Albuquerque evening citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1905-1907, 1905-08-11

their business, the only way effect
lively to meet this attitude on their
part is to give to the Executive De-
partment of the government a more
direct and therefore more efficient
supervision and control of their man
agement.
Regulate the Trusts.
In speaking against the abuses COM
mitted by certain very wealthy cor
porations OF individuals, and of the
necessity of seeking so far as it can
safely be done to remedy these abuses
there is always danger lest what is
said may be misinterpreted as an at
tack upon men of means generally.
Now it can o too often be repeated
in a republic like ours that ine only
way by which it is possible perman-
emily to benefit the condition of the
less able and less fortunate, is to so
shape our policy that all Industrious
and efficient people who act decently
may be benefited; and this means,
of course, that the benefit will come
even more to the more able and more
fortunate. If, under such circumstan-
ces, the less fortunate man is moved
by envy of his more fortunate brother
to strike at the conditions under
which they have both, though UNI
equally, prospered, he may rest as
sured that while the result may be
damaging to the other man, it will be
even more damaging to himself. OF
course, | am now speaking of pros
perity that comes under normal and
proper conditions.
In our industrial and social system
tho fAfnrnrN. - al x.z II
intertwined that in the immense ma
jority of cases the straight dealing
man who by ingenuity and industry
benefits himself must also benefit
others. The man of great productive
capacity who gets rich through guild
ing the labor of hundreds or thous-
ands of other men does so, as a rule,
by enabling their labor to produce
more than it would without his guild
ance, and both he and they share in
the benefit, so that even if the share
be unequal il must never be forgotten
that they too are really benefited
by his success.
A vital factor in the success of any
enterprise is the guiding intelligence
of the man at the top, and there Is
( need in the interest of all of us to
encourage rather than to discourage
the activity of the exceptional men
who guide average men so that their
labor may result in increased produc-
ton of the kind which is demanded
at the time. Normally we help the
wage worker. we help the man Of
small means, by making conditions
such that the man of exceptional bust
ness ability receives an exceptional re-
ward for their ability.
But while insisting with all en-
phasis upon this, it is also true that
experience has shown that when there
is no governmental restraint or super
vision, some of the exceptional men
use their energies, not in ways that
are for the common good, but in ways
which tell against this common good;
and that by so doing they not only
wrong smaller and less able men
whether wage workers or small pro-
ducers and traders-but force other
men of exceptional abilities them
selves TO do what is wrong under pen
atty of falling behind in a keen race
for success. There is need Of legis-
latiOn to strive to meet such abuses.
At one time or in one place this leg
islatiOn may take the form of factory
laws and employers liability laws.
Under other conditions it may take
the form of dealing with franchises
which derive their value from the
grant of the representatives of the
people. 1t may be aimed at the mani
fold abuses, ~far-reaching in their eff
fects, which spring from o~yercapital-
i%zation. Or ii may be necessary to
meet such conditions as those with
which | am now dealing, and TO strive
to procure proper supervision and reg
ulatiOn by the National government
of all great corporations engaged in
interstate commerce or doing an inter-
state business.
There are good people who are
afraid of each tpye of legislation; and
much the same kind of argument that
Is now advanced against the effort to
regulate big corporations has been
again and again advanced against the
effort to secure proper employers LA
bility laws or proper factory laws
with reference TO women and child
rem; much the same kind Of argument
was advanced but five years ago
against the franchise tax law enacted
in this state when / was governor.
OF course there is always the dan
ger of abuse if legislation Of this type
is approached in a ~hysterical or senti-
mental spiritr, or, above all, if it is APP
preached in a spirit Of envy and
hatred toward men of wealth.
We must not try TO go too fast, I'M
der penalty of finding that we may be
going in the wrong direction; and in
any event, we ought always 10 pro
coed by evolution and not by reyolu,
ton. The laws must be conceived
and executed in a spirit Of sanity and
justice, and with exactly as much re,
gard for the rights ofthe big man as
for the rights of the little man-treat.
ing big man and little man exactly
alike.
Our ideal must be the effort to com,
bine all proper freedom for individual
effort with some guarantee that the
effort is not exercised in cOntrayen.
tion Of the eternal and immutable
2 v-sn.FnH.a g grrrtFa.