The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1906-08-21

power 10 deal with Inc business use
/ wealth.. and specially OF cofporlie
peaith, III Interstate busiuess ~ r.
no, TOO much 10 say ~ the course
Ipf esngress within tue iast fe 3 years
hand the hearly agreeHent ssstsseen
ttise eaecutfse ~, sIlslt;t
f11ent 81 the ltation IA ne neeii
Eed action each thin own lrits
have resulted ia the na!ios: fof7itse
tarst time definite 8enteFtns upon
|. tEp, career q. proper performance q 1f
duty in these matters
Must Not co 20 Extremes.
The task Is peculiarly dffHcult. be.
cause It is one: in which the fanatical
l6r foolish extremist, and the reactiors
ary whether honest or dishonest, play.
into one another's hands and thereby
render it especially hard TO secure
action which shah be effective; and
yet not needlessly jeopardize the bust
ness prosperity which we all share.
oven though not with as much equality
as we are striving to secure Il Isl
very easy thing to play the demo
gogue to denouncing the evils Of
wealth. 1t is also easy 10 play the
part of the mere obstructtonist and
decline to recognize the great evils
of the present system and thereby
strengthening the hands Of those who
advocate extreme and foolish meas
ures.
Instead OF enacting antitrust laws
which were either so vague or so
sweeping as completely to Ieteat taeir
Town objects 1t has given US an inter,
state commerce law which will enable
lis to exercise In thorough fashion i
supervision over the common carriers
| Of this country, so as while scrupu.
lously safe guarding their proper in
terests. to prevent their fayoring one
man at the expense OF another and to
require them to be fully accountable
to the public for the service which to
their own profit they render the pub
lie.
The enactment of the pure food bill
and the passage Of the bill which den.
dered eHectiye the control Of the gov
ernment over the meat packing indus
tries are along the same general line
as the passage of the interstate com
MERGE law.
Perhaps the particular merit OF
those laws is best shown by the fact
that while they have aroused the deep
eat anger of the reactionarles, Of the
men who make fetish Of wealth,
they have not satisfied the. unwise ex-
tremists: and the present Congress
Is achieving this merit has acted in
the exact spirit of Abraham Lincoln
who was never to be frightened out
Of going forward by the cries of thos y
who feared progress; nor yet to be
hurried into, precipate advance by
the demands Of the crude:thinking
men.
Labor Legislation.
Congress has also certain import
AMI steps in settling the wage work
ers certain rights. An employers liza.
billty law was passed which puts the
national government in Its proper
place as regards such legislation. An
eight hour law as already on the
statute books, and there has been
great confusion as to who was to en-
force 1t. This confusion has been rem
edled and the law is in progress OF
thorough enforcement
We will do everything that can be
done to further the Interests of the
farmer and wage Garner: and this dec.
laration is subject to- only one reser-
walton. which is, that for no man and
for no body of men. will we do that
which is wrong.
We favor the organization Of labor
as we favor the organization of capt
tai; but on condition that organized
labor and organized capital alike act
in spirit of justice and fair dealing,
and with due regard to both the let
ter and spirit of the law.
The fact that we hartlIy recog-
nize the organization as useful will
not prevent our taking action to con-
troll it or to prevent It's committing
abuses.
The Protective Tariff,
We stand unequivocally for pro-
tectIye tartff. and we feel that the
phenomenal Industrial prosperity
which we are now enjoying is not.
lightly to be 1eopardlzed. But wat
ever a given rate of schedule becomes
evidently disadvantageous to the ma
ton, and where It is feasible to change
this rate or schedule without too much
.dislocatIon of the system, twill be-
done. Let me add one word of eau.
tIon, however The question of re-
wishing the. tarin stands wholly apart
from the question of dealing with the