Arizona republican., 1907-12-31

honest. conservative and solid busi
ness men, always responding to their
obligations, find themselves as help
less under such a financial cataclysm
as they would be in an earthquake.
Gradually reason resumes its sway
but the injury To credit is a blow
which has been struck at normal bus
mess progress and has more or less
permanence. Values shrink: plans for
new increase of business enterprise
must be abandoned. and liquidation
and housekeeping take place. The
business men who have had to stand
the strain. who have seen their fond
est hopes crushed and have only been
able to come through with the great
est effort and most substantial losses,
are naturally sore and depressed. 1t
Is entirely natural that the condition
of mind which the suffering of the
business man has left him, is open 10
suggestions that should receive mark
ed attention; that the more definitely
the personality of the scapegoat can
be fixed the more pleasure il gives
the victims of the catastrophe. 'rhis
mental attitude of the business COM
munity is clearly presented today.
The economic and political history
of the last four years gives it especial
Importance because il offers TO certain
elements i'm the business and political
community an exceptional opportunity.
Let me invite your attention to more
history. 1t is that of the giant strug
gle between the national administra-
tion and certain powerful combinations
in the financial world. These combi-
nations for lack of a better name are
called trusts" They are engaged in
different lines Of manufacture and by
assembling large amounts Of capital
into one mass in a particular line busi-
ness managed by artful and skillfully
devised Illegal methods of duress to
exclude competition and monopolize
trade. The basis Of their original sue
cess and the maintainance Of their
power was the violation Of the Sher-
man antitrust law and the interstate
commerce law and for a time both
laws were dead laws upon the statute
books. The purpose Of President
Roosevelt was to make those men,
however powerful and wealthy. know
that the laws We're living things and
must be obeyed. There was moral
awakening among the people, the
hands Of the administration were held
up in the work il was doing.
"On the other hand the men and in
terests which were subjects of attack
were not idle. They had partisans
guilty and innocent. The guilty of
course wished to defeat the administra-
ton by any means: the innocent were
those who became involved with the.
trust magnates in illegitimate business
transactions and to whom the attitude
OF the administration seemed one of
waton opposition TO a whole business
community. one Of the monuments in
this moral progress was the passage
Of the railroad rate bill It met with
the opposition of many railroads not
because they were IN sympathy with
the trusts, for think that they in
many respects have been more sinned
against than SHINING, but because they
resented the rigid supervision which
the public demanded. In view of the
possibilities which the disclosure as
to their past transactions revealed
The fight made by the administration
has been a noteworthy one. Now aft
er the victory has been won. after
llltlt has BE"u lillIbNuftl INTO the
hearts Of all men. especially these trust
managers and financial opponents of
the administration. "A fear of the law,
the panic comes Oh. The sympathiZ-
ers, defenders and agents and others
innocent but mistaken, now push for
ward To place the blame for the pres
ent conditions upon the administration
Il have set forth what | believe To be
the real foundations of the panic Let
us examine the specification of our
opponent now made to show that the
administration is responsible In the
first place it is said that the policy Of
the administration has been directed
! for the last four years against organ
lied capital: that it has thereby fright
ened investors. ] deny it, The course
| Of the administration has been direct
| ed against such organized capital as
was violating the statutes of the Tn
| tied States, and no others. 1t had ev-
cry consideration and desire To assist
| organized capital which was engaged
in legitimate business. Ii is true that
! the execution of the policy of the ad-
/ ministration has involved the bringing
/ To light of public criticism the viola
( tions Of law by influential and pow
crful corporations. Through the in
I vestigatiOn by national and state tri-
| bunals there have been revealed
breaches of trust, stock jobbing. over