Daily Kennebec journal., 1908-12-09

and as a matter of course this power
| should also be exercised so as to see that
| no injustice is done to the railroads. The
shareholders the employees and the ship
perS all have interests that must be
guarded. 1t is to the interest OF all of
them that no swindling stock specuation
should be allowed, and that there should
| be no improper issuance of securities.
! The guiding intelligences necessary for
the successful building and successful
/ management of railroads should receive
ample remuneration; but no man should
| be allowed to make money in connection
with railroads out Of fraudulent over-capi-
) taliZation and kindred StOck-gambling
! performances; there must be no defraud-
; ing of investors, oppression of the farm
/ els and business men who ship freight:
or calous disregard of the rights and
needs of the employees. In addition to
this the interests of the shareholders of
the employees, and of tine shippers. should
Civ" any, one. of them undue and impro-
per consideration is to do injustice to the
others. Rates must be made as low as
is compatible with giving proper returns
the highest to the lowest. and proper re-
turns to the shareholders; but they D,ust
not; for instance. be reduced IN such M
wages of the employees or the abolition
of the proper and legitimate profits of
honest Shareholders
gagged in interstate business. should be
put under the jurisdiction of the Inter
| state Commerce Commission.
1t is ve:y earnestly to he wished that
our people, through their representatives.
should act in this matter 1t is hard to
say whether most damage to the country
on the part of the public to supervise Nand
control the actions of the great corpora
tions, or from the exercise Of the neces-
sary governmental power jr way which
would do Injustice and wrong to the
corporations. Both the preachers of an
unrestricted individualsm, and the
preachers of an oppression which would
deny to able men of business the Just re-
ward of theil initiative and business sa-
gacity. are advocating policies that would
he fraught with the gravest harm to the
whole country. To permit every ltvleSS
capitalist every law-defying corporation,
ta take any action. no matter how inipui-
tons. in the effort to secure an improper
profit and to build up. privilege. would be
ruinous to the Republic ard would mark
the abandonment of the effort to secure
in the industrial world the spirit of demo-
cratic far-dcaling. On the other hand.
to attack these wrongs in that spirit of
demagGgy which can see wrong only when
committed by tie man of wealth. AMI is
dumb and blind in the presence of wrong
committed against men of property or by
men of no property. is exactly as evil as
corrurtly to defend the wronc1oing of
mon of wealth. The war we wage must
be wagcd against misconduct, against
wrorgdoing wherever 1t is found and we
must stand heartily for the rights of ev-
cry decent man. whether he be man Of
y
livelihood as wageworker or tiller OF
the soil
1t Is to the interest of all Of us that
there should be a premium put upor IN
and an ample reward for the great direct
ing inteligences alone competent to man
age the grea. business operations of to-
dav 1t is"well to keep in mind that ex-
actly as the anarchist is the worst enemy
of liberty and the reactioraly the worst
enemy of order. so the men who defend
the rights of property have most to fear
from the wrongdoers of great wealth, and
the men who are championing popular
rights have most to fear from the deIna-
gngucs who ir the rame OF popular ss rignss
business men, honest men of wealth; for
the success Of either type of wrongdoer
invites ths r0nadner Nolsne peina
~ upholds. In point of danger to the Na.
ton there is nothing. to choose hetWeeh
on the one hand hand the he c9rthptl9nn Er.ihaNtsn
great ere ''t talent '" to swndle his fe
low-citiZens or large scale ana. on u, .ns
other hand. the preacher of class hatred,
the man who whether from ignorance or
from willingness to sacrifice his country
to his ambition. persuades we'll neaillis
but wrong-headed men to try to destroy
the Instruments ,unon which our prosper
itv mainly rests. Let each group OF men
beware of and guard against thn snort
coninrs to which that group Is Itself
most liable. Too often we see the husi-
ness community in a spirit of unhealthy
class consciousness deOlOre the effort to
hold to account under the law the weaithy
men who in their management of great
corporations, whether railroads, street
RAILWAYS. or other industrial enterprises.
have behaved in a way that revolts the
conscience of the plain. decent people.
Such an attitude can not be condemned
too severely, for men of property should
recognize that they ieopartiiZe the nights
of property when they fail heartily to join
IN the effort to do awav with the abuses
of wealth On the other hand. those who
advocate proper control on behalf of the
public through the State. of these great
corporations. and of the wealth engaged
on giant scale in business operations.
r,ust ever keep in mind that unless they
do scrupulous justice to the corporation,
unless they permit annie profit. and cor
daily encourage capable mer of business
so long rs they act with honesty. they are
striking at the root of our national we'll
being: Cor in the long run. under the mere
pressure Of material distress. the people
as Il whole would probably go hack to the
rrien os an unrestricted individualiSm
,Ather than submit to n control of the
State drastic and So foolish. conceived
in q spirit of such unreasonable and mar
row hostility to wealth, AS to prevent
business onerations from being profitable
ana therefore to bring ruin unon the
entire business community. and ultimate
ly upon the entire body of citizens.
Of these great corporations makes it most
effective effort in the shape of an appeal
to the old doctrine of States rights OF