Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-19
WILSON TALKS RICHES
He Biames the Tariff for Pred
atory Wealth.
SQUARE DEAL WON'T DO
What is Really Needed, He Thinks, is
No Deal at All.
WANTS OLD-TIME EQUALITY
He Declares the Genuine Purpose of
Reform Must Come From
Purged Business.
WANTS oLD-TIME EQUALITY

NEW YORK, March 19.-What he declar-
ed to be national hysteria, not alone In the
pursuit Of prosperity, but also in present
efforts to remedy evils to which that too
eager pursuit has given rise. was deplored
by President Woodrow Wilson Of Princeton
University at the banquet Of the South
Carolina Society here last night. On this.
the birthday Of the Sage Of Princeton.
Grover Cleveland. DR.. Wilson gave express
sion to views in line with those enunciated
by the former President In his Washing
tons birthday address at Chicago. old-fash-
Toned equality and absence of special privi-
lege forming his keynote. He said:
1T is interesting to note how often prog
ress is pushed to such a speed and urged
by such means that the peace Of the coun-
try Is threatened, It's interests thrown into
discord Our trouble at the present mo-
ment is that tariffs and all special means
of stimulation have been pushed too far
and too fast to the destruction of balance
and harmony in the social and economic
development Of the country We are obliged
to acknowledge that we have lost our heads
in our pursuit Of wealth and material
power.
"A moment of self-distrust, or rather
distrust of each other, has come upon US.
We are disconnected and demoralized. be-
yond measure Disguised, and therefore
sadly in need of such counsel as shall seek
to restore old balances and harmOnieS and
moderation of action.
Having lost wise self-possession In our
too eager progress we are in danger of los
ing 1t In our efforts to reform
Tariff the Chief Instrument.
1--WE have stimulated material progress
In every way that we could think Of. The
chief instrument of stimulation has been
the tariff. By this means 1t was sought to
give to every sort Of organized industry
some special protection Of law. Until re-
cent years the momentum thus induced
seemed to threaten nothing.
But at last everything moved with q
rush. by leaps and bounds Upon colossal
success followed colossal organization. A
spirit of madness for success upon great
scale seized upon those who actually con-
Quoted the great businesses and knew now
to make them pay; madness for money
seized upon those who undertook their
1--WE have by our own forgetfulness Of
the true principles Of legislation created
classes and put colossal interests at clash
with one another. These changes of our
own blind contriving have carried us so
far that we are actually invited to alter
the whole plan Of our constitutional sys-
tenn to set matters right We are invited
to push government into every experimental
function in order to correct the vagaries of
development which we fostered but did not
understand.
clear head to go to the root Of the disease.
but to the root we should go. 1t Is evident.
in the f1rst place, that we ought not to
punish prosperous men for having accumu-
lated the wealth we invited them to &C
cumulate. I believe in income and inher-
itance taxes as means for raising revenue.
But l do not believe in such taxes or in
any taxes as q mere means Of penalzing
the rich. whom we have invited to get their
wealth under the fosterage Of the govern
ment. The root of inequality is not in
wealth. but the special favors granted by
such legislation as the extravagant tariff
laws which have been put upon our statute
books since the war began between the
states.
By Enemies-Not by Friends.
"What we chiefly need Is genuine pur-
pose Of reform and sufficient self-possession
to undertake 1t. The genuine purpose can
not come from friends and benefciaries
of the legislation of fosterage and privi-
leges; 1T must come from those who are
not its friends, but it's convinced and earn
est opponents. We must get over our hys-
terra.
THE mere reform of the tariff Is not suf-
icient; 1t Is not even an intelligent pro-
gram. The tariff is by no means the whole
root of difficulty. and is slow to change
Every correction must be a process Of adj
justment or prudent Encouragement. More
over. we must be careful to deal frankly
and without favor with class privilege of
all kinds.
There is another as formidable an enemy
to equality and freedom of opportunity as
it. and that is the class formed by the
labor organizations and leaders Of the
country, representing only a small minor
ity Of the laboring men Of the country,
quite as monopolistic In spirit as the capt
talists, and quite as apt to corrupt and
ruin our industries by their monopoly. If
We are to restore the purity of our law
and the freedom of our life we must see
to it-in all moderation and in all fairness
that no class whatever is given artificial
privileges or advantages, that our life
move. free again of fear or favor. from
whatever quarter, for whatever class. What
we need is not a square deal. but no deal
at all-and old-fashioned equality and har-
mony of conditions-a purged business and
a purged law