Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-05

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treating a man on. his worth as q man
| rather than with reference to- his social
position. his occupation or the class 10
i which he belongs. There are selfish and
brutal men In all ranks Of life. II they are
capitalists their selflshness and brutality
may take the form of hard indifference to
restraint which interferes with the accu-
mutation of wealth and eold-bloOded ex-
ploitation of the weak; or, If they are la
borers. the form of laztress, of suilen envy
Il of the more fortunate and OF willingness
| to perform deeds of murderous violence
Such conduct Is just as reprehensible In
one case as in the other, and all honest and
Ffarseeing men should join In warning
against It wherever 1t becomes manifest
Individual capitalist and individual wage
worker. corporation and union, are alike
entitled to the protection of the law, and
| must alike obey the law. Moreover. In adj
dition to mere obedience to the law. each
| man. IL he be really a good citizen. must
show broad sympathy for his neighbor
and genuine desire to look at any question
arising between them from the standpoint
of that neighbor no less than from his own;
and to this end 1t Is essential that capi-
talist and wage-worker should consult free
ly one with the other, should each strive to
bring closer the day when both shall real
ize that they are properly parners and not
| enemies TO approach the questions which
inevitably arise between them solely from
the standpoint which treats each side in
the mass as the enemy of the other side in
| the mass is both wicked and foolish. In
fiuences which have brought about the
\ downfall of republics has ever been the
growth of the class spirit the growth of
the spirit which tends to make man
| subordinate the welfare of the public az
| a whole to the welfare of the particular
class to which he belongs, the substitution
OF loyalty to class for loyalty to the
/ nation. This inevitably brings about
| tendency to treat each man not on his
merits an individual. but on his position
as belonging to certain class in the COM
munity. If such a spirit grows up In this
/ republic it will ultimately prove fatal to
us. as In the past 1t has proved fatal to
| every community in which it has become
(, dominant. Unless we continue to keep a
| quick and lively sense of the great funda-
| mental truth that our concern Is with the
| individual worth of the individual man. this
government can not permanently hold the
| place which it has achieved among the ma
tons. The vital lines of cleavage among
our people do not correspond, and indeed
run at right angles to, the lines of cleavage
which divide occupation from occupation.
which divide wage-workers from capital
lists, farmers from bankers, men of small
means from men of large means, men who
| live in the towns from men who live in
the country; for the vital line of cleavage
| is the line which divides the honest man
who tries to do we'll by his neighbor from
the dishonest man who does ill by his
, neighbor. In other words the standard we
should establish is the standard of conduct
not the standard of occupation, of means
or of social position. 1t is the mans moral
quality. his attitude toward the great ques-
tons which concern all humanity his
| cleanliness of life his power to do his duty
| toward himself and toward others, which
really count. and If we substitute for the
standard of personal judgment which treats
each man according to his merits, another
standard in accordance with which all men
| of one class are favored and all men Of
another class Disseminated against. we
| shall do irreparable damage to the body
polite l believe that our people are too
| sane. too self-respecting, too fit for self
government. ever to adopt such an atti-
| tude. This government is not and never
Shall be government by plutocracy. This
| government Is not and never shall be
government by mob. 1t shall continue to
| be in the future what it has been in the
past, government based on the theory that
| each man, rich poor, is to be treated
| simply and solely his worth as a man,
that all his personal and property rights
are to be safeguarded, and that he is
neither to wrong others nor to suffer wrong
| from others
The noblest of all forms of government is
| self-government: but 1t is also the most
| dlmcult. We who possess this priceless
| boon. and who desire to hand 1t on to our
children and our children's children, should
ever bear in mind the thought SO finely ex-
pressed by Burke: Men are Qualified for
civil liberty in exact proportion to their
| disposition to put moral chains upon their
own appetites: in proportion as they are
disposed to listen to the counsels of the
| wise and good in preference to the fattery
of knaves. Society cannot exist unless
| controlling power upon will and appetite be
| placed somewhere, and the less of it there
be within the more there must be without
| 1t is ordained in the eternal constitution
| of things that men of Incorporate minds
| cannot be free. Their passions forge their
letters
Insurance.
The great insurance companies afford
striking examples of corporations whose
business has extended far beyond the
| iIrriS Jinfin Of tt,a on tab u
them as to preclude strict enforcement of
supervision and regulation by the parent
states. In my last annual message I rec
commended "that the Congress carefully
| consider whether the power of the bureau
of corporations cannot constitutionaily be
| extended to cover interstate transactions in
| insurance" Recent events have empha-
| sized the Importance OF an early and eX-
| haustive consideration of this question to
see whether it is not possible to furnish
| better safeguards than the several states
| have been able to furnish against corrup-
| ton of the fragrant kind which has been
| exposed. 1t has been only too clearly
| shown that certain of the men at the head
of these large corporations take but small
| note of the ethical distinction between hon.
| esty and dishonesty; they draw the line
only this side of what may be called law
| honesty, the kind of honesty necessary in
order to avoid falling into the clutches of
| the law. OF course. the only complete rem
| edy for this condition must he found in an
aroused public conscience higher sense of
| ethical conduct in the community at large.
| and especially among business men and in
| the great profession of the law and in the
| growth of spirit which condemns all dis
| honesty, whether in rich man or in poor
| man. whether 1t takes the shape Of bribery
or of blackmail. But much can be done by
! legislation which is not only drastic but
| practical There is need of far stricter
and more uniform regulation of the vast In
| surance Interests of this country. The
| United States should in this respect follow
| the policy of other nations by providing
adequate national supervision of CONNER
| cal interests which are clearly national in
| character. My predecessors have repeated
ly recognized that the foreign business of
these companies Is an important part of
| our foreign commercial relations During
the administrations of Presidents Cleve-
| land, Harrison and Mckinley the State De-
| partment exercised its influence, through
| diplomatic channels, to prevent unjust dis
| elimination by foreign countries against
| American insurance companies. These me-
| gotiations illustrated the propriety of the
| Congress recognizing the national charac
| ter of insurance, for in the absence of fed
| eral legislation the State Department could
| only give expression to the wishes of the
| authorities of the several states whose pol