Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1905-12-05
PRESIDENTS REMEDIES,
Made ON Ethical Grounds and Not ia
IIosiil Spirit.

let me most earnestly say th0i these
! recommendations are not made u any
spirit OF hostility to the railroads, on
ethical grounds. on grounds OF right,
| such hostility would be intolerable; and
on grounds Of mere national self'inter-
est we must remember that such hostll-
ity would tell against The welfare uot
merely Of some few rich men, but OF
multitude Of small investors multi
lude OF railway employees. wage-work-
ers aud most severely against the in
terest Of the public as - whole. | be-
lieye that on the whole our railroads
have done wen and not III. but the rail-
road men who wish 10 do Well should
not be exposed o competition with
those who have no such desire ana the
only way 20 secure this end Is 10 give
10 some government tribunal the power
TO see that Justice IS done by the un-
willing exactly as II Is gladly done by
The willing. Moreover. II some govern
men, body IL given Increased power the
efect viii be to furnish authoritative
answer on behalf OF the railroad when
ever irrational Clamor against II Is
raised or whenever charges made
against It are disproyed ask this
legislation not only In the interest of
the public, but In the interest Of the
shipper alike, for II Is they who are
chiefly jeopardized by the practices of
their dishonest competitors This leg
islatIon should be enacted In a spirit as
remote as possible from hysterla and
rancor. n We " the American body
polItic are true To the traditions We
have inherited We shall always scorn
any effort 10 make US hate any man
because he Ia rich. Just as much az We
should scorn any effort 10 make w look
down upon or treat cOntemptuously any
man because h. Is poor We judge a
man by his conduct-that IL. by his
character-and not by his wealth or In
tellect, II he makes his fortune hon
estly there is no just cause Of quarrel
with him. Indeed, we have nothing hut
the klndllest feelings OF admiration for
the successful business man who be-
hayes deeently, whether he has made
Ms success by building or managing a
railroad or By shipping goods over that
railroad. The blk railroad men and big
shippers are simply Americans OF the
ordinary type who have developed to
an extraordinary degree certain gres.
business qualities. They are ne'thci
better nor worse than their fellow
citizens OF smaller means. They are
merely more able IN certain lines aud
theif0Ie exposed to certain peculiarly
strong temptations. These temptations
have not sprung newly into being; the
exceptionally successful among man
KIND nave always been exposed To
them but they have grown amazingly
IN power as result OF the eStraordin-
airy development OF industrlalsm along
new lines, and under these new con-
ditions which the lawmakers of old
could not foresee and therefore could
not provide against, they have become
20 serious ana meuacng ms to demand
entirely new remedies II Is IN the in
terest of the best type of railroad man
and the hest type of shipper no less
than OF the public that there should be
governmental supervision and regula-
ton Of these great business operations
for the same reason that II Is in the in
tercst OF the corporation which wishes
To treat us employees Alright that there
should be- an effective employers liza
billy act. or an effective system Of
factory laws TO prevent the abuse of
women and children, An such legisla-
ton frees the corporation that wishes
To do well from being driven into do.
Ing Ill., ian order tn compete with its
rival. which prefers Ia do III We de-
sire TO set M a moral standard. There
eau be no delusion more fatal TO the
nation than the delusion that the
standard OF profits. of business pros
perily. Is sufficient IN Judging any bus-
ness or political questlon-from rate
legislation TO municipal government
Business success whether for the IN
dividual or for the nation, r. good
thing only go far AS It is accompanied
by and develops q hiRh standard OF
fpt
age. The kind OF business prosperity
that bluntS the standard OF honor. that
puts an inordinate value on mere
wealth, that makes a man ruthless and
constituencies In trade and weak and
cowardly In citizenship, IL not a good
thing AZ all, hut very bad thing for
the nation. This government. stands
for manhood first and for business only
az an adjunct OF manhood.