The Grit-advocate., 1905-10-27
DOWN IN GEORGIA
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT WARMLY
GREETED At ATLANTA.
DISCUSSES CORPORATIONS
Visits His Mothers Old Home at Ros
understandable Ovation at Geor-
gia's CapitaI-PIain Talk on Ne
tional Questions

A'lanta.-F Following his brief sojourn
at his mothers old home in Roswell.
where he showed deep feeling. the
President visit to Atlanta on Friday
was a marked event in the history OF
the state of Georgia. He was greeted
on his arrival by her most distin-
suished citizens. and throughout the
day on every hand were shouted words
of welcome that left no room for doubt
of their sincerity.
The city was in gala attire and bust
ness was practically suspended that al;
might greet the distinguished guest
South Carolina, in the person Of Gov
crnor Hayward, added its welcome to
the South. 1t was estimated that not
less than 100000 persons saw and well
coined the President. His address here
was devoted to the advantages OF pro-
lection, the regulation of corporations
by the government, crOOkedness in
politics, dishonesty in business and the
Chinese question. He declared that
coolies should be kept out. but other
Chinese coming here should be well
treated
In his address at Piedmont park, the
President said:
THE problems which we of America
have to face to-day are very serious.
but we will do well to remember that
after all they are only part of the price
which we have to pay for the triumphS
we have won, for the high position to
which we have attained. If we We're
IA backward and stationary country we
would not have to face these problems
at all but | think that most of us are
agreed that to be backward and stati-
onary would be altogether too heavy
price to pay for the avoidance of the
problems in question.
There are no labor problems where
there is no work to be done by labor.
There are no troubles about corpora
tions where the poverty of the com
munity is such that it is not worth
while to form corporations. There is
no difficulty in regulating railroads
where the resources of region are so
few that it does not pay to build rail
roads
There are many excellent people
who shake their heads over the diff
culties that as a nation we now have
to face; but their melancholy is not
warranted save in "A very partial de-
gree, for most of the things of which
they complain are the inevitable ac-
compartments of the growth and great
ness Of which we are proud.
Undoubtedly there is need of regu.
latiOn by the government. in the inter-
est of the public, of these great corpo-
rations which in modern life have
shown themselves TO be the most eff.
cient implements, and which are.
therefore, the implements commonly
employed by the owners of large for
tunes. The corporation is the creature
of the state. II should always be held
accountable TO some sovereign au-
thority, and this accountability should
be real and not sham. Therefore. in
my judgment, all corporations doing
an interstate business-and this means
the great majority of the largest cor
porations-should be held accountable
to the federal government, because
their accountability should be coex-
tensive with their field of action. But
most certainly we should not strive to
prevent or limit corporate activity.
'''rhe unwisdom of any well-meaning
but misguided effort to check corporate
activity has been shown in striking
fashion in recent years by our expert
ence in the Philippines and in Porto
Rico. Our national Legislators very
properly determined that the islands
should not be exploited by adventurers
without regard to the interests OF the
people OF the islands themselves. But
unfortunately in their zeal to prevent
the islands from being improperly eX-
plotted, they took measures of such
severity as to seriously. and in some
respects vitally. hamper and retard
the development of the islands.