Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-31

stock jobbing and overissue of bonds and
stocks shown to have occurred In the
management of some of our great corpo-
ratfons.
Moral Awakening.
There was moral awakening among
the people. and the hands of the admin
istration were held up in the work which
II was doing. On the other hand. the men
and the interests which were the subjects
OF attack were not idle. They had their
partisans. guilty and innocent The guilty.
of course. wished to de feat the admins
tration by any means. The innocent were
magnates in legitimate business transac-
tons. and to whom the attitude Of the adj
minfstration seemed one of general op-
position to the whole business community.
.. U tS OF the great manifestations. one
OF the monuments of this moral progress,
was the passage of the railroad rate bill.
1t met the opposition of many of the
railroads. not because they were in SYM
pathy with the trusts, for think they. in
many respects. had been more sinned
against than shining, but because they
resented that close control. that rigid sti-
pervision. which the public demanded. in
view of the possibilities which the dis
closures as to their past transactions re-
vealed. The fight made by the admins
tration has been a noteworthy one. And
now. after the victory has been won. after
there has been introduced into the hearts
Of all man. and especially of these leaders,
these trust magnates Nand financial ops
ponents of the administration, the fear Of
the law. the panic comes on. The trust
magnates solidly intrenched with great
financial resources, are not the ones who
suffer the most from 1t. 1t is the men
who have had no such unlawful or fruit
full method of making money. the great
body of business men and wage-earners.
This is the feature of the panic that
arouses ones deepest sympathy and re-
greet.
THE agents and sympathizers and de-
tenders of the trusts and others innocent,
but mistaken, now rush forward to place
the blame OF the present conditions upon
the administration. They seek to use the
panic as an argument for giving up the
moral victory which has been won. APP
parently they would take a retrograde
step back to the conditions that existed
five and six and ten years ago. when, I'M
hampered by statute law, these trusts
were building the financial bulwarks be-
hind which they are now fighting. They
rely upon the soreness and the mental
strain and suffering through which all the
honest business men Of the community
have had to pass as golden opportunity
for driving home their attacks upon the
administration and for paralyzing the on
ward movement toward supremacy OF the
law.
II have set forth what 1 believe to be
us examine the specifications Of our oppo-
nents now made to show that the admin
istraton is responsible. In the first place.
it is said that the policy Of the admtnis-
traton has been directed for the last four
years against organized capital and that
1t has thereby frightened investors.
1eny it. The course of the administration
has been directed against such organized
capital as was violating the statutes OF
the United States-and no others. 1t had
81 dcratiop and desire to Aid and
assist organized capital which was en-
gagged in legitimate business.
Policies of the Administration.
ut is true that the execution of the
policies of the administration has in
Solved the bringing to the light of public
criticism the violations of law by ipfiu-
entail and powerful corporations and
their prosecution. Through the investiga-
lions of national and state tribunals there
have been revealed, as / have already
said, breaches of trust stock-jobbing.
overissue of stocks and mismanagement
In some of our largest corporations. They
have been severely condemned by all. in
Guiding the President. knowledge OF
these things doubtless affected our credit
and fastened the panic: but those who
are morally responsible for such a result
are the Guilty managers, not those who.
in the course Of their official duty, have
made known TO the business WOTlQ Tie
facts and commented on them.
ut is said that the administration has
arraigned the whole business community
as dishonest. ] deny it,. The President
has condemned the lawbreakers. He has
convinced those who have unlawfully &C
cumulated enormous powers and capital
that they are not immune. He has put
the fear of the law in their hearts. They
have been acute enough to attempt to
protect themselves by giving the impress.
sion that his action has been directed
against the whole business community. 1t
Is true that the business men of our com
munity. as a whole, are honest and their
methods are sound. The President has
never said otherwise. Indeed 1t Is chiefly
in the interest Of the great body Of honest
business men that he has made his great
fight for lawful business methods.
Again, 1t is said that the rate bill for
which the administration Is responsible
caused the present panic. Could any
thing be more absurd? The object OF the
rate bill was merely to bring the rail-
roads under closer supervision OF a tri-
bunal which could act upon complaints
Of individuals suffering from injustice.
The immediate effect Of it's passage was
the voluntary reduction Of rates. Subse-
quently, under normal circumstances
justifying it, the rates Of the railways
generally were increased. The continu
ance of the abuses of the railway man
agement were made by the rate bill much
more difficult: but the rate bill has not
had the slightest effect upon the legiti-
mate business earnings of the railways.
The utter hollowness in the cry that the
rate bill caused the panic is seen In the
fact that those who now venture to I'D
vance this proposition have been for more
than year contending that the rate bill
was a humbug and a fraud, because 1t
had no effect whatever-because 1t had
given promise Of reduction of rates and
no reduction of rates followed.
Then state legislation against railroads
Is pointed to as a cause for shrinkage In
the value Of the stocks and for the panic.
Mr.. Roosevelt and the national admin
istration are not responsible for this. 1t
was occasioned by the same revelations
Of lawlessness and discrimination in rail-
way management that made the federal
ures have been too drastic. the cause of
government.
Instead of making panic. the national
policy OF ending the lawlessness Of cor
porations In interstate commerce and OF
taking away their power of issuing. with
out supervision, stock and bonds. will pro-
duce a change in their management and
remove one fruitful cause for loss of pub
&c confidence.
Success by Illegal Methods.
1.-The business men in the past have SYM
pathized with the effort to eradicate from
the business system of this country the
influence and control Of those who have
achieved success by illegal methods. Is
all this tn he changed by the nanfce Is