Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1905-12-05

way employees. wege.workers; and
most severely against the interest Of
the public as a whole. ! believe that
on the whole our railroads have done
well and not III; but the railroad men
who wish to do well should not be ex.
posed to competition with those who
have no such desire. and the only way
to c "a this end ls TO give to some
government tribunal the power to see
that justice Is done by the unwilling
exactly at It Is gladly done by the
willing. Moreover. II some govern
ment ls given increased power the
effect will 10 furnish authoritative an
swer In behalf OF the railroad when
ever irrational clamor against II Is
raised. or whenever charges made
against II are disproved. ! ask this
legislation not only In the interest OF
the public but In the interest OF the
honest railroad man and the honest
shipper alike. for It Is they who are
chiefly jeOparded by the practices Of
their dishonest competitors. This leg.
~lslation should be enacted In a spirit
as remote as possible from hysteria
and rancor. II we Of the American
body polite are true to the traditions
we have inherited we shall always
scOrn any effort to make Is hate any
man because he IL rich, just az much
ms We should any effort to make
us look down upon or treat contempt.
u0usly any man because he Is poor.
We Judge a nan by his cOnduct-that
is, by character-and not by his wealth
or intellect II he makes his fortune
honestly. there is no Just cause Of
quarrel with him. Indeed, we have
nothing but the kindliest feelings Of
admiration for the successful business
man who behaves decently, whether
he has made his success by building
or managing a railroad or by shipping
goods over that railroad. The big
railroad men and big shippers are
simply Americans Of the ordinary type
who have developed to an extra
ordinary degree certain great business
qualities. They are neither better nor
wor than their fellow.citizens OF
bbii0ibGb tuC0i0. lucy dJC IICIGly
more able in certain lines and there.
fore exposed to certain peculiarly
strong temptations. These tempta-
lions have not sprung newly into
being: the exceptionally successful
among mankind have always been ex-
posed to them: but they have grown
amazingly In power as a result Of the
extraordinary development of indus.
trialism along new lines, and under
these new conditions, which the law
makers Of old could not foresee and
therefore could not provide against,
they have become 40 serious and men,
acing as TO demand entirely new
remedies. 1t Is In the interest of the
best type Of railroad mar and the best
type OF shipper no less, than OF the
public that t~here-should be govern
mental supervision and regulation Of
these great business operations, for
the same reason that It is In the In
terest Of the corporation which wishes
to treat Its employees Alright that there
should be should be an effective en-
ployers' liability act. or IN effective
system OF factory laws to prevent the
abuse Of women and children. All
such legislation frees the corporation
that wishes to do well from being
driven into doing III. in order to CON-
pete with It's rival. which prefers to
do III. We desire to set up a moral
standard. There can be no delusion
more fatal to the nation than the delu.
that the standard Of profits. Of bust.
prosperity Is sufficient.
In Judging and business or
political question $500 from rate
to municipal government.
Business success. whether for the In.
dividual OF for the nati0ns.is a good
thing only SO far as II IA accompanied
by and develops n high standard Of
conduct-honor. integrity, CIVIC cour-
age. The kind OF business prosperity
that blunts the STANDARD Of honor,
that puts an i~nordinate value on mere