The Miller sun. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 190?-19??, 1907-12-07
In Message Delivered Tuesday
He Urges a National In
corporation Act.
MONEY REFORM is NEEDED
He Leaves IL to Congress to Select
Plan, but Inclines Toward Guar
snty Fund for Protection
Many Points Covered.

washington, ~. VI, DcS. 49,
ldent Roosevelt today sent his annual
message to the sixtieth congress, ana
1t was read in both branches or the
assembly. In part the message is as
follows:
The Senate and House of Represent
atiyes: No nation has greater re-
sources than ours. and think IL can
be truthfully said that the citizens OF
no nation possess greater energy anu
Industrial ability. In no nation are inc
fundamental business conditions sound
er than In ours at this very moment;
and IL Is foolish, when such is the case,
for people to hoard money instead Oh
keeping 1t In sound banks; for IL Is
such boarding that is the immaculate
occasion of money stringency. More
over as O. rule, the business OF orr peo-
pie Is conducted with honesty and pro-
bity, and this applies alike to farms
and factories. to railroads and banks,
to all our legitimate commercial enter
prises.
In any large body OF men, however.
there are certain to be some who are
dishonest. and IL the conditions are
such that these men prosper or COM
NIT their misdeeds with impunity, their
example IS a very evil thing for the
community Where these men are
business men OF great sagacity and OF
temperament both unscrupulous ana
reckless, and where the conditions are
such that they act without supervision
or control and at first without effective
check from public opinion, they deludS
many innocent people into making in
vestments or emEarking in kinds OIL
business that are really u4sound. when
the miSdeeds OF these successfully DIS
honest men are discovered, s'lffering
comes not only upon them, but upon the
innocent men whom they have misled. 1t
Is a painful awakening, whenever II oc-
ours; and, naturally, when 1t does oc-
cur those who suffer are apt to forget
| that the longer it was deferred the more
painful 1t would be. In the effort To
punish the guilty it is both wise and
proper to endeayor so far as possible TO
minimize the distress 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 ulti-
mate causes OF the sufferings, and, as
q means to this end, where possible to
punish those responsible for them.
There may be honest differences of
opinion as to many governmental poll
ctes: but surely there can be no such
differences as to the need Of unfiinch-
Ing perseverance in the war against
successful dishonesty.
(Here the president quotes from his
1906 message his declaration for the
square deal between corporations and
people and for the regulations OF inter
state commerce to this end.I
have called your attention in these
quotations to what I have already said
because I am satisfied that 1t lis the
duty OF the national government to en-
body In action the principles thus ex-
pressed.
Interstate Commerce.
No 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. IL Is wise to conserve this vir-
tue and to provide for its fullest exer-
else. compatible with seeing that lib
erty does not become 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-
vided that the national government
should have complete and 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 thor
oughgoing and effective fashion. Con-
ditions 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 en-
gagged in Interstate commerce. AS a
result, 1t can be but partially and inn
perfectly controlled or regulated by the
action OF any one of the several states;
such action inevitably tending to be
either too drastic or else too lax. and in
either case 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 extern
sion OF federal authority. for
such authority already exists un-
der the constitution in amp
lest and most far-reacfing form
but II 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 bust
ness has already come and e:nnot be
avoided or undone. and that the pub
lie at large can only protect itself from
certain evil effects of this business
Capitalization by providing better
methods for ne exercise OF control
through the authority already central
ized in the national government by the
constitution itself.
10 There must be no halt I'm the
healthy constructive course Of ac-
ton which this nation has elected !:
to pursue. and has steadily pur- !:
sued, during the last SIX years. as |:
shown both In the legislation OF |:
/: the congress and the administra- !:
tion of the law by the department !:
OF justice. The most vital neesl is !:
In connection with the railroads. !:
Az to these. In my Judgment there
should now be either q national in
corporation act or law licensing !:
railway companies to engage In In !:
terstate commerce upon certain oen-