The sun., 1907-08-21
Says Financial Depression Is
Plot Of "MaIefactors
Of Great Wealth."
WILL NOT CHANGE COURSE
Promises the Country Eighteen
Months More of the Policy
He Has Pursued.

Declares That the Administration VIII 60
Right On as II Has Gone So Long a. He
Ia PresIdent-Annomces That II tie
Prosecution Of Bad Trusts Hurts the
Country He Is Sorry. bat Cannot Help
H-ssys His Acts vpn Not Re Guided
by vindIctiveuess and That the Prosecu.
tions VIII he Conducted with viewto
InnictIng as Little Hardship as Pos
sible on the Innocent Shareholders.
PRovNcETowN. Mass, Aug. 2o.-Pres-
ident Roosevelt in his address here to-day
departed from the text which he had pre-
pared to speak Of the present financial
unrest and the depreciation in values and
TO declare that he has no intention OF chang
ing his attitude toward finance and in
dustry.
The matter which Mr.. Roosevelt inter-
polated in his set speech follows:
During the present trouble with the
countless requests and suggestions. public
and private. that should say or do some
thing to ease the situation. There is a
worldwide financial disturbance. It 10 felt
in the bourses Of Paris and Berlin. and
British oonsols are lower. while prices Of
railway securities have also deprecated.
"On the New York Stock Exchange the
disturbance has been particularly severe.
most Of ii believe to be due to matters
not particularly confined to the United
States and to matters wholly unoonnected
with any governmental action. but IL may
well be that the determination Of the Gov
ernment. in which. gentlemen. IL will nos
waver, to punish certain malefaotors Of
great wealth. has been responsible for
something Of the troubles. at least to the
extent Of having caused these men to COM
bine to bring about as much financial stress
as they possibly can in order to discredis
the policy Of the Government. and there
by to secure q reversal Of that policy %
that they may enjoy the fruits OF their
own evildoing.
THAT they have misled many good people
into believing that there should be such
reversal of policy 10 possible. II 90. am
sorry, but n will not alter my attitude
Once for all. let me say that as far as am
concerned. and for the eighteen months
OF my Administration that remain. there
will be no change In the policy we have
steadily pursued. no letup in the effort to
secure the honest observance of the Law.
..-1A Il. 4
who shall rule this Government the people
through their governmental gents. or few
ruthless and determined men whose wealth
makes them particularly formidable. be-
cause they hide behind the breastworks Of
corporate organization.
Il wish there to be no mistake on this
point. IL 10 idle to ask me not to prose-
cute criminals. rich or poor But desire
no less emphatically to have It understood
that we have undertaken and will undertake
no action of a vindictive type, and above
all no action which shall infiict great or
unmerited suffering upon the innocent
stockholders and upon the public as a whole.
Our purpose is to act with the minimum
Of harshness compatible with obtaining
our ends In the man Of great wealth
who has earned his wealth honestly and
used IL wisely we recognize good citizen
worthy OF all praise and respect.
Business can only be done under modern
conditions through corporations, and our
purpose is to heartily favor the corporations
that do well. The Administration appre-
ciates that liberal but honest profit for le-
gitinate promoters and generous dividends
for capital employed, either in founding
or continuing an honest business venture,
are the factors necessary for successful
corporate activity, and therefore for gen.
orally prosperous business conditions.
All these are compatible with fair deal
ing as between man and man and rigid
obedience to the law. Our aim is to help
every honest man, every honest corporation,
and our policy means in its ultimate an
alysis a healthy and prosperous expansion
Of business activities of honest business
men and honest oorporations
mo individual. no corporation. obey
ing the law has anything to fear from
this Administration
Mr.. Roosevelt's prepared address was in
part a. follows:
The Presidents Prepared speech.
The utterly changed conditions Of our
national life necessitates changes In certain
OF our laws, OF our governmental methods.
Our Federal system OF government ia based
upon the theory of leaving to each COM
munity, to each State, the control over
those things which affect only its own mem
bers and which the people OF the locality
themselves can best grapple with. whils
providing for national regulation In those
matters which necessarily affect the nation
as . whole. II seems to mo that such quss-
tions as national sovereignty and States
rights need to be treated not empirioally or
academically. but from the standpoint Of
the interests Of the people as whole. Ma
tionsl sovereignty is TO be upneld In % far