Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1906-10-19

| ..-. -
President Roosevelt delivered a notable
| address at the dedication OF the new
| Pennsylvania State house, In which he
| discussed anew some Of the question con-
| corning which he has said much and done
much In recent years. Among other
| things he said:
1 do not come hero to speak only Of the
past, and still less to appeal merely to
| state pride We can show that the past
| Is with us a living force only In the way
in which we handle ourselves r,s IN, IN f h,s
| devotion to his own state by making evil
| dent his paramount devotion to that IN
| lon which Includes all the states. The
chief avail in so far as It incites us to
| grapple resolutely and effectively with the
| problems of the present We are not now
menaced by foreign war Our union Is
| firmly established. But each generation
| has Its special and serious difficulties;
and we Of this generation have to strug-
| gle with evils springing from the very
! proud. from the very growth and pros
| perity Of which, with Justice. we boast.
The extraordinary industrial changes OF
the last half century have produced a
| new evils flourish: and for these new evils
| new remedies must be devised.
| Need Of Greater Federal Powers.
] some OF IneS6 evils CdU po bi~PpiSu
with by private effort only; for we never
| can afford to forget that In the last analy-
sis the chief factor In personal success:
and indeed in national greatness, must
| be the sturdy self reliant character OF
| the individual citizen. But many OF these
| evils are Of such a nature that no private
| effort can avail against them. These evils
therefore, must be grappled with by gov
ornamental action. In some cases this gov
! ernmental action must be exercised by
| the several states individually. In yet
| others 1t has become increasingly evident
| that no efficient state action Is possible,
| and that we need through executive ac-
| ton, through legislation and through ju-
| dicial Interpretation and construction OF
| law to increase the power OF the federal
government
II we fail thus to incrase It, we show
| our impotence and leave ourselves at the
mercy Of those ingenious legal advisers
| of the holders OF vast corporate wealth.
who. in the performance Of what they re-
| gard as their duty, and to serve the ends
| Of their clients, invoke the law at one
time for the confounding Of their rivals,
| fcation Of the law In order that they
| themselves may be left free to work their
unbridled will on these same rivals, or
| on those who labor for them. or on the
general public
Tricks Of Corporation Men.
In the exercise Of their profession and
| In the service Of their clients these astute
| lawyers strive to prevent the passage OF
| efficient laws and strive to secure judicial
| determinations Of those that pass which
| shall emasculate them. They do not in
| woke the constitution In order to compel
| the due observance of law alike by rich
! and poor by great and small: on the con-
| trary. they are ceaselessly on the watch
! to cry out that the constitution Is vo-
lated whenever any effort is made to in
woke the aid Of the national government:
| whether for the efficient regulation OF
railroads. for the efficient SUPERVISION of
lows frr off irin
curing obedience to such a law as the ma
| tional eight-hour law and similar So
| called labor statutes
The doctrine they preach would make
| the constitution merely the shield OF In
competence and the excuse for govern
| mental paralysis; they treat 1t as JUS
| tification for refusing to attempt the REM
edy of evil. instead Of as the source Of
of mighty and ever growing nation.
Strong nationalist though I am. and
firm though my belief is that there must
be wide extension Of the power OF the
national government to deal with ques-
tons of this kind. freely admit that as
regards many matters OF first rate I'M
states for the betterrnent of present con-
ditions. The several states must do their
| duty or our citizenship can never be put
on proper plane.
| State Reforms Good
President Roosevelt here turned to mat
| ters Of state legislation in Pennsylvania
and congratulated the people Of that state
! on their legislature having done so much.
| He especially mentioned the passage Of a
primary election law (which guarantees
| to the voters free expression In the se-
| lection of candidates for office" and fin
| ally he said:
| You have passed a law containing a pro-
| vision which I most earnestly hope will
in substance be embodied likewise In
law by the at the 1omng session
| any corporation from making contribu-
ton Of the money Of that corporation to
| any candidate or any political committee
| for the payment Of any election expenses
| whatever.
President Roosevelt also complimented
| Pennsylvania on having secured a child
| labor law and expressed the hopo that
| congress would do something along the
same line. Continuing he spoke OF the
| doctrines as taught by Justice Wilson
| Of Pennsylvania, and said:
In a remarkable letter In which he ad-
vocated setting forth In early and clear
fashion the powers Of the national gov
| eminent, he laid down the proposition
that 1t should be made clear that there
| between the limits Of state and national
| jurisdiction. and that both jurisdictions
| together composed only one uniform and
comprehensive system Of government and
laws; that Is. whenever the states cannot
act because the need to be met Is not
| one Of merely a single locality. then the
| national government, representing all tho
people. should have complete power to
| act. 1t was in the spirit of Wilson that
| Washington, and Washington's lieutenant
| Hamilton. acted; and 1t was in the same
| spirit that Marshall construed the law.
| Big Fortunes Must Be Controlled.
| All honest men must abhor and repro
bate any effort to excite hostility to men
| Of wealth as such. We should do all we
| can to encourage thrift and business on
ergy, to put premium upon the conduct
| of the man who honestly earns his livel-
! hood and more than his livelihood. and
! who honestly uses the money he has
earned. But 1t Is our clear duty to see,
| in the interest of 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 fortunes
are to be transmitted and the percentage
| that they shall pay to the government
| whose protecting arm alone enables them
| to exist. Only the nation can do this
| work. To relegate 1t to the states Is a
| farce. and is simply another way Of say
ing that 1t shall not be done at all.
Power To Deal With Wealth.
Under wise and far seeing interpreta-
| ton Of the interstate commerce clause of
the constitution, ! maintain that the ma
tional government should have complete
power to deal with all Of this wealth
which in any way goes into the COM
merce between the states-and practically