New-York tribune., 1907-11-07
MIR. ROOSEVELT'S VIEWS
NOT CORPORATIONS FOE.
Public Speeches and W6rdsstO Con-
gress Quoted for Critics.
From The Tribune Bureau.

l
Washington Nov. 1.-THE President is finding
it necessary to devote good deal of his time
these days to correcting erroneous impressions
which have been assiduously and cleverly spread
not by the sO-called yellow journals but by a
portion of the press accepted as conservative
which. in the excess of it's splenetic opposition
TO Mr.. Roosevelt and his policies has succeeded
in wholly misleading some men of ability and
Importance in the financial and industrial world
The President has been converted into sort
of bOgie by writer's Of this class. and
whose Judgment is usually sound. but whose
time is evidently too much taken up to permit
of their reading for themselves the Presidents
speeches and understanding his policies. have
swallowed whole the misleading headlines and
captious and false editorials of their favOrits
newspapers, until they have been duped into a
panicky state of mind. which the President finds
it necessary to correct.
The President called the attention OF one of to-
days visitors to the political speech of E. NJ
/ Shepard, Professional Goo Goo" and one time
Tammany candidate for Mayor Of New York
Mr.. Shepard. addressing an audience at Prospect
Hall. Brooklyn, said among other things:
For months President Roosevelt our Chief E11-
ecutive. has been going up and down the
try planting the doctrine Of discomfort. He has
against the classes and has weakened conf
dence in our business structure. He has sowed
the wind and We will reap the whiriwnd. I say
to Democrats and Republicans alike that his
/ speeches. no matter how intended. persist
emily sowing the seeds OF discomfort. jealousy
| and hatred between the two great classes and
/ destroying confidence. without which great
work of commercial Importance can be car
ried
| INCIDENT AT KEOKUK RECALLED.
| OF course air. Roosevelt has done nothing OF
! the kind. On the contrary he has done mora
than any other one man to prevent class hatred
and dissipate distrust. For instance. when he
was speaking at Keokuk. Iowa, on his last
Western trip, he said that dishonest rich men
must be discouraged. The sentiment was greeted
with enthusiastic applause by his audience. but
Mr.. Roosevelt checked it in a peremptory man
ner. When there was silence he said:
/ don't want you to applaud this part unless
| you willing to applaud the part read first.
| to which you listened in silence stand straight
for the rights Of the honest man who wins
fortune by honest methods. as I stand against
the dishonest man who wins a fortune by dis
honest methods.
Then he repeated what he had said before;
Every manifestation of ignorant envy and hos
tility toward honest men who acquire wealth by
honest means should be crushed at the outset
by the weight of sensible public opinion
prominent fnancier called recently at the
White House. With great hesitation and evil
dent embarrassment he suggested that if this
| country only had man fearless enough TO say
publicly that the Sherman antitrust act.
construed by the Supreme Court, could not in
! every instance be obeyed it would go far to
restore public confidence.
Mr.. Blank said the President, did you
/ read my last annual message?"
L did was the reply.
Then why did you not the follOwing?''
. And the President read from that message:
The actual working of laws has shown
that the effort to prohibit all combination. good
FoI y nov vfRrre ~Ha- fG moi fnl nrr
Combination of capital. like combination OF
| labor. is necessary element in our present in
dustriaI system. 1t is not possible completely 70
prevent il. and if it were possible such COM
plete prevention would do damage to the body
polite
| What we need is not vainly TO try to prevent
/ all combination. but 10 secure such rigorous
and adequate control and supervision Of tho
/ combinations as to prevent their tnjurtng the
| public, existing IN such form as inevitably
to threaten injury. For the mere fact that
combination has secured practically complete
/ control OF a necessary of life would under any
/ circumstances show that such combination was
/ TO be presumed to be adverse to the public in
| terest.
| 1t is unfortunate that our present laws should
forbid all combinations. instead of sharply dis
| eliminating between those combinations which
/ do good and those combinations which do evil
| II is public evil to have the statute books
/ a law incapable OF full enforcement. because
/ both judges and jurieS realize that its full
I forCement would destroy the business of the
/ country. for the result is TO make decent rail-
road men violators of the law against their will
I
wilful wrongdOers.
1t is noteworthy that the President expects to
/ repeat this sentiment in his coming message
and that he is disposed TO think that the COM
| ing Congress will enact such amendment OF
| the Sherman antitrust act to make 1t prohibit
unreasonable combinations in restraint Of trade
instead Of all combinations in restraint Of trade
WHAT THE CAPITALIST FORGOT.
| To capitalist. recent caller at the White
House. who attempted delicateIy to intimate
| that the Presidents speeches and messages
were productive Of class hatred Mr.. Roosevelt
handed a copy of his last message and made
him read aloud the following passage:
| There is matter more important to re-
member than aught else. and that is the Infinite
harm done by preachers of mere discomfort.
/ These are the men who seek to excite violent
| class hatred against all men Of wealth. They
seek to turn wise and proper movements for
the better control of corporations and for doing
away with the abuses connected with wealth
falsehOOd, in which the aim is to in1ame to
madness the brutal passions OF mankind
I The sinister demagogues and foolish vision
aries who are always seeking to undertake a
| campaign of destruction sometimes seek to as
sociate themselves with those working for a
genuine reform in governmental and social
reformers- In reality they the worst enc
mics of the cause they profess to advocate Just
as the purveyOrS OF sensational Sander in news
papers or magazines are the worst enemies OF
all men who are engaged in an honest effort TO
better what is bad in our social and govern
mental conditions.
To preach hatred OF the rich man as such 10
carry campaign of slander and invectivs
against him, to seek TO mislead and infame to
madness honest men whose lives are hard and
who nave not the kind Of mental training which
will permit them to appreciate the danger in
the doctrines preached-all this is to commit
| crime against the body polite and to be false
o every worthy principle and tradition