Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1907-11-29
THE PANIC AND THE PRESIDENT


I
| hue and cry: while a smaller number of
serious-minded people were of the same
! opinion. 1t was said that the President
had made an attack on property; that
! he had indicted the whole financial
! organization Of the country; that he had
! denounced all rich men: that he had
| fed the flame of class hatred with the
most dangerous fuel; and that he had
| inflicted incalculable loss on the coun-
| trN-a loss estimated at sixteen billions
| OF dollars All this might have been
anticipated by those who are familiar
with American history. They will re-
member the time when Washington
declared that he would rather be in his
grave than in the White House. and
they have not forgotten how Lincoln
suffered from the Misrepresentation.
misstatements. and the malicious and
short-sis ted criticism of his political
friends quite as much as of his political
foes. Honest frank. and searching
criticism of all political policies and of
every administration Is prime element
of safety in American affairs: but the
criticism that belittles, misrepresents.
irritates, reviles, is. and always has been,
not only contemplate, but unpatriotic.
1t is only necessary to read dispas-
sionately the Presidents speeches to
discover that he has always Disseminated
In the most definite language between
wealth honestly and wealth dishonesty
acquired; between rch men who obey
the law and rich men who violate IT;
between corporations which hold them
selves subject to the law and corpora
tions which regard themselves as above
IT. He has never attacked property:
ne has never indicted rich men AS rich
mon: he has never led an assault on
wealth; he has never denounced com
h'natons of wealth. on the contrary
ho has again and again pointed out the
tact that modern business cannot be
carried ON without large cooperation
not only Of men. but OF money: that
corporations and trusts, II properly man
aged under the law. have Just as legiti-
mate place as individual capitalists
and workers; that their prosperity is
essential to the prosperity OF the conn
try; that their rights and interests are
to be as carefully protected as are the
rights and interests of working people
Not many weeks ago, when he was ap-
plauded for making a strong statement
about lawbreaking corporations and
capitalists. he stopped abruptly, and
declared that he was not willing that that
passage should be applauded unless his
audience was willing to applaud a dec
laration that honest wealth and properly
conducted corporations were entitled to
complete protection.
ne President faced, at the beginning
in Importance in the history of the United
States. and one requiring the very high
est moral and political courage 1t was
absolutely essential for the financial
safety and the moral sanity of the Ameri-
can people that certain abuses should
be exposed and ended. II that exposure
had been postponed five or ten years no
one can tell how drastic the legislation
of reaction would have been. IL is quite
certain that the crisis which would have
followed in due course would have re-
sembled that through which we have
passed as an earthquake resembles the
explosion of a few bags of powder. The
President showed his sagacty from the
first by taking the people into his conf
dence, He pursued, from ths beginning
of his campaign for the enforcement of
the law, a policy of publicity quite as
consistently that which has been fol-
lowed under the statesmanike leader
ship of Mr. Morgan by the United States
Steel Corporation, and which has won the
confidence of the country for that organ
ization in a rare degree. Again and
again, as he had occasion, the President
has stated his policy in the face of
storm Of Misrepresentation and criti-
cism. He has told the people precisely
what he thought ought to be done, and
what, so far as possible, he intended TO
do. In specific phrases he has declared
that while he intended, so far as lay in
his power, to pRuish wrongdoers, he
also intended to protect rightdoers. He
has been criticized for not doing things
quietly; for talking too much. But
plain talk was unacceptable If the coun-
try was to be convinced of the necessity
of the policy.
The Presidents speeches have made
the people of the country understand his
position; and II is not too much to say
that the people have not been so con-
hu
which we are passing as to lose sight of
the real issues involved or faith in
the policy of government regulation.
They believe, as the President and the
able and conservative men who sur
round him believe, that what has been
done and will be done involves simply
an application to colossal enterprises
and activities of fundamental ethical
laws and of sound business methods
and that the country is on its way to a
well-grounded confidence based on such
methods and to a consequent enduring
prosperity. A host of business men
who year or two ago were denouncing
the Presidents policy as destructive are
now saying that IT was necessary for the
business interests of the country, but that
the manner of presenting and enforcing
II mas been most unfortunate. There
are people who are always praying for
the arrival on the scene of action of a
when he appears, are unable to recog-
nize him; who want thoroughgoing
changes to be made IN the building. but
cry out against the discomfort of pulling
down and reconstructing.
The President may not always have
been tactful in his presentations. II
he were a man OF supreme tact, like
Mr.. Mckinley, he would not have the
aggressive courage which led him into
great struggle and which has made
him the leader in a great ethical move
ment. When the dust OF the conflict is
laid and the facts have been brought in,
1t will probably be discovered that in
every case in which the methods of great
organizations have been attacked, ample
notice has been given in advance and
these organizations have been offered
the opportunity of changing their methods
ana making them conform to the law
without disturbance, and II will probably
be found that in every case these organ
izations laughed at the suggestions of the
government. II has been said, too by
way of criticism, that II, instead of at
tacking properties, the administration had
attacked men, innocent holders of secu-
rites would not have suffered heavy
losses; II offending managers of corpo-
rations had been lodged in Jail, the stock
would not have suffered. This, of course
is preposterous 1t h very doubtful
whether criminal proceedings can be
brought against some of the men promi-
nent In financial affairs who have been