the poor in our
| great cities, and the Importance of a
| proper solution of the question shown.
| On this subject the message says:
There should be severe child-Iabor and
factory-i inspection laws 1t is very desir-
able that married women should not FORK
in factories The prime duty of the man
| is to work, to be the breadwinner; the
| prime duty of the woman is to be the
| mother, the housewife All questions of
tariff and finance sink into utter insig-
| nificance when compared with the ire
| to shape conditions that these two
| duties of the man and of the woman can
| be fulfilled under reasonably favorable
| circumstances If a race does not have
| plenty of children if the children do
| not grow up or if when theH grow up
| they are unhealthy in body and stunted
| or vicious in mind then that race is de-
| cadent and no heaping up of wealth no
| splendor of momentary material prosper
| lily, can avail in any degree as Offsets
Agriculture.
The Department of Agriculture has
| grown into educational institution
| with a faculty of two thousand special