River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1907-12-05
CAUSES OF THE PRESENT FINAN-
clAL CONDITIONS is MADE
THE CHIEF TOPIC.
SUGGESTS REMEDIES FOR ILLS
CONTROL OF CORPORATIONS AND
RAILROADS TO PREVENT
DECENTRALIZATION.
Believes This Would Solve the Prob
lem Together with Provision for
More Elastic Currency-Recon-
mends Postal Banks and Asks for
Legislation Along Many Lines.

Washington, Dec. 3. - President
Roosevelt's annual message to congress
is a Voluminous document o. nearly
10000 words, by far the longest mes
sage he has ever submitted to congress.
The opening subject of the message is
the financial condition Of the country,
and for which the president lays much
of the blame upon INSCRIPTIONS STOCK
spectators, and says:
IN any large body Of men, however,
there are certain to be some who are
dishonest, and if 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 busl-
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 innocent people into making IN
vestments or embarking in kinds or
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 is a painful awakening,
whenever it occurs; and, naturally,
when it does occur those who suner
are apt to forget that the longer 1t was
deferred the more painful 1T would De.
In the effort to punish the guilty It 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 it 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 sur
fering and, as a means to this end,
.sr,I.
sponsble 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 unhinching perseverance in the
war against successful dishonesty.
He quotes at length from his mes
sage of last year in which he advo-
c ted federal control of corporations
doing Interstate business. and believes
that in such control would be found the
remedy for overcapitalization and
stock speculation which he believes
have brought about the present imam
cial conditions He says
Our steady aim should be by legis-
lation, cautiously and carefully under
taken. but resolutely persevered in, to
assert the sovereignty of the national
government by affirmative action
This is only in form an innovation.
In substance 1T is merely reStoraIlOnj
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 l propose
is to meet the changed conditions in
such manner as will prevent the COM
monwealth abdicating the power it has
always possessed. not only in this coun-
try. but also in England before and
since this country became a separate
nation