The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1907-12-06

SUGGESTS REMEDIES FOR ILLS
CONTROL or CORPORATIONS AND
RAILROADS 70 PREVENT
DECENTRALIZATION.
Believes This Would Solve the Prob.
lem Together with Provision. for
More Elastic currency-Recom-
mends Postal Banks and Asks ~
Legislation Along Many Lines.

washington, Dec. - President
Rooseyelts annual message to congress
II a voluminous document Of nearly
80, 900 words, by far the longest mes
sage he has ever submitted to congress.
The opening subject OF the message is
the financial co.1itlon of the country.
and for which the president lays much
OF the blame upon INSCRIPTIONS stock
spectators, and says:
I'm any large body Of men. however,
there are certain to be some who are
dishonest, and II the conditions are
such that these men prosper or com
init their misdeeds with impunity. their
example is a very evil thing for the
community. Where these men are BUSH
ness men Of great sagacity and OF tenn
permanent both inscriptions and reck-
less, and where the conditions are such
that they act without supervision or
control and at first without effective
check from public opinion. they delude
many inn,cent people into making In
vestments or embarking In kinds of
business that are really unsound.
When the misdeeds Of these successful
ly dishonest men are discovered. suf-
fering comes not only upon them, but
upon the innocent men whom they
have misled. 1t 10 a painful awakening.
whenever II occurs; and, naturally,
when II does occur those who suffer
are apt to forget that the longer 1t raj
deferred the more painful it would be.
In the effort to punish the guilty 1t Is
both wise and proper to endeavor SO
far as possible to minimize the dis
tress of those who have been misled by
the guilty. Yet 1t Is not possible to
refrain because of such distress from
striving to put an end to the misdeeds
that are the ultimate causes of the SUI
fering, and. rs a means to this end,
where possible to punish those re-
sponsible for them. There may be hon
est differences OF opinion as to many
governmental policies; but surely there
can be no such differences as to the
need Of ~unfiinching perseverance in the
war against successful dishonesty"
He quotes at length from his mes
sage Of last year in which he advo-
cited federal control of corporations
doing Interstate business. and believes
that In such control would be found the
remedy for DISQUALIFICATION and
stock speculation which he believes
have brought about the present fnan-
cial conditions. He says:
"Our steady aim should be by legis-
Iation, cautiously and carefully under
taken, but resolutely perseyered in, to
assert the sovereignty of the national
government by Affirmative action.
This is only in form an innovation.
In substance it Is merely a restoration;
for from the earliest time such regula-
ton Of Industrial activities has been
recognized in the action of the law
making bodies; and all that ! propose
Is to meet the changed conditions in
such manner as will prevent the COM
monwealtn abdicating the power 1t has
always possessed, not only in this coun-
try, u also in England before and
since this country became a separate
nation.
Federal Control Of
Railroads In Favored.
mo small part Of the trouble that we
have comes from carrying to an ex-
treme the national virtue of self-re-
lance, of independence in initiative
and action. 1t is wise to conserve this
virtue and to provide for its fullest ex-
ercise. compatible with seeing that lib
erty does not become a liberty to
wrong others. Unfortunately, this Is
the kind of liberty that the lack Of all
effective regulation inevitably breeds.
The founders OF the constitution pro-
yided that the national government
should have complete II sole control
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 thorough
going and effective fashion. Condi
tions have now SO wholly changed tina
the interstate commerce by water Is in
significant compared with the amount
WV At-A ----. 49,. - 49, n1-.Nck 4 Ito
business concerns are now engaged In
interstate commerce. As a result. II
can be but partially and imperfectly
controlled or regulated by the action OF
any one of the several states; such ac-
ton inevitably tending to be either toe
drastic or else too lax, n in etthei
case ineffective for purposes of Justice
Only the national government can In
thoroughgoing fashion exercise the
needed control. This does not near
that there should be any extension OF
federal authority, for such authorit,
already exists under the constitution II
amplest and most f~ar-reaching form
but 1t does mean that there should b.
an extension Of federal activity, Thil
is not advocating GENERALIZATION. 1t !.
merely looking facts in the face. ant
realizing that Capitalization in bushes!
has already come n can not be avoid
ed or undone, and that the public a
large can only protect itself from GER
tain evil effects of this business cen
t~raiization by providing better methods
for the exercise OF control through thu
authority already centralized in tn,
national government by the constitu'
tion itself. There must be no halt II
the healthy constructive course of &C
ton which this nation has elected Il
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