The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1906-12-17
FROM THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE

is to remedy the 20 per cent of evil as
to which the agitation is well founded.
Tire best way to avert the very undesira-
Bile move for the governmental owner
ship of railways is to secure by the Gov
eminent on behalf of the people as a
whole such adequate control and regula-
ton Of the great interstate common car
riers as will do away with the evils which
give rise to the agitation against them.
So the proper antidotc to the dangerous
and wicked agitation against the men of
wealth. rs such, is to secure by proper
legislation and executive action the abo-
ltion Of the grave abuses which actually
do obtain in connection with tho business
use of wealth under our present system
or rather no system--of failure TO cxcr-
else any adequate control at all. Some
persons speak as if the exercise of such
governmental control would do away with
the freedom Of individual initiative and
dwarf individual effort. This is not a
fact II would be vcritabe calamity
to fail TO put premium upon individual
initiative, individual capacity and effort
upon the energy. character and foresight
which il is 50 important to en- courage
in the individual. But as n matter of
fact the dcadening and degrading effect
of pure socialism, and especially of its
extreme form, communism, and the des-
truction of individual character which
they would bring about are in part ach-
ieved by the wholly unregulatcd compe-
tition which results in n single indivi-
dual or corporation rising at the expense
Of all others until his or its rise effec-
tualy clrocks all competition and reduces
former councillors to position of ut
tor inferiorty and subordination
REGULATE, NOT OPERATE.
Tn enacting and enforcing such legis-
lation as this Congress already has to
its credit. we are working on a CO.
herent plan, with the steady endeavor
to secure the needed reform by the
joint action of the moderate men, the
plain men who do not wish anything
hysterical or dangerous, but who do in
tend to deal in re$olute common-sense
fashion with tire real and great evils of
the present system. The reactionares
and the violent extremists show symp.
toms of joining hands against us. Both
assert. for instance, that if logical we
should go to government ownership of
railroads and the like: the rcactionaries
because on such an issue they tlrink the
people would stand with them, while the
extremists care rather to preach dis
content and agitation than to achieve So
lid results. As a matter of fact our no
sition is as remote from that of the
Bourbon reactiOnary as from that of the
imDracticable or sinister visionary. We
hold that the Government should not
conduct the business of the nation, but
that il should exercise such supervision
ms will insure its being conducted in
the interest of the nation. Our aim
is. so far rs may he, to secure for all
decent, hard working men. equality of
opportunity and equality of burden.
The actual working of our laws has
shown that the effort to prohibit all
combination, good or bad, is noxious
where it is not Ineffective Combina-
ton of capital, like combination of la
hor, is necessary element Of our pres
cnt industrial system. 1t is not possible
completely to prevent it; and if it were
possible. such complete prevention would
do damage TO the body polite What we
need is not vainly to try to prevent all
combination. hut to secure such rigor-
GUS and adequate control and supervision
of the combinations as to prevent their
injuring the public, or existing in such
form as inevitably threaten injury-for
the mere fact that a combination has
secured practically complete control of n
necessary life would under any circum-
stances show that such combination was
presumed to be adverse to public interest.
1t is unfortunate that our present laws
should forbid all combinations, instead
of sharply discriminating between those
combinations which do good and those
combinations which do evil.
TRUSTS FORCE REBATES.
Rebates. for instance are as often due
to the pressure of big shippers Gas was
shown in the investigation of the Stand
ard Oil Company and as has been shown
since by the investigation of the tobacco