Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1906-10-11

you have by law regulated and improv-
ed the civil service systems Of your
greatest cities; and, finally, you have
passed law containing a provision
which I most earnestly hope will in
substance be embodied likewise IL a
law by the congress at the coming
session. provision prohibiting the
officers of any corporation from max
ing a contribution Of the money OK
that corporation to any candidate or
any political committee for the pay
ment of any election expenses what
ever"
1T is surely not too much to say"
declared the president, that this body
of substantive legislation marks an
epoch in the history of the practical
betterment of political conditions. not
merely for your state, but for all our
states"
In Pennsylvania you have made a
beginning, but only a beginning, In
proper legislation and administration
on the subject of child labor. The law
must IL necessary be strengthened,
and 1t must b Vigorously enforce.
The national government can do but
little In the matter Of child labor,
though / earnestly hope that that
little will be permitted to be done by
congress. The great bulk Of the work,
however, must be left to the state
legislatures; and if our state legls.
latures would act as drastically and
as wisely on this subject of child labor
as Pennsylvania has acted within the
present year the gain would be literal
ly incalculable; and one of the most
vital needs Of modern American life
would at last be adequately met.
Against Hatred Of Wealth.
ALI honest men must abhor and
reprobate any effort to excite hostility
to men Of wealth as such, said the
president. I'VE should do all we can 10
encourage thrift and business energy.
to put a premium upon the conduct
OF the man who honestly earns his
livelihood and more than his liyeli.
hood, and who honestly uses the
money he mas earned. But it Il, our
clear duty to see, in the interest Il
the people, that there is adequate
supervision and control over the
business use of the swollen fortunes
OF today, and also wisely to determine
the conditions upon which these fort.
tunes are to be transmitted and the
percentage that they shall pay to the
government whose protecting arm
alone enables them to exist. Only tine
nation can do this work. To regulate
IL TO the states Is farce, and is sim
ply another way of saying that 1t shall
not be done at all.
Under wise and rarseeing inter,
probation of the interstate commerce.
clause of the constitution, maintain
that the national government snould
nave complete power to deal with all
OF this wealth which in any way goes
into the commerce between the
states-and practically all of Ii that Is
employed In the great corporations
does thus go In. The national legisla
tors should most scrupluously avoid
any demagogic legislation about the
business use of its wealth, and should
realize that 1t would be better to have
no legislation at all than Legislation
coucned either in a vindictiye spir,t
or hatred toward men of wealth a
else drawn with the recklessness O,
lmpracticable Missionaries. But, on the
other hand, 1t shall and must ultimate
~ be understood that the United
states government has and is to ex
ercise the power of supervision and
control over the business use of this
wealth-in the first place, over all
the work of commentaries of the
nation, and In the next place over
the work of all the great corporation,
which directly or indirectly do any
Observation-Disclosures whatever-and this
includes almost all of the great cor.
porations.
Extension of the national power to
oversee and secure correct behavior
IN the management Of the great corpo-
cSSNo iutclStdle business
VIII IN similar fashion renedr far more
stable the present system by doing
away with those grave abuses which
are not only evil In themselves but
are also evil because they furnish an
excuse for agitators to inflame well
meaning people against all forms OF
property and to commit the country
10 schemes OF wild, would be remedy
winch would work infinitely more
harm than the disease"
In conclusion the president said thar
during the last few years congress has
mad to deal with such vitality imnor.
.ant Questions as providing for the
building OF the Panama canal, inauru.
rating the vast system OF national ,rri.
cation In the states of the prea,
plains and the Rocky mountains. pro.
viding for Pacific cable, and so forth
fet In addition to these tasks. some of
which are of stupendous Importance
congress has taken giant strides along
the path of government regulation
and control of corporations, The inter.
state commerce law has been made