The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-10-04

daily fife, fs normally capable of. taking care of his own affalrs, and has no essrs to wrGnE sny one ssrs rd sSa be sufiicient power lodged somewhere to prevent wicked people from tramp ling the weak under foot for their own make good working compronise whereby we shall secure the full bene- 1t of Individual initiative and respon- nisins that it is the function of wise government under modern conditions not to merely protect life and property, out to en fosfes the socaa tbis tieiopmebs mpu be done by maintaining and promoting justice, honesty. and equal rights. We Ssssys in ssi,eRe et n sasm as@ as rgards political rights, as regards education, and. finally. as regards industrial conditions By Democracy we understand securing, as fast as 1t is humanly possible to se- cure 1t, equality of opportunity, equal ity of the conditions under which each man Is to show the stun that is in him and to achieve the measure of success character entitle him. Religiously this means that each man is to have the right unhtndered hv.the State. te wor- ship his Creator as he conscience die tates. granting freely to others the same freedom which he asks for him. selt. Politically we can be said sub stantialiy to have worked out our dem- ocratic ideals, and the same IS true. thanks to the common schools. in edu- cational matters. But in industry there hss not as yet been the governmental gfowth necessary in order to meet the tremendous changes brought about In industrial conditions by steam and elec- tricify. It is not in acordance with our principles that literally despotic power should be put into the hands of few
 men in the affairs of the industrial
 world. Our effort must be for a just
 and effective plan of. action which,
 rights of the men of wealth. shall yet.
 so far as is humanly possible. secure
 under the law to all men equality or
 opportunity to make a ltving. It is to
 the Interest of all of us that the man
 of exceptional business capacity should
 be amply rewarded; and there is noth-
 ing inconsisten w'th inis in our insist
 ence that he shall not be guilty of brtb-
 cry or extortion. and that the rights of
 the wageworker and of the man of
 small means. who Ars themselves hon.
 est and hard working. shall be scrupu-. lously safeguarded. The instrulnenrs for the exercise of modern industrial
 power are the great corporations which. though created by the individual States.
 have grown far beyond the control of those States and transact their bus-. mess throughout large sections Of the
 Union. These corporations. like the
 
 them into being. did not exist when the Constitution was founded; but the wise
 forethought of the founders provided. under the interstate commerce clause of
 the Constitution. for the very ener- gency which has arisen if only our
 people as & whole will realize what this emergency is; for If the peoplv thoroughly realize 1t, their government al representatives will soon realize it also. The national government alopA has sufficiently extensive power and Jurisdiction to exercise adequate con- trol over the great interstate corpora
 tions. While this thorough supervision and control by the national government is desirable primarily in the interest of the people. ti will also, firmly s.e- lieve, be to the beneft of those corpor- ations themselves wpjch desire to be honest and law abiding. Only thus can competent and efficient sovereign--the both to exact justice from them and to secure justice Tor them, F'. that they man not be alternately pam b s1a Ses osS by those tions which do not wish to obey the law or to be controlled in just fashion. hut prefer to take their chances under th. present lack of ali system and to court she chance of getting improper favors as offsetting the chance of being blackmailed--an attitude rendered fa. milfar in the past by those corporations which have thriven under certain cor. rupt and lawiess city governmenss.
 Control of Railroads.
 The first need Is to exercise this Fed erai control in thorouRhgoing and efi- cient fashion over the railroads, which because of their peculiar position omef lem The American people abhor vacuum, and is determined that this control shall be exercised somewhere, 1t is most unwise for the railroads nos IL -f-.~ .~xn1 h .arNff frs q the first requisite of the situation When this control Is exercised In some such fashion as 1t IS now exercisea over the national banks,there Will be no failing off in business prosperity se average man to de better will be in- creased. Undoubtedly there will be much less opportunity than at present for a very few individuals not of the most scrupulous type to amass great fortunes by speculating in and manlp- uIating securities which are issued with out any kind of control or supervision But theSa VIII be plenty of room lett for ample legitimate reward for bus mess genius. while the chance for the man who is not a business genius. but who is good. thrifty. hardworking ci- tizen, will be better. do not believe that our efforts will have anything but a beneficial effect upon the permanent prosperity of the country; and as a matter of fact, even as regards any temporary effect. think that any trou- bie is due fundamentally not to the fact that the national authorities have discovered and correced certain abuses but to the fact that those abuses were there to be discovered. I think that the excellent people who have com plained of our policy as hurting bus mess have shown much the same spirit as the child who regards the dentist and not the ulcerated tooth as the real source of his woe. am as certain as 1f that the are pursuing will ultimately help bus. mess: for the corrupt man Of business Is as great a foe to this country as he corrupt politician. Both stand on he same evil eminence of inkamy Against both 1t is necessary to war; and if, unfortunately. m eIIner Lype OA warfare, a few innocent people are nurt the responsibility lies not with ts, but with those who have misled them to their hurt.
 This is a rapidly growing nation. un , new continent, and in an era of new, complex, and ever-shifting conditions. Often 1t is necessary to devise new methods of meeting these new condl- ions. We must regard the past, but we must not regard only the past. We must also think of Ine future; ana while we must learn by experience. we can not afford to nav heed merely to the teachings of experience. The great preacher Charming in his essay on ''Tns Union" spoke with fine insight on thls very point. In commenting on tnS New England statesman Cabot, whom he greatly admired, ne said that nevor- theless "he had tco mucn of the wis 1..s N.A ' tsG