Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-10-05

\ HIcICS CiduSe OF the SOnStltutiOH- IN my
| Judgment the old days of happy go-lucky
| indifference on the part OF the public to
the conduct of the corporations have
| passed The American people has made
up Its mind that the conditions of modern
! industriallsm are such as imperativey to de-
| mand supervision in the interest of the peo-
| pie as whole over these great corporations.
| Most emphatcaliy we should do full JUS
tice to them; but in return we should exact
| Justice from them to the public. Some Of
| them have become so habituated to disre-
| garding everything but their own wishes
! ana interests that the effort to establish a
! proper supervision over them has aroused
| on their part curieusly unreasonable an
| tagonism Their spokesman do not seem to
De aware that In what we have been trying
| to do we have not been improperly radical:
using the word in Its right sense. we have
Deen conservative. We have merely taken
the nrst steps In policy which must be
| permanent II our democratic institutions
are TO endure; while, as a matter Of course,
we must also keep ever in mind that 1t is
exactiy as Injurious to true democracy to
ihftct as tamely to suffer- wrong. We can
| no more tolera te injustice to the railroads
than Injustice by them; one course is as
| immoral and as fundamentally mischiavous
ana injurious to the people the other.
In the matter of supervision of the great
railway corporations we are acting as all
| civilized governments have already acted
| OF are on the point of acting. The unre-
stricted issue of railway securities without
| any supervision. and under circumstances
which often result In the gravest scandal
| should not be permitted. and only by gov
ernmentai action can 1t be prevented. 1t
IS already thus prevented in England and
Germany. for instance. In England the first
royal commission of railways, of which that
great parliamentary and popular leader.
William Ewart Gladstone was chairman
set forth as fundamental the very prin-
cipies which here have at last been enacted
into law. or which. as firmly believe, will
speedily be enacted OF course. in any
movement like this In which we are now
engaged. In any movement looking to the
regulation OF vast corporate wealth en-
gagged In interstate business. and to the
| with. there will at times be suffering in
| which. unfortunately. many innoc mt people
Will be involved. But such suffering of the
| innocent Is unavoidable In every great
movement Of life Able and INSCRIPTIONS
men are sure to deceive certain innocent
outsiders and persuade them to invest in
ventures under conditions which render loss
certain when thu force of the law Is as
serted. l am exceedingly sorry for these
innocent people: but 1t is not possible be-
cause of them. to refuse to proc eed against
the men who have victimized them.
1t Is just such a case as would occur II
an inscriptions man with counterfeit
money visited some remote village, spent
his money and then disappeared. The local
innkeeper and livery stable keeper. the
shopkeeper and the neighboring farmer
would all have been victimized: they would
| have lodged and fed the man. have sup
piled him with goods from the store and
him. and In return would find themselves
loaded with counterfeit money. II. under
such circumstances the government found
| out what had happened 1t would have no
alte rnative save to stop the circulation
| OF the counterfeit money, though those pos
sessing 1t were innocent 1t would, o.
course. try to secure the conviction of. the
| thief but IL he had escaped the Jurisdiction
| of the law. 1t would nevertheless be i'm
| possible to let his innocent victims con-
itnue to pass his by no means innocent
| counterfeit money. Well. just the same
thing Is true when 1t comes to enforcing
! the law against business men of great
wealth who have violated it. People are
always beseeching me not to enforce 1t
against them. because innocent outsiders
| may be hurt. or. only to enforce 1t with
| gentleness that would prevent anybody,
good or bad. from being hurt. It is not
possible to comply with such requests. even
when they are made in good faith. This
| is government OF law. law which ap-
| plies to great and small alike. I am sorry
| indeed when it happens that big men who
do wrong have involved smaller men with
no bad Intentions to such an extent that
| they suffer when We force the undoing of
the wrong. But we cannot hold our hands
for such consideration. The RESPONSE
bility for the suffering of those innocent
outsiders lies. not with us who put stop
| to the wrong and punish the wrongdoers.
| but with these wrongdOers who mislead
their victims.
High Individual Average Of Character
In conclusion. friends let me impress
upon you one thing. Good laws can do
| much good: indeed. they are often indis-
| pensabe. There is urgent need that we
should have honest and efficient legislation
and honest and efficient action by those
| whose province 1t Is to put the legislation
| into effect. But there Is infinitely more
| need of high individual average Of char
! acter. The only permanent way to help any
to- Anl,, T. L-1- m
teach him permanently to depend on any
| thing save his own powers is to do him
harm and no. good. Let no man persuade
you that laws by themselves no matter
| how necessary and beneficial. will make any
| community happy and prosperous. or be
even the chief factors In securing such hap
| piness and prosperity In the last analysis
| the vital factor In each mans effort to
achieve success In life must be his own
character. his own courage and upright
| ness and intelligence. In this audience are
many men who wore the gray In the great
| civil war. In every audience / have spoken
to on this trip there have been men who
| fought In either the Union Confederate
army. and often representatives. from both
armies. Now. you men know that while In
| time of war there is need of good general
| ship. need of good organization. yet the de-
termining factor in the regiment. the bril-
| gade, the army. Is. and must ever be, the
| individual character of the individual SOL
| yielding resolution. his stern fidelity to duty.
| his capacity to act on his own Individual
responsibility when necessary and yet to
serve over or under or with others in per-
feet harmony and obedience. 1t Is the
character of the man in the ranks which
! primarily determines the failure or success
of battle and campaign. In the great civil
war our armies. northern and southern
alike won their high position forever and
all time In the undyng regard and admira-
ton of their felowc citizens because the
average man In the ranks. the average man
| who carried saber or rifle. had this high
standard of personal quality. Just as It
was In time of war. so 1t Is now In time of
peace. II man has not got the right stuff
in him then no law can possibly get it out
of him. because 1t is not there to get out
| All that the law can do is to punish evil to
! encourage what is good and to secure. so
far as is possible. an equality of opportu-
nifty for all men TO SHOW their strength Of
| body. mind and soul in the hard struggle