Omaha daily bee., 1908-02-14
His Subject is Moral Awakening in
Business World.
MORE RAILROAD LAWS NEEDED
Abuses Must Be Eradicated or Gov.
ernment Ownership Come.
LATTER WOULD BE CALAMITY
Tremendous Concentration of Power
that Would Come with it
Would ImperiI Nations
Existence.

DETROIT Feb. 13.--Secretary of Way
William H. Taft was the guest this after
noon Of the Michigan Retail Lumber Deal
ers' association, and talked for half an
hour at the luncheon which was rendered
him by the association upon the Moral
Awakening Recently from Business Meth.
DDS Which Permit Illegality and Fraud
| The address was the elimination of q busy
six hours in Detroit.
Arriving in the city at 12 o'clock from
Grand Rapids i'm. company with M. Jusser-
and' the French ambassadors Governor
Curtis Child, jr., of Massachusetts,; United
States Senator. William Alden Smith of
Michigan, Governor f. M Warner and sew
eral other speakers at last nights Lincoln
club banquet in that city Secretary Taft
and the party were driven to the Hotel
! Pontchartrain. The secretary greeted sew
eral thousand people at a public reception,
which began Immediately after his arrival
| at the hotel.
throughout his stay in the city his every
| appearance on the street was the signal for
cheers and enthusiasm.
banquet Mt Harmonic Hall.
More than 600 men were gathered about
| the tables in the banquet room of Harmonic
hall to greet Secretary Taft. who arrived
with several hundred more men and
women, its capacity, seated In tho gal
| lery. Former United States senator
Thomas w. Palmer presided as toastmaster
Governor Warner, while voicing the
states welcome TO the secretary, brought
a tremendous outburst of enthusiasm when
! he declared that he was convinced that So
on 80 per cent of the people of Michigan
are for Mr. Tafts nomination for the presi-
dency on the republican ticket. The gov
ernor then suggested Governor Guild for
the nomination for vice president on the
ticket with Secretary Taft.
Ambassador Jusserand was given thur
dering welcome when he was presented
by Toastmaster Palmer for a short ad-
dress. The ambassador. after declaring
that because of his position he naturally
cannot NEEDLE in American politics. eulo-
gized thu American presidents of the past
and the present and said that 1t was his
wish and hGpe tlrat he country when it
elected another president would add an
other glorious name to the already glorious
list of names.
II do not know whom he shall be-" said
Ambassador Jusserand "but 1t seems that
you know
Applause interrupted him for several
moments.
Address of MIR. Taft.
Secretary Taft opened his address by
remarking that stranger might suspect
the Michigan Retail Lumber Dealers asso-
citation had more to do with politics than
with business.
1--WE have heard" re continued "a great
deal recently in connection with the moral
awakening from business methods which
permit illegality and fraud"
He spoke of the revelations of the in
surance investigation and then Of the evils
of over issues Of stocks and bonds, which
he said was obtaining money under false
pretenses
Taking up the question of railroad dis
ordinations and recent legislation to pre-
vent rebating, he sed:
The truth is, gentlemen, that we have
not quite enough of regulation of railways.
Other powers ought to be conferred on
the Interstate Commerce commission. 1t
is said that the Interstate Commerce COM
mission is not a safe way in which to
control the railroads of the country. 1t
is the only way in which we can control
them. We must see that we secure strong
men to sit upon that commission, who can
prove by their administration that it is
the proper way. 1t is that go TO gov
ernment ownership with all the state So
cialism which it involves, and have no
doubt that government ownership of the
railways, with the tremendous concentra-
tion of power 1t would involve, would en-
danger the republic. We have enough con-
centrated power in Washington now. To
increase 1t so that the executive should
control the enormous body Of civil servants
which would necessarily follow would re-
suit in making a president more powerful
than any king who lives today
Il believe it is possible to enforce the
present antitrust law, but we need new
law, more specific, to bring all capital
within its provisions. 1 think that today
the violation of the law is by no means 80
fashionable 1t was formerly.
People Are Awake.
NOW we are going to have a business
millennium, gentlemen, but we shall have a
qulckened public conscience and an eye on
whether we have business Generalization
or have business conducted within the
terms Of the law. The peole have walked
up.
I'VE have just had a panic. Some OF the
gentlemen who have felt the lash of pub
lie opinion have been only too glad to at
tribute It to the legislation to which 1
have Just referred The charge Is un-
founded It is due, II students OF finance
to be trusted, TO the gradual exiiaus-
tation of all the free capital OF the world
in enterprises which have not been 90
profitable as it was expected they would
be. Now We must wait, the whole wofld
must wait until we earn more free capital.
There is no doubt but that European
investors in our securities have been
heightened by the revelations OF dishonesty
which have been shown Of late in many OF
our large institutions But Is the man
who pointed out that dishonesty to be
charged with this lack Of confidence or Is
It to be charged 10 the gentlemen who
engaged in the nlegality. It is not neces-
sary to argue"
Secretary Taft left at sos o'clock for
West Point n Y where he will tofnorrovv