The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-07-08
JEROME TO TIE KANSANS,
DON'T BELIEVE ALL you HEAR
ABOUT TRUSTS"
Check EN- when They TT, TO Drhsuch
Public Onicials Everything Trust
Touches Grows and Improves. as We'll As
Increases In Price--JOSe on Lawson.

Increases In Prlce--JoSe on lawson
OTTAWA, Kan, July 7.-District Attorney
Jerome of New York spoke at the Forest
Park Chautauqua this afternoon Re was
heartily received. He began by saying
that be liked the West because Of its large
independence.
at seems to me. said he that " the lat
John HAY had contested with bootbIack
in preparinga treatise for the ethics OF diplo-
macy, the production Of each would
he weighed on it's merits alone. and II
you thought the bootback was right
you'd say 80. You Of the West have
kept and do keep that vital interest in
everything and for that admire you. You
are fitted with good minds out here and yo
look at the world with healthy eyes
"You lack the cyncism Of the East. but
you should not forget how differently we
live. In the West you make mistakes some
times. OF course. A bad bond for State
Treasurer is taken or you have bad failure
which no one understands and which may
cost you something, but you pick up courage
and go again into the field OF commerce
and make another start to repair the past
The things are experiments with you In
the East with its dense population we
cannot try these experiments. We must
be conservative
"In New York. for instance, in the section
OF the East Side where l live there are
more people packed into ten ements than
are in Topeka. New York city has more
people than are in the State Of Kansas.
1t has more Jews than ever we're in Jeru-
salem more Irish than would make another
D,,b al; hov ha
"In such circumstances as these we often
are confronted with problems which in
this great West would be simple. We
are distinctly different people, one may
say. You think Of US as effete Fasteners
crushed beneath tho iron heel Of Pierpont
Morgans, Russell Sages and such, and we
think of you as downtrodden, populist-
ridden Kansans You think of Wall Street,
and you groan. My dear people. Wall
Street has legitimate functions. Who Is
building your railroads, digging your
wells. financing your great undertakings
if not Wall Street?
when you strike a blow at the financial
interests Of the country you hurt yourselves.
This may not please you. but did not come
please you. All this talk about trusts is
mostly nonsense. / tell you, and hold
no brief from the trusts, that no man has
been In a position to know more OF the
lnit,uities Of trusts than ! have been, and
vet declare that nothing in this country
has been touched by trust that has not
been caused to grow and improve.
Despicable a man as is John D. Rookie
Teller you have only to look at your own
country crossroads to find men In smaller
way doing exactly as he has done. This
is bust ness and business is war. This is
and stiff. do not say that this IL moral
it is immoral. But don't tell me that II
the men at the crossroads had more power
they would not Use it to their own advantage
or that they would use 1t any more gently
than Rockefeller uses it.
Don't take things you hear too seriously
those wildcat stories about trusts and the
harm they are doing Everything touched
by trust in this country, l repeat It. has
been improved in quality and raised in
price. The trusts have given stability to
! labor The side upon which the trusts
are wrong, the side upon which they should
be checked, and ruthessly, too, is that they
debauch our public life
Not content with the enormous profits
they obtain, they seek gifts. at the hands
| find fault with the trusts. 1t is there they
should be held back. They buy l.egis
latures. they buy our Judges, our adminis
| trative officers. lhey produce moral EVIL
! that strikes at me and at you. 1t bring
an atmosphere into our life that makes it e
! lower and ever lower.
Everywhere l go ! am struck with the
idea that the bulk Of the people Of America
are honest and pure and that they, wan
good things? Do you know that. despite
| this disposition, the honest man in Office
| is a rarity When really honest mar
gets into office the people rally arounc
| him and pat him on the back and say, Cook
boy, simply for the fact that he has KEEP
his hands out Of the bag, an act OF public
virtue-so low has fallen the estimate o
| public life"
Gov. La Toilette of Wisconsin, W no spok,
at Forest Park yesterday. disappointed thu
Chautauquans by talking about Hamlet.
When Mr.. Jerome came on the platform
to-day he carried solemn looking book.
IL had intended he said. gravely. &c
give you rea ding from Sha kespeare, but
| find with profound sorrow that had been
anticipated I brought with me Much
Ado About Nothing. but az Thomas Lawson
Of Boston is to speak here tomorrow
shall leave that selection for him" The
audience appre ciated the ouip.
| After Mr. Jerome left the stage he wa
questioned by professors and prea CHI r
! about his attitude toward trusts and IA