Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1907-12-03
PRESIDENTS
MESSAGE
Continued From Page H.

obtained by the enactment of law
by the Congress. Our
steady aim should be by legislation,
cautiously and carefully undertake
en-, but resolutely persevered in, to
assert the sovereignty of the Nation
al Government by affirmative action.
This is only in form an innova-
ton. In substance it is merely a
restoration; for from the earliest
time such regulation of industrial
activities has been recognized in
the action of the lawmaking bodies;
and all that l propose is to meet the
changed conditions in such manner
as will prevent the Commonwealth
Indicating the power 1t has always
possessed, not only in this country,
but also in England before and since
this country became separate ma
ton.
1T has been a misfortune that
the National laws on this subject
have hitherto been of a negative or
prohibitfve rather than an affirma-
tive kind, and still more that they
have in part sought to prohibit what
and have in part in their prohibit
tions confounded what should be al
lowed and what should not be al
lowed. 1t is generally useless to try
to prohibit all restraint on compe-
tition, whether this restraint be
reasonable or unreasonable: and
where it is not useless it is generally
h1Y1I
prosecution of one device to evade
the law Immediately develops an
other device to accomplish the same
purpose. What is needed is not
sweeping prohibition of every ar
rangement. good or bad, which may
tend to restrict competition, but
such adequate supervision and regu-
lation as will prevent any restric-
ton of competition from being to
the detriment of the public, as we'll
as such supervision and regulation
as will prevent other abuses in no
way connected with restriction of
competition.
have called your attention in
these quotations to what I have al
ready said because I am satisfied
that it Is the duty of the National
Government to embody in action
the principles thus expressed
Interstate Commerce.
No small part of the trouble that
we have comes from carrying to an
extreme the national virtue of self
reliance, of independence in initfa-
tive and action. It is wise to con-
serve this virtue and to provide for
its fullest exercise. compatible with
seeing that liberty does not become
a liberty to wrong others. Unfor-
tunately, this is the kind of liberty
that the lack of all effective regu-
lation inevitably breeds The
founders of the Constitution pro-
vided that the National Government
should have complete and sole con-
troll of interstate commerce. There
was then practically no interstate
business save such as was conducted
by water, and this the National
Government at once proceeded to
regulate in thcroughgoing and eff
fectfve fashion. Conditions have
now so wholly changed that the in
terstate commerce by water is in
significant compared with the
amount that goes by land, and al
most all big business concerns are
now engaged in interstate COM
merce. AS a result, it can DE but
PARTIAL and imperfectly controlled
or reg'lla7eG by the action of any
one of tue several states; such ac-
ton inevitably tending to be either
too drastic or else too lax and in
either ca%e Ineffective for purposes
of justice Only the National Gov
ernment tfn in thoroughgoing fash
ion exercise the needed control.
This does not mean that there
should be any extension of Federal
authority, for such authority al
ready exists under the Constitution
in amplest and Inost far-reaching
form; but it does mean that there
should be an extension of Federal
activity. This is not advocating
Capitalization. 1t is merely looking
facts in the face, and realizing that
Capitalization in business has al
ready come and can not be avoided
or undone, and that the public at
large can only protect itself from
certain evil effects of this business
Capitalization by providing better
; methods for the exercise of control
through the authority already CEN
tralized In the National Government
by the Constitution itself. There
must be no halt in the healthy con-
structive course of action which this
Nation has elected to pursue, and
has steadily pursued, during the last
six years, as shown both in the leg
islation of the congress and the ad-
ministration of the law by the de-
partment OF Justice. The most vital