Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1907-10-28
DEMOCRATIC ideas
DO NOT ACCORD With CENTRALI.
zATlON OF power OR BOSSISM.
Partial or Divided Control of Corpora.
ti0ns by States, Not the Success.
ful Way. The People Must be
Trusted to Carry on the Govern.
ment.

In his speech at Provincetown,
Mass, Mr.. Roosevelt said: Most
large corporations do a business that
is not confined to any one state Ex-
perience has shown that the effort to
control these corporations by mere
state action can not produce whole
some results. In most cases such ef-
fort fails to correct the real abuses of
which the corporation is or may be
guilty; while in other cases the effort
Is apt to cause either hardship to the
corporation itself, or else hardship
to neighboring states which have not
tried to grapple with the problem in
the same manner; and, of course, we
must be as scrupulous to safeguard
the rights of the corporations as to
exact from them in return full
measure of justice to the public. 1
believe In national incorporation
law for corporations engaged in in
terstate business. 1 believe, further
more, that the need for action is most
pressing as regards those corporations
which, because they are common car,
riers exercise quasi public function;
and which can be completely controll-
ed, in all respects by the federal gov
ernment, by the exercise of the power
conferred under the interstate COM
merce clause, and, If necessary under
the post-road clause, of the constitu-
tion. During the last few years we
have taken marked strides in ad-
vance along the road of proper regu-
lation of these railroad corporations,
but we must not stop in the work.
The national government should ex-
ercise over them a similar supervision
and control to that which it exercises
over national banks. We can do this
only by proceeding farther along the
lines marked out by the recent ma
tional legislation"
Extracts from the address delivered
by Mr.. Bryan in September, 1905,
before the Jefferson club of Chicago
may be interesting. That address
was entitled Democracy VS.. Central
ization." Mr.. Bryan said:
''The partial adoption by some of
the republican leaders OF remedies
proposed by the democratic party
makes it opportune to draw dis
tinction between the fundamental
principles of democracy and the prin-
ciples of those who view subjects of
government from different stand
point. There are two forces constant
ly at work in every nation, one force
tending to bring the government
nearer to the people and the other
tending to carry the government
away from the people. To go little
farther back we may start with the
proposition that there are but two
theories of gOvernment-onet that a
government is thing created by the
people for themselves-this is the
theory which is embodied in our dec
laratiOn of independence, which de-
clares that governments derive their
just powers from the consent of the |
governed. The opposite theory is that
governments are imposed by the few
upon the many-such governments
resting on force. Few, if any, gov
ernments now known entirely eXem-
plify either theory-nearly all, if not |
all, of them representing a compro-
mise between the two theories, but |
in every government there is a ten
dency either in one direction or the |
other. If we may represent self gov
ernment as the day, and arbitrary |
and irresponsible government as the
night, then most governments would |
represent the twilight. The twilight |
that precedes the dawn gradually |
brightens into day. The twilight that |
precedes the night ends in darkness. |
1t is very important, therefore, that |
the tendency of a government shall |
be towards the light. In using the |
twilight l recognize that it is not a |
perfect illustration because the dawn |
always grows brighter while the
shades of night always grow darker
Possibly it would be more accurate |
to describe the contest between DEM
ocracy and Capitalization, as like a
a game of football, in which the gov-
ernment may be carried this way or
that way according as it is in the |
hands of one side or the other, the
ultimate goals being at opposite ends
of the field. In monarchies the fight |