The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-10-04

"During the last few years congress
has had to deal with such vitality i'm
portant questions as providing for the
building Of the Panama canal, lnaug-
urating the vast system of national IT.
rigation in the states Of the Great
Plains and the Rocky mountains, pro
viding for Pacific cable, and so forth:
Yet 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 interstate
commerce law has been made effective
in radical and far-reaching fashion. re-
bates have been stopped, a pure food
law has: been passed, proper supervls-
ion of the meat packing business pro-
vided, and the bureau Of corporations
established-a bureau l.! which, has al
ready done great good, and winch can
and should be given constantly in
creasing functional power.
'The work Of legislation has been no
more important than the work done by
the department Of justice in executing
the laws, not only against corporations
and individuals who have broken the
anti trust or Interstate commerce law
but against those who have been en-
gagged in land frauds. Scores of suits
Civil and criminal, have been success
full undertaken. against offenders Of
all kinds-many of them against the
most formidable and wealthy combina
lions have been dissolved, in some
heavy fines have been imposed, in sew
eral cases the chief offenders have
been imprisoned.
Check Forces of Greed.
HIt behooves us Americans to lool
| ahead and plan out the right kind Of
| civilization, as that which we INTEND
| to develop from these wonderful new
conditions Of vast industrial growth
It must not be, it shall not be, the civil
| lization of more plutocracy, bank
| ing house, Wall street syndicate civil
ization; not yet can there be submission
to class hatred, to rancor, brutality
and mob violence, for that would meal
the end Of all civilization. Increase.
powers are susceptible Of abuse as wei
! as use; never before have the oppor
tunities for selfishness been so great. n o
the results of selfshness so appalling
for in communities where everything
is organized on merely selfish com
mercial basis, such .selfshness, # un
checked, may transform the great force
of the new epoch into powers Of dc
strnction hitherto unequaled.
"We need to check the forces o
greed, to insure Just treatment alik
Of capital and Of labor, and of the ger
eral public, to prevent any man, ric
or poor, from doing or receiving wrong
wether this wrong be one Of cunning 9
of violence. Much can be done by wis
legislation and by resolute enforcement
| of the law. But still more must b
done by steady training Of the indivit
ual citizen in conscience and characte
until he grows to abhor corruption an
greed and tyranny and brutality and
prize Justice and fair dealing.
"The men who are to do the work {
the new epoch must be trained so as t
have a sturdy self-respect, power. {
sturdy insistence on their own right
and with it proud and generous reco,
milton Of their duties, a sense Of homo
able obligation to their fellows, whic
will bind them, as by bands Of steel,
refrain in their daily work at home {
in their business from doing aught
: any man which cannot be blazoned III
T der monday sun - ..-.