The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1907-05-30

road or a big corporation with the
same stern determination to punish
him as against the man who corrupt
Iy favors such corporation. But let
the railroad man remember that 10
to defeat bIackmail by bribery is the
worst and most short-sighted of poll
cies. Let the plain people insist on
the one hand on governing themselves
and on the other hand on doing exact
justice to the railways. Let the big
railroad man scrupulously refrain
from any effort TO influence politics
or government save as il is the duty
of every good citizen in legitimate
ways to try to influence politics and
government; let the people as a whole,
in their turn, remember that it is their
duty to discriminate in the sharpest
way between the railway man who
does we'll and the railway man who
does i'll; and. above all, to remember
that the irreparable moral harm done
to the body polite by corruption is
just as great, whether the corruption
takes the form of Matchmaking big
corporation or of corruptly doing its
bidding What we have to demand in
ourselves and in our public servants
is honesty-honesty to all men; and if
we condone dishonesty because we
think it is exercised in the interests of
the people, we may rest assured that
the man thus showing it lacks only the
opportunity to exercise 1t against the
interests of the people. The man who
on one occasion will corruptly do what
is wrong in the interests of big cor
poration is the very man eager to-
blackmail that corporation as the OPP
portunity arises The man who is on
occasion corruptionist is apt, when
the gust of popular feeling blows hard
against the corporations he has cor
ruptly served. to be the loudest, most
reckless, and most violent among
those who denounce them. Hunt
such a man out of public life. Hunt
him out as remorselessly if he is a
blackmailer as if he stands corruptly
for special privilege. Demand hon.
esty-absolute. unflinching honesty
together with courage and common
sense, in public servant and in bust
ness man alike Make it evident that
man who discriminates for or against
any other, save as justice and reason
demand it: and that in your attitude
toward business men, toward the men
who are dealing with the great finan-
cial interests of the country, while
you intend to secure sharp reckoning |
for the wrongdoers. you also intend
heartily to favor the men who in ie-
gitimate ways are doing good work in
the business communicative railway |
president, the traffic manager, or 9th
err official. high or low. who is doing
all in his power to handle his share in
a vast and complicated business to the
profit alike of the stakeholder and the |
general public.
Let the man of great wealth remem-
Der that while using and enjoying it, |
he must nevertheless feel that he is in
a sense a trustee and that consistent |
whether in acquiring or spend |
ing his wealth. is ominous of evil to
himself. to others VINO have wealth.
and to the nation as a whole. AS for |
the rest of us let us guard ourselves
against envy as we seek that others
guard themselves against arrogance,
and remember Lincoln's words of
kindly wisdom: Let not him who is |
houseless pull down the house of an
other. but let him work diligently and |
build one for himself. thus by exam
pie assuring that his own shall be safe
from violence when built