Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-05

Justice and right dealing only IL we put As
Of paramount Importance the principle Of
rather than with. reference 70 his social
position. his occupation or the class, TO
! which he belongs. Thers are sel1sh and
capitalists their r. ssi in and brutality
may take the form Of hard indiffersncs to
suffering. greedy disreGard Of every moral
restraint which interferes With the accu-
mutation Of wealth and cold-blooded ex-
pioitation Of the weak or, IL they are la
borers. the form OF laziress, Of sullen envy
OF the more fortunate and OF willingness
such conduct is Jus, a. reprshensibis in
one case as in the other, and all honest ana
farseeing men should join In warning
!,
worker, corporation and union. are alike
entitled to the protection of the law. and
must alike obey the law. Moreover. In ad-
dition to mere obedience to the law, each
man, IL he be really q good citizen. must
| show broad sympathy for his neighbor
| and genuine desire to look at any question
arising between them from the standpoint
| Of that neighbor no less than from his own:
| and to this end 1t Ia essential that capi-
talist and wage-worker should consult free
| y one with the other, should each strive 70
| lie that they are properly parners and not
enemies. To approach the questions which
inevitably arise between them solely from
| the standpoint which treats each side in
| the mass IN the enemy of the other side In
| the mass Is both wicked and foolish. In
| the past the most direful among the IN
| fuenceS which have brought about the
downfall Of republics has ever been the
/ growth of the class spirit, the growth OF
| the spirit which tends to make a man
subordinate the welfare Of the public az
1 g. whole to the welfare OF the particular
class to which he belongs, the substitution
| OF loyalty to a class for loyalty to the
nation This inevitably brings about a
| tendency to treat each man not on his
merits as an individual, but on his position
| as belonging to a certain class In the COM
| mun1ty. II such spirit grows up in this
| republic 1t will ultimately prove fatal to
| US, as In the past 1t has proved fatal to
every community in which 1t has become
| dominant. Unless we continue to keep a
| quick and lively sense of the great funda-
| mental truth that our concern Is with the
| individual worth Of the individual man, this
| government can not permanently hold the
| place which 1t has achieved among the ma
| tons The vital lines Of cleavage among
/ our people do not correspond, and indeed
| run at right angles to, the lines Of cleavage
which divide occupation from occupation,
which divide wage-workers from capital
4, lists. farmers from bankers men of small
| means from men OF large means, men who
live IN the towns from men who live In
| the country; for the vital line Of cleavage
| Is the line which divides the honest man
| who tries to do well by his neighbor from
| the dishonest man who does Ill by his
| neighbor. In other words, the standard we
! should establish is the standard Of conduct,
| or OF social position. 1t is the mans moral
quality his attitude toward the great ques-
tons which concern all humanity, his
cleanliness of life. his power to do his duty
| really count; and If we substitute for the
| standard Of personal judgment which treats
each man according to his merits. another
| standard IN accordance with which all men
| OF one class are favored and all men of
another class Disseminated against we
snail do irreparable damage to the body
polite / believe that our people are too
| sane. too self-respecting, too fit for self
| government, ever to adopt such an atti-
! tude. This government is not and never
| shall be government by plutocracy. This
government Is not and never shall be
| government by a mob. 1t shall continue to
| be in the future what it has been in the
| past, government based on the theory that
each man. rich or poor, is to be treated
| that all his personal ard property rights
| are to be safeguarded, and that he Is
neither to wrong others nor to suffer wrong
| from others.
The noblest of all forms of government is
setf-government but 1t is also the most
| difficult. We who possess this priceless
boon ot,a and who desire to hand it on to our
ever bear in mind the thought so finely ex-
pressed by Burke: Men are qualified for
| OWL liberty in exact proportion to their
disposition to put moral chains upon their
own appetites; in proportion as they are
| disposed to listen to the counsels Of the
wise and good In preference to the fattery
| OF knaves. Society cannot exist unless a
controlling power upon will and appetite be
placed somewhere. and the less of 1t there
| be within the more there must be without
It ts ordained In the eternal constitution
| OF things that men OF intemperate minds
cannot be free. Their passions forge their
| fetters.''
Insurance.
| The great insurance companies afford
| striking examples of corporations whose
! business has extended SO far beyond the
| jurisdiction of the states which created
| them as to preclude strict enforcement of
| supervision and regulation by the parent
| states. In my last annual message rec
| commended that the Congress carefully
| consider whether the power of the bureau
I of corporations cannot eonstftutionally be
| extended to cover interstate transactions In
| insurance" Recent events have empha-
| sized the importance of an early and ex-
| haustive consideration of this question, to
! see whether 1t Is not possible to furnish
better safeguards than the several states
| have been able to furnish against corrup-
| ton Of the fragrant kind which has been
| exposed. 1t has been only too clearly
| shown that certain OF the men at the head
| Of these large corporations take but small
| note of the ethical distinction between hon.
| esty and dishonesty; they draw the line
only this side Of what may be called law
| honesty, the kind of honesty necessary in
| order to avoid falling into the clutches OF
| the law. or course, the only complete rem
| edy for this condition must be found In an
aroused public conscience, a higher sense of
ethical conduct In the community at large
and especially among business men and in
the great profession of the law and In the
growth of a spirit which condemns all dis
honesty, whether in rich man or in poor
man, whether 1t takes the shape of bribery
or of blackmail. But much can be done by
| legislation which is not only drastic but
practical. There is need of a far stricter
and more uniform regulation of the vast In
surance interests of this country. The
United States should In this respect follow
the policy OF other nations by providing
adequate national supervision of CONNER
cial interests which are clearly national in
character. My predecessors have repeated
ly recognized that the foreign business of
these companies Is an important part of
our foreign commercial relations During
the administrations Of Presidents Cleye-
land, Harrison and Mckinley the State De-
partment exercised it's influence, through
diplomatic channels, to prevent unjust dis
elimination by foreign countries against
American insurance companies. These me-
gotiations illustrated the propriety of the
Congress recognizing the national charac-
ter OF insurance for In the absence of fed
eral legislation the State Department could
only give expression to the wishes of the