Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1907-12-03
PRESIDENTS
MESSAGE
Continued on Page 81

either and to favor both so long as
they do well. The aim of the Ma
tiOnal Government is quite as much
to favor and protect honest corpor-
ations, honest business men of
wealth, as to bring to justice those
individuals and corporations repre-
senting dishonest methods. Most
certainly there will be no relaxation
by the Government authorities in
the effort to get at any great rail-
road WreCker-any man who by
ors, Expresses Wage-WOrkers, and
does injustice to the general public.
But any such move as this is in the
interest Of honest railway operators.
of honest corporations, and Of those
who, when they invest their small
savings in stocks and bonds, wish
to be assured that these will repre-
sent money honestly expended for
legitimate business purposes. TO
confer upon the National Govern
ment the power for which | ask
would be a check upon overcapitali-
cation and upon the clever gamblers
who benefit by decentralization
But it alone would mean an increase
in the value, an increase in the safe
ty of the stocks and bonds of law
abiding, honestly managed rail-
roads and would render it far cas-
Ter to market their securities I be-
lieve in proper publicity. There mas
lot - - H.,
vestigations recently carried on. but
those who complain should put the
blame where it belOngs--upon the
misdeeds which are done in dark
ness and not upon the Investigations
which brought them to light. The
turning on the light. but it is not
responsible for what the light
showed | ask for full power to be
given the Federal Government, be-
cause no single State can by legis-
lation effectually cope with these
powerful corporations engaged in
interstate commerce, and, while do
ing them full justice, exact from
them in return full justice to others.
/ The conditions of railroad activity,
the conditions of our immense inter
state commerce, are such as to make
the General Government alone COM
petent to exercise full supervision
and control.
THE grave abuses in individual
cases of railroad management in the
past represent wrongs not merely to
the general public, but, above all.
wrongs to fair-dealing and honest
corporations and men of wealth, be-
cause they excite popular anger
and distrust which from the very
nature of the cases tends to includl.
in the sweep of its resentment good
and bad alike. From the standpoint
of the public I can not too earnest
ly say that as soon as the natural
and proper resentment aroused by
these abuses becomes indiscriminate
and minimizing, it also becomes not
merely unwise and unfair, but cal
culated to defeat the very ends
which those feeling it have in view.
There has been plenty of dishonest
WI II " wi lOl dtiOliH III JhC past
There will not be the slightest let
up in the effort to hunt down and
punish every dishonest man. But
the bulk of our business is honestly
done. In the natural indignation
the people feel over the dishonesty,
it is all essential that they should
not lose their heads and get drawn
into an indiscriminate raid upon all
corporations, all people of wealth,
whether they do we'll or i'll. Out of
any such wild movement good will
not come, can not come, and never
has come. On the contrary, the
surest way to invite reaction is to
follow the lead of either demagogue
or visionary in a sweeping assault
upon property values and upon pub
lie confidence, which would work in
calculab1e damage in the business
world and would produce such dis
trust of the agitators that in the
revulsion the distrust would extend
to honest men who, in sincere and
sane fashion are trying to remedy
the evils"
Amend Antitrust Law
The antitrust law should not be
repealed; but it should be made both
more efficient and more in harmony
with actual conditions. 1t should
be so amended as to forbid only the
kind of combination which does
harm to the general public, such
amendment to be accompanied by,
or to be an incident of, a grant of
supervisory power to the Govern
ment over these big concerns en-
gagged in interstate business. This
should be accompanied by provision
for the compulsory publication of
accounts and the subsection of books
and papers to the inspection of the
Government officials. A beginning
has already been made for such
superVision by the establishment of