The Washington times., 1906-10-04
THE PRESIDENTS ADDRESS AT HARRIBURG

have, as matter of fact. left vacancies,
left blanks between the limits or pos
sible State jurisdiction and the limits
OF actual national jurisdiction over the
control OF the great business corpora
ttOns. II is the narrow construction OF
the powers Of the National Government
which In our democracy has proved the
chief means OF limiting the national
power 10 cut out abuses, and which IS
now the chief bulWark Of those great
mOneyed interests which oppose and
dread any attempt TO place them under
efficient governmental control
Many legislative actions and many
judicial decisions which ! am conndent
time will show 10 have been erroneous
and a damage 10 the country would
have been avoided If our legislators
and juTists had approached the matter
Of enacting and cOnStruing the laws OF
the land In the spirit of your great
Pennsylvania, Justice WiisOn-in the
spirit of Marshall and or washington.
Such decisions put US al a great dlsad-
vantage In the battle for industrial or
der as against the present Industrial
chaos. If we interpret the Constitution
In narrow instead or broad fashion, II
we forsake the principles OF Washing
ton, Marshall, Wilson, ana Hamilton,
we as d people viii render ourselves
impotent to deal with any abuses which
may be committed by the men who
have accumulated the enormous FOR
tunes OF today. and who use these for
tunes in still vaster corporate form In
business
The legislative OF judicial actions and
decisions of which I complain. bs II
remembered, do not really leave 10 the
States power 10 zeal with corporate
wealth in business. Actual experience
has shown that the States are wholly
powerless to deal with this subject, and
any action or decision that depTtves the
nation or the power 20 deal with It.
simply results In leaving the corpora
tions absolutely free 10 work without
any effective supervision whatever; and
rH.A Il rrrffh HFrfA
danger TO the future Of our whole sys-
TEN of government, and. indeed, 10 our
whole civilization.
All honest men must abhor and repro
bate any EFFORT to excite hostility to men
OF wealth as such We should do al
we can 10 encourage thrift and business
energy, to put q premium upon the con-
duct Of the man who honestly earns his
livelihood and more than his livelihood.
and who honestly uses the money he has
earned But Il is our clear duty 10 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 for
tunes are TO be transmitted and the
percentage that they shall pay TO the
Government whose protecting arm alone
enables them 10 exist. Only the nation
can do this work To Felegate 20 10 the
States is a farce. and Is simply another
way OF saying that 81 shall not be done
at all
Should Have Complete Power.
Under a wise and farsceInR interpre-
tation OF the interstate commerce clause
Of the Constitution, I maintain that the
National Government should have com
plete power TO deal with all OF THIS
wealth which IN any way goes into the
commerce between the States-and prao-
tically all of it that is employed in the
great corporations does thus go IN. The
national Legislators should most scru-
pulously avoid any demagogic Iegisla-
tiGn about the business use OF this
wealth. and should realize that 10 would
be better 10 have no legislation at all
than legislation couched either in
vindictlve spirit OF hatred toward men
Of wealth or else drawn with the reck-
lessness Of impTacticable Missionaries.
But. on the other hand 60 shall and
must ultimately be understood that the
United States Government, on behalf Of
the people OF the United States. has and
IS 10 exercise the power OF supervision
and control over the business use OF this
Wsalth-in the first place, over all the
work OF the common carriers OF the na-
tion, and IN the next place over the
work OF al the great corporations which
directly or Indirectly do any interstate