The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1907-12-12
THE MESSAGE IN PART.
Document Entire Would Make Over
Twenty Newspaper Columns.

Document Entire Would Make Over
Twenty Newspaper Columns.
President Roosevelt's message to the
Sixtieth Congress is of great length, the
longest ever penned by any President, and
in full contains over $4,000 words. In
part the President says:
No nation has greater resources than
ours, and l think it can be truthfully said
that the citizens Of no nation possess
greater energy and Industrial ability. In
no nation are the fundamental business
conditions sounder than in ours at this
very moment; and it is foolish, when
such is the case. for people to hoard
money instead of keeping it in sound
banks for il is such boarding that is the
immediate occasion of money stringency
Moreover, rule, the business of our
people is conducted with honesty and
probity, and this applies alike to farms
and factories, TO railroads and banks. to
all our legitimate commercial enterprises.
In any large body of men, however,
there are certain to be some who are dis
honest, and if uhe conditions are Such that
these men prosper or commit their mis-
deeds with impurisy, their example is a
very evil thing for the community. Where
these men are business men of great sa-
gacity and OF temperament both unscrupu-
tons are such that they act without SUI
pervision or control and at first without
effective check from public opinion. they
delude many innocent people into making
investments or embarking in kinds of
business that really unsound When
the misdeeds OF these successfully dishon-
est men are discovered, suffering comes
not only upon them, but upon the. limo
cent men whom they have misled. Ii is
mfr Gon a
and, naturally, when it does occur those
who suffer are apt to forget that the long
err it was deferred the more painful IT
would We. In the effort to punish the
guilty it is both wise and proper to en-
deavor SO far as possible to minimize the
distress of those who have been misled by
the guilty. Yet it is not possible to re-
frain because of such distress from striy-
ing to put an end to the misdeeds that are
the ultimate causes of the suffering, and,
as a means TO this end, where possible tn
punish those responsible for them. There
may be honest differences of opinion as to
many governmental policies; but surely
there can be no such differences as to the
need of unfinching perseverance in the
war against successful dishonesty
Interstate Commerce.
The founders of the constitution proyid-
I'D that the national government should
have complete and sole control of inter-
state commerce. There wa then prac-
tically 10 interstate business save such as
was conducted by water, and this the ma
tional government at once proceeded to
regulate in thoroughgoing and effective
fashion. Conditions have now so wholly
changed that the Interstate commerce by
water is Insignificant compared with the
amount that goes by land, and almost all
big business concerns are now engaged in
Interstate commerce. As a result, it can
be but partially and imperfectly control,-
ed or regulated by the action of any one
of the several States such action inevita-
bly, tending TO be either too drastic or
eIse too lax, and in either cas-. ineffective
for purposes of justice. Only the national
government can in thoroughgoing fashion
exercise the needed control. This does not
mean that there should be any extension
of federal authority, for such authority
already exists under the constitution in
amplest and most far-reaching form; but
il Goes mean that there should be an ex-
tension of federal activity. The most
vital need is in connection with the rail-
roads. As to these, in my judgment there
should now be either a national inc0rpO-
ration act or law licensing railway COM
panies to engage in interstate commerce
upon CERTAIN conditions. The railroads
and all other great corporations will do
well TO recognize that this control must
come the only question is as to what gov