The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-10-25
EDUCATION, BUT ExpENSrTE.

well as it's distressful side. If there is any time in the world when men do not care to have their confused thoughts interrupted by sermon on the logic of the inevitable it is at such a time as this. In their sight the time for prayers is later, when they should be prayers of thanksgiving. Even Pres ident Roosevelt in his impromptu speech Tuesday showed his unwilling ness to be preached at when stocks were a-tumbling. He rose to his whole height and declared that he stood where he has always stood and that not all the disturbance conceivable in Wall street could make him change his course so much as hair. His att titude is only the reverse of those who, having brought on the trouble by false ia1.nancing, do not wish to be bothered with reminders of their selhshness and stupidity.
 But while President Roosevelt de- clines to keep silent tongue in his head and while the dizzy operators refuse to give heed to the voice of prophecy, silent students of economic conditions are nevertheless inquiring more interestedly than ever into the merits of the Roosevelt program for the improvement of things. Before the crash came the immense popularity of the President gave his ideas. ex- pressed with characteristic frankness, standing they could not otherwise have secured. It has been the exper- fence of popular men over and over again in history to find their least considered notions subjected to aNsym- pathetic scrutiny, while their best con- sidered ideas have been repudiated the moment the popular understanding of their wisdom has become modified Since the upsetting of things in New York men are asking themselves more seriously than they would have thought of doing 8 month ago if after all the Presidents panaceas for cor porate mlsdoing are grounded in the best Judgment? They are beginning to see that while given condition can be detected as unsound in principle and enforcement something more is required to improve 1t than sincerity of purpose on the part of the critic. Throwing one of the large insurance businesses of the country into the hands of a receiver. might punish ade- quately those in charge of it but it should nevertheless be the last refuge. Interfering radically with a given railroad property might satisfy the demands of a clamorous crowd but so interwoven is its life with that of the communities it serves that another and more orderly way suggests itself.
 President Nicholas Murray Butler of Columbia University expressed this idea in a notable manner at the open- ing of the national convention on "Trusts" now sitting at Chicago. He declared that problems of the grav- est importance" loom up the moment the proposition is seriously entertain a to have the federal government reg ulate and supervise the public ser. vice corporations. "Our constitutional limitations" he says, "our political traditions and past party differences and the complex structure of oul N whole government system, make tht problem of government control of cor porations an extremely difficult one. The truth of this will sink more deep ly into the understanding of men nov that it has been frightfully demon etrated that government inspection O X banks Is not safeguard against tn, dishonesty or unscrupulousnes of men proving as 1t does prove that nev principles of conduct are not so mucl needed as the revival of the old prin ciples So Mir Butler spoke equally t the pointNwhen he mentioned thought less talk as a contribution to mischief "Above all elee," he said, unless w propose to wreck the whole economi basis upon which our prosperity an, our happiness rest, we must have
 care that we so speak and so act a not to disturb that faith or confidenc which civilized man has in his fellow and upon which rests the whole enor nous structure of OUR credit system Destroy that and there will not b many public service or other corpora tions for some time to come" Thes are not the words of an apologist fo any one. They are the words of
 trained economist who having watch ed closely both the organization C our credit system and it's applicatio to the needs of business would war men against themselves in the hour C financial distress lest they make ba condition worse.
 It Is evidently going to cost tn