The daily sentinel., 1907-09-14
GOV. FOLKS IDEA
OE A DEMOCRAT
Some Highly Interesting Answers Given the
New York World, to Some Leading Political
Questions by the Missouri Statesman.

state laws. Yet they seem unwilling
to trust the people of the states ana
create an unnecessary antagonism by
their Efforts to obtain all of the ben
eht of state laws that may confer
privileges upon them, and refusing
obedience to state laws regulating
their connection with the state. /
believe that the people of the states
may be safely depended upon to treat
| railroads and all other interests fair
| ly. If they cannot then our entire
theory of government is wrong.
IF the people of the states cannot
be trusted to enact valid laws with
respect to corporations, by what pro
cess of reasoning can it be assumed
that they have the capacity to legis-
late for the individual citizen? If
one We're to hunt for a corporation
he could not find it; he would simp-
| ly find individuals exercising charter
powers conferred by a state If the
states are competent to enact laws as
do these individuals. they are just as
competent to legislate concerning all
of them aggregated under the form
and legal fiction of a corporation. If
| they are incapable of dealing fairly
with individuals chartered as corpor-
ations they would be just as untrust-
worthy in legislating relating to in
| diyidual action. | believe they are
as competent in one instance as in
the other, and they would no more
knowingly deal unjustly with doz-
en- men acting as corporation than
they would with one man in his pri-
vate capacity. The states create
these corporations: shall they be de-
MED control of their creatures? If a
state is good enough to give a corpo-
ration life and good enough for 1t to
| operate in and to make mony in, II
should be good enough to make laws
regulating the corporation within
the state.
"The election of United States SEN
ators by the people, strict regulation
of railroads and public utilities and a
| just Inheritance tax are likewise sub
| iects which the Democratic party
should declare for.
you ask If ! think the prosecu-
tion of corporations for alleged vio-
lations of law will injure business.
1t viii hurt dishonest business, but
| cannot see how ii will hurt an hon
est industry. Those who object to
the exposure and prosecution of COM
| mercial lawlessness on the ground
that 1t hurts business argue like the
| man who could never be persuaded
to take a bath because he was afraid
someone might think he needed one.
| Wrongs cannot be cured by hiding
them; there is no secret remedy for
evil. No man or corporation doing
an honest business need fear from
the arousing of the conscience of the
people against wrongdoing. Those
whose business method will not stand
the Light of publicity have no right
to complain. Wealth in itself is a
blessing; it is the abuses of wealth
that call for correction. / do not be-
lieve there is any emnity anywhere
| in this country to legitimate indus
try. II is not railroads nor lnsur-
ance companies the people complain
of, but the breaches of trust ON the
parts of those running railroads or
understand these things and know
| that while some railroad men and
some insurance men are crooked just
I as some public officials are crooked,
1t does not follow that all railroad
men and all insurance men or all of
ficials are without honor.
''The eradication of lawlessness
from business helps rather than
hurts legitimate industry Insurance
policies are more valuable today by
reason of the elimination of graft
ing on the part of some insurance Of
ficials. We can eat our meat with
more satisfaction since the abuses in
the beef-packing business were stop
ped. If railroads and other interests
are compelled to obey the law 1t will
not retard their development nor in
jure their real progress, but will put
them on a more secure and substan-
tial basis.
should the Democratic party be
radical or conservative? you ask. |
answer; The Democratic party
should be neither radical nor conser-
vative If to be conservative means
to stand still, then the Democratic
party should not be conservative, for
states and nations, like men, should
never be satisfied, but ever strive for
higher development and greater prog
ress. If to be radical means the in
discriminate destruction of the things
that are. then the party should not
be radical. It should be conserva-
tive in charging wrongdoing lest by
charging where 1t does not exist in
justice be done; but, once sure Of
the evil 1t ought to be radical in its
determination"