The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1905-12-05
THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
CONTINUED From First Paae.l

hitherto. as passed upon by the courts
have resulted more often In showing
that the States have no power In the
matter than that the National Govern
ment has power; so that there at
present exists a very unfortunate con
dition of things, under which these
great corporations doing an inter.
state business occupy the position Of
subjects without a sovereign, neither
any State government nor the Ma.
donal Government having effective
control over them. Our steady aim
should be by legislation, cautiously
and carefully undertaken, but reso.
lutely persevered in, to assert the SOW
ereignty Of the National Government
by affirmative action.
This is only in form an Innovation.
In substance it is merely restora-
ton; for from the earliest time such
regulation Of industrial activities mas
been recognized in the action of the
law-maling bodies: and all that pro.
pose is to meet the changed conii.
tons in such manner as will prevent
the Commonwealth abdicting the
power 1t has always possessed, not
only in this country but also in
England before and since this coun-
try became separate nation.
On overcapitaIization.
1t has been a misfortune that the
national laws on this subject have
hitherto been of negative or prohibit.
| tive rather than an affirmative kind
and still more that they have ID part
sought to prohibit what could not be
effectively prohibited, and have in
part in their prohibitions coniounied
what should be allowed and what
should not be allowed. 1t is generally
Useless to try to prohibit all restraint
on competition, whether this restraint
be reasonable or unreasonable; and
where 1t is not useless it is generally
hurtful. Events have shown that 1t
Is not possible adequately to secure
the enforcement of any law Of this
kind by incessant appeal to the
courts. The Department OF Justice
has for the last four years devoted
more attention to the enforcement OF
the antitrust legislation than to any
thing else. Much has been accom-
plishel; particularly marked has been
the moral effect of the prosecutions;
but it is increasingly evident that
there will be very insufficient bene-
fetal result in the way of economic
change. The successful prosecution
Of one device to evade the law Inn
mediately develops another device to
accomplish the same purpose, What
is needed is not sweeping prohibition
Of every arrangement, good or bad,
which may tend to!restrlct cOmpeti-
ton, but such adequate supervision
and regulation as will prevent any
restriction of competition from being
to the detriment Of the publiC-as
well as such supervision and regula-'
ton as will prevent other abuses in
no way connected with restriction OF
competition. OF these abuses, per-
haps the chief, although by no means
the only one, Is overcapitali2atiOn-
generally itself the result of dishonest
northumberland of the myriad
evils it brings in its train; for such
decentralization often means an in
hation that invites business panic;
1t always conceals the true relation
of the profit earned TO the capital ac-
tually invested, and it creates a bur
den of interest payments which is a
fertile cause of improper reduction
in or limitation of wages; it dam
ages the small investor, discourages
thrift, and encourages gambling and
speculation; while perhaps worst OF
all is the thickness and dishonesty
which it implies-for harm to NOR
ais is worse than any possible harm
to material interests, and the debauch-
cry of politics and business by great
dishonest corporations is far worse
than any actual material evil they
do the public. Until the National
Government obtains, in some manner
which the wisdom Of the Congress
may suggest, proper control over the
big corporations engaged in inter-
state commerce-that is, over the
great majority of the big corporations
lit will be impossible to deal ade'
quately with these evils.
Interstate Transportation.
am well aware of the difficulties
of the Legislation that l am suggest
ing, and of the need of temperate and
| .i,-. IL. T., ,oor,inor a.