The Washington herald., 1906-11-02
SEARS HEARST
CONTINUED FRoN FIRsr PAGE

ne OF their property fairly used IL busl-
ness. Much Of the watered. stock has
been sold 70 innocent investors, much Of
Il has been secured by the managers
themselves. through various devices. for
insufficient consideration. These greatly
excessive capitals. and the necessity Of
paying interest upon them, have stood
as barriers against the reduction OF
transportation rates or the prices Of
products TO a point which would secure
fair business returns.
.. The offending corporations have
clothed their vast and complicated bus
ness affairs with a maatle Of secrecy. so
that it has been almost imp 'ssible to get
al the facts Of their offending and quite
impossible for any weak, private person
or small corporation who has been in
jured by them.
One 81 the great obstacles 10 the
redress of these evils has been the unwiIl
ineness or inability Of the States 10 deal
with them. II is difficult for any one
state % control corporations doing busi-
ness In al the States. The safe cannot
control Interstate commerce at al Many
of TIE states have by their laws IS vel
As by their administration facilitated ana
encouraged the Objectionable practices.
War Waged BY the President.
Let ne tel you that cur own St0te is
not bIameless in this respect. aud that we
need a Hughes at Albany with the skill
and courage to deal with that subject as
he dealt with the insurance subject on
the other hand, the Federal government
has. been met at every turn by the Diff
Guilty Of controlling State corporations in
the exercise Of the powers conferred upon
them by the State in which they were
created
against these battlements Of wrong the
President has charged with all the en-
ergy and sincere conviction Of his nature
he has waged aud is waging open warfare
nol against wealth. but against ill-gotteu
wealth; not against corporations. but
against the abuse Of corporate power; no.
against enterprise and prosperity. but
against the unfair and fraudulent devices
of selfish greed.
The honest poor man who has felt the
crushing power of unfair wealth may
take heart, for the IN st powerful per
sonaHty Of our generation. from the van
1age ground OF the greatest Office Of our
land. IS leading the battle in his behalf.
The honest rich man VINO fears that pTop-
erty may be endangered and prosperity
checked may calm his fears, not a single
priL ciple is invoked in this warfare
against corporate Wrongdoiug that has
not fer centuries been familiar % the
common law of England and America: no
control IS asserted over business which
was not recognized and approved IN the
days Of Macsde.d aid Eldon, Marshall and
Kent; bat to exercise that same measure
OF control under the new conditions OF
our day new agencies and new methods
have had 10 be provided by law and sane
toned by the courts.
Taken I'D By Federal Government.
For the accomplishment Of this due
measure OF control which from time i'm
memorial our laws have recognized us
necessary, the government Of the United
States has taken up the task where the
several States have failed. and is per
forming and purposes to peri -rm its duty
not. beyond but 10 the fuB limit Of lis
constitutional power.
The structure Of our prosperity will not
be weakened, it viii be made strong and
enduring by removing with the care Of
the experienced builder the rotten timbers
Of Gisobedience 10 law and disregard Of
morality.
The Republican Congress has stood 10y
ally by the President: the act Great ng the
Bureau OF Corporations. the act expedit-
Ing the trial of trust cases, the anti-re-
bate act, the act for the regulation of
railroad rates have made possible redress
which was impossible before. Under the
direction Of two successive Attorneys Gen
eral Of the hrst order Of ability. sincerity.
tn hrsv- s.f
cessant warfare has been waged and Is
being waged under the Federal laws
against corporate wrongdoers.
Trusts That Have Been Curbed.
The Northern Securities Company. (
which sought 10 combine and prevent
competition between two great continent (
al railroads. has been forced to dissolve I
by the judgment Of the Supreme Court of /
The United States. The methods Of the
Beef Trust In combining to suppress com
petition IL the purchase Of 1--we stock and
TIE sale Of meat has been tried and con
demned, and the trust has been placed I
under injunction TO abandon those prac- /
Lcas by judgment Of the Supreme Court. 4
The combination Of paper manufactur- 4
ers IN the territory from Chicago to the 4
Rocky Mountains has been dissolved by
me judgment Of the sup ene Court. and
The combination has been abandoned and /
The price OF white paper ia that territory
has gone down 80 per cent The Retail /
'Iroeers' Association IN this country has
been dissolved by decree Of the court. The
elevator combination in the West has been
dissolved in like manner. The salt com
olnatlon west Of the Rocky Mountains
mas been dissolved by decree Of the court
The Wholesale Grocers' Association IN
the South. the meat combination and the /
lumber n1bination in the West, the com
bination OF railroads entering the city of /
st. Louis 10 suppress competition between
the bridges and ferries reaching that citv
the Drug Trust, which suppresses compe- /
yition all over the country, are being Wig /
orousiy pressed in suits brought by the
Federal government for their dissolu- /
ton.
The Immunity Bath
The salt combination has been indicted
and convicted and fined for falling TO obey
the judgment Of dissolution. The Beef
Trust has been indicted for failing to obey
the Injunction against them, and have
been saved so far only by a decision that
they had secured temporary immunity by
giving evidence against themselves. One
branch Of the Tobacco Trust is facing an
indictment OF its corporations and their
officers in the Federal court in New
York. and the other branches are under
SONG investigation. The lumber coubi-
nation III Oklahoma Is under indictment.
The Fertilizer Trust. a combination of
thirty-one corporations and twenty-five in
dividuals to suppress and fix prices has
been indicted the indictments have been
sustained by the courts and the combl-