Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1908-05-07

or his poverty. But evil though the In
auence or these demagogues and vision
ares II Is. II Is no worse in its ~seque
.nan the influence exercised by the man
VI great wealth or the man of power
ana position in the industrial world. who
ny nus lack OF sympathy with. and lack
eShloltion OF uncompromising hostility to.
inc miilions of our working people. tends
10 unite them against their fellow-Ameri-
cans VINO are better off in this worlds
working people that men of means. that
men who have the largest proportion Of
Ine substantial comforts of life. are nee
essariiy greedy. grasping and cold-hearted.
anu mat they unjustly demand and APP
proprlate more than their share OF the
substance Of the many. Stern condem-
nation should be visited upon demagogue
and visionary who teach this untruth, n
even sterner upon those capitalists who
are In truth grasping. and greedy and
orutaiiy d~tsregardlful, of the rights of
others. and h by their actions teach
the dreadful lesson far more effectively
IMAM any mere preacher OF unrest. A
class grievance" left too long without
remedy breeds 'class consciousness and
therefore class resentment.
Strengthen Anti. Trust Law.
The Strengthening OF the antitrust law
is demanded upon both moral and eco
nomic grounds. Our purpose in strength
enlng 1t is to secure more effective con-
troll by the national government over the
business use OF the vast masses of in
dividual. and especially of corporate.
wealth. which at the present time mo-
nopolize most OF the interstate business
of the country: and we believe the con-
troll can best be exercised by preventing
the growth Of abuses. rather than merely
by trying to destroy them when they have
the word this movement for thorough con-
troll Of the business use of this great
wealth is conservative. We are trying to
steer a safe middle course which alone
OQn ga No nc frnnn a s,1Vttaorot3O a1o G q COW
on the one hand, or a socialistic
class government on the other. either Of
which would be fraught with disaster to
our free institutions. state and national.
We are trying to avoid alike the evils
which would flow from government owner
ship of the public utilities by which in
and the evils which flow from the riot
and chaos of unrestricted individualism.
There Is grave danger to our free in
situations in the %corrupting influence exer-
ctsed by great wealth suddenly concen-
trated in the hands of the few. We should
IN sane manner try to remedy this dan
ger. In spite of the sullen opposition of
these few very powerful men. and with
the full purpose to protect them in all
their right at the very time that we
require them to deal rightfully with 9TH
ers.
When with steam and electricity modern
business conditions went through the as
founding revolution which in this country
began over half a century ago. there was
- 80 AAS 90 W lac ar
ticular governmental agency should be
used to grapple with the new conditions.
At almost the same time. about twenty
troll combinations by regulating them
through the Interstate Commerce commits
sion. and to abolish them by means of
fore being in part mutually incompatible.
The interstate m law has pro-
deuced admirable results. especially since
It was strengthened by. the Hepburn law
VIC "a n En Tho mt WpNo 1~ry haze
IT worked some good, because anything
is better than anarchy and complete abb
senee OF regulation, nevertheless has
adequate but mischievous. Twenty years
ago the misuse of corporate power had
produced almost every conceivable form
injury to. business morality and the pub
lie conscience. For a long time federal
regulation of interstate ommerc had
been purely negative. the national judici-
airy merely acting in ISOLATED cases to
restrain the state from exercising a power
which 1T was clearly unconstitutional as
which nevertheless the national govern
ment itself failed to exercise. Thus the
corporations monopolizing made
the law for themselves. state power and
ommon law being inadequate to accom-
plfsh nv effective regulation. and the
national power not vet having been put
forth. The result was mischlevous in the
extreme, and only short-sighted and utter
failure to appreciate the grossness OF the
evils to which the lack of regulation gave
rise, can excuse the well-meaning persons
law outright. or to amend it by simply
condemning unreasonable" combinations
Executive Power.
Power should unquestionably he lodged
somewhere i'm the executive branch of the
government to permit combinations which
Will further the public interest; but it
musl always be remembered that. as re-
CARDS the great and wealthy combination
through which most of the interstate bust
ness Of today is done. the burden of proof
have a right to exist. No judicial tribunal
has the knowledge or the experience to
determine In the first place whether a
given combination is advisable or neces-
sary in the interest of the public. Some
body. whether a commission or a bureau
,nhnn the dspartmsnt of and
personal belief is that ultimately we shall
nave to adopt q national Incorporation
law. though l am well aware that this
may be impossible at present. Over the
the power Is placed the courts should
possess merely a power Of review analog-
GUS to that obtaining in connection with
mission at present. To confer this power
would not be a leap in the dark; It would
merely ~ e esfe TO carry still further the the.
corporations which was responsible for
the crea lion Of the Interstate Comm .rce
commission and for the enlargement Of
bureau of corporations. The interstate
commerce legislation has worked admira-
bly, Slgso Il has benefited the public: it has
nenented honestly managed and wisely
fact that the business Of the country has
enormously increased, the value Of this
federal legislation has been shown by the
government TO correct the most pro.
bounced of the great and varied abiIses
which existed in the business world TWEEN
still remain emphasize the need Of FIR
ther M more .thorough-going legislation,
similarly, the bureau of corporations has