Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-12
PRESIDENT SPEECH
That Made Yesterday Causes
Comment.
WARNING TO COMBINES
MUST HAVE CERTAIN GOVERN
MENTAL SUPERVISION.
If Laws Are Not Sufficiently Strong
More Drastic Legislation is
Needed.

President Roosevet's remarks upon cor
poratfon regulation, delivered ar Cbautau
qua yesterday, will undoubtedly attract
wide attention in congressional and business
circles as they are read and discussed
Coming In a time of profound peace in poll
tics and in the midst of the legislative re-
cess, congressman and politicians VIII likely
construe the utterances as in the nature Of
warning from the executive that he does
not intend to abate the efforts in which he
was defeated last session
The apparent incongruity Of the selection
of chautauqut meeting. with an attend
ance composed mainly of women, for the
delivery of an important address upon eco
nomics. will. 1t Is thought by politicians
serve to emphasize the executive admoni-
ton to the trusts and corporations to look
out for squalls. When the speech is thor
oughly analyzed it will be found to contain
some omlnouS features for the corpora tions.
The President goes even a little farther
than he has thus far gone in the direction
of governmental control Of corporations
The speech presages, it Is thought. Wig
orous message to the extra session of Con-
gress which the President has declared will
be called in November Financial and cor
porate interests are thus given fair warn
Ing of what may be expected in the way of
executive recommendation, and there can be
no reasonable claim that thunderbolt was
shot from a, clear sky when the message
goes in.
Has Lost None Of His Ardor.
After the adjournment OF the last ses-
sion of Congress, It was the fashion in
corporation quarters to claim that Presi-
dent Roosevelt would lose some Of his
ardor In corporation regulation before the
next session. They were pleased to think
or at least assert that he had made his
play. would realize that he could not make
the campaign a go and would therefore
abandon 1t. Yesterdays speech rs calcu-
lated to controvert such an idea, If 1t is
genuinely entertained. in fact
The President in his speech dwelt upon
the faet that the government would cease
20 snow ienleney In enforcing the criminal
provisions OF the antitrust laws He has
therefore said that where the statute nrn
vides. for the personal panishment. ofs heads
should be enforced. More importsn how
ever Will probably be attached to the next
paragraph OF his speech. which said:
- Moreover. II the existing law proves to
De inadequate, SO that under esta ablished
rules OF evidence clear violations NAV NOT
De readily proved. defiance OF the law must
inevitably ..,rns lead to further legislation.
ms legislation may be more drastic
than would prefer. II so, It must he dix.
tinctly understood that 1t will be becamsa
OF OF the stubborn determination Of some of
tne great combinations in striving to pre-
vent the enforcement of the law as f.
stands, by every device. legal and Illegal ;:
More Drastic Legislation.
1t viii be recalled that at the last session
some 1rlenos OF the President in Congress
maoe the prophecy that If the corporations
oio not accept the legislation then pend
ing they might have to take more radical
legislation later. Yesterday the President
uncertain language, by saying:
Very many of these men seem to think
that the alternative is simply between suh-
mittlng to the mild kind of eoyernmental
control we advocate and the absolute free
dom @ to do whatever they think best.
Ihey are greatly In error. Either thew
Will have to submit to reasonable super-
vision and regulation by the national au
thorlties, or else they will ultimately have
to submit to governmental action of a far
more drastic type. Personally l think our
people would be most unwise If they let any
evaporation due to the acts of certain
great corporations drive them into drastic
action, and 1 should oppose such action
But the great corporations are themselves
to blame If by their opposition to what Is
legal and just they foster the popular feel
Ing which tells for such drastic action
The intimation which the President gave
In the last Congress, at that time rather
mildly expressed, that it might be advisable
to consider governmental regulation Of all
Soi PototioHS Cil6dScu ia Interstate COM
merce was repeated yesterday but in force
full and emphatic form, leaving no room
for misunderstanding his position on that
subject His remarks were
II believe that all corporations engaged
In interstate commerce should be under the
supervision of the national government
l do not believe in taking steps hastily or
raShly, and 1t may be that all that is neces-
sary in the immediate future is to pass an
interstate commerce bill comforting upon
some branch of the executive government
the power of effective action to remedy
the abuses in connection with railway
transportation.
But in the end, and In my judgment at
a time not very far off. we shall have to,
or at least we shall find that we ought to
take further action regards all corpora
tions doing interstate business The enor-
nous increase in Interstate trade resulting
from the industrial development of the
last quarter of a century makes 1t proper
that the federal government should. so
far as may be necessary to carry into effect
its national policy, assume degree of ad-
minstrative control of these great corpora
tons"
Intolerant of Resistance.
Since Congress adjourned the executive
has had experience with some corporations
in their attempts to evade the consequences
of violation of the statutes The President
is intolerant of resistance of that charac-
ter and meets 1t with this recommendations
when, Is nowt the case, many of the
great corporations consistently strain the
last resources of legal technieality to avoid
obedience to law for the reasonable regu-
lation of their business, the only way eff
fectively to meet this attitude on their
part is to give the government a more d.
rect and therefore more efficient supervision
and control of their management"
Taken all in all. the speech, 1t is said
In political circles. will probably renew dis
cusson throughout the country of the
subject of federal control of corporations
which was beginning to lag in interest In
the midsummer dullness and will prepare
the public mind for consideration of the
question when it is brought to the atten-
tion of Congress at the extra session.
Ocean Liner Movements.
WORK. vtaa,,,ar