The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-04

message States was received by the Senate at 12:13 D. m today, and within minute
 retary Bennett had begun the reading
 the document under directions from
 Vice President. The message was ., ented to the Senate by Assistant Sec retary to the President Latta, who had followed immediately upon the heels of Senators Allison and Teller, constituting 1he committee which had made the GUS tomary call upon the President.
 we have called upon the President" said the venerable Senator from Iowa. ''and he informs LIS that he will commu- nicate with the Senate in writing imme- diately."
 "A message from the President of the United States" announced MT. Latta, much more distinctly as the two com mitteemen parted to permit the introduce ton of the Presidents report. The docu- ment was immediately forwarded to the desk of the Vice President, and as soon as the wrapping could be removed the Vice President laid it before the Senate.
 The secretary read deliberately and with distinctness. and was followed 
 held printed copies of the message in their hands. The galleries were crowded and many of the visitors also gave close at tention to the reading.
 When the House convened after the brief recess the Presidents secretary ap- peared at the door of the hall and at once the message of the President was laid before the House by the Speaker, and it's reading begun by the clerk. Printed copies of the document were distributed among the members, who made close scrutiny of the message while the reader plodded along, apparently only for the benefit of the people in the galleries.
 The message is as follows:
 TO the Senate and House of Representa- tves:
 No nation has greater resources than ours and I think it can be truthfully said that the citizens of no nation pos sess greater energy and industrial apllity. In no nation are the Fundamental business conditions sounder than In ours at lhls very moment; and it is foolish, when such is the case, for people to hoard money instead of keeping il in sound banks; for it is such hoarding that is the immediate occasion of money stringency. Moreover, as fl rule the business of our people Is conducted with honesty and probity ana this applies alike to farms and factories, to railroads and banks, to all our leglu- mate commercial enterprises.
 In any large body of men, however, there are certain to be some who are dis honest and if the conditions are such that these men prosper or commit their mis- leeds with impunity, their example Is very evil thing for the community Where these men are business men ot great sagacity and oi tempel ament botn interruptions and reckless, and where the conditions are such that they act without supervision or control and at first without effective check from public opinion, they delude many innocent people into making investments or embarking in kinds ot business that are really unsound. When the misdeeds of these successfully dis honest men are discovered, suffering comes not only upon them, but upon the innocent men whom they have misled. 1t is a painful awakening, whenever it occurs; and, naturally, when 1t does oc- cur those who suffer are apt to forget that the longer it was deferred the more painful it would be. In the effort to pun ish the guilty it is both wise and proper to endeavor so far as possible to mini nize the distress of those who have been lnisled by the guilty. Yet It is not pos sible to refrain because of such distress from striving to put an end to the mis- deeds that are the ultimate causes of the suffering, and, as a means to this end, where possible to punish those responsible for them. There may be honest sdiner- ences of opinion as to many governmental policies; but surely there can be no such differences as to the need of unfiinching perseverance in the war against success ful dishonesty.
 In my message to the Congress on De- Cember 5, 1905, l said:
 If the folly of man mars the general well being, then those who are innocent of the folly will have to pay part of the penalty incurred by those who are guilty of the folly. A panic brought on by the speculative folly of part of the business community would hurt the whole busl- ness community; but such stoppage of welfare, though it might be severe, would \ not be lasting. In the long run, the one vital factor in the permanent prosperity of the country is the high individual character of the average American work er the average American citizen, no mat ter whether his work be mental or man ual, whether he be farmer or wage worker business man or professional man.
 Tn our industrial and social system the interests of all men are so closely intertwned that in the immense majority of cases a straight dealing man. who by his efficiency, by his ingenuity and in-
 
 dustry benefits himself, must also bene- fit others. Normally, the man of great productive capacity who becomes rich by guildng the labor of many other men does so by enabling them to produce more than they could produce without his guidance: and both he and they share in the benefit, which comes also to the pub lie at large. The superficial fact that the sharing may be unequal must never blind us to the underlying fact that there is this sharing, and that the benefit comes in some degree to each man concerned. Normally, the wageworker, the man of small means. and the average consumer. as well as the average producer are Ill alike helped by making conditions such that the man of exceptional business abi' ity receives an exceptional reward for his ability. Something can be done by legis- lation to help the general prosperity; but no such help of permanently beneficial character can be given to the less able and less fortunate save as the results of q policy which shall inure to the advan- tage of all industrious and efficient people who act decently; and this is only an- other way of saying that any benefit