The Tupelo journal., 1908-02-07
which, II left uncontrolled, It is certain
in the end to arouse
Big Corporations Are Hit.

every competitor and look down upon the
people with a contempt which the public
to act with impnnity." 1t was at that
point and in connection will the insur-
ance and Chicago & Alton scandals that
Mr.. Roosevelt took the heaviest fall out
of wealthy corporations which have been
held to account by the government. TIL
message continued:
THE keynote of all these attacks upon
the. effort to secure honesty in business
and in politics is well expressed In bra
zen protests against any effort for the
moral regeneration of the business world,
on the ground that it is unnatural, I'M
warranted and injurious. and that busi-
ness panic is the necessary penalty for
such effort to secure business honesty.
The morality of such a plea is precisely
as great as IL made on behalf of the
men caught in a gambling establishment
when that gambling establishment is
raided by the police. If such words mean
anything they mean that those
whose sentiments they. represent
about a moral regeneration of business
which will prevent a repetition of the in
%surance. banking and street railroad
scandals in New York: a repetition of
of the combination between certain pro-
tessional politicians, certain professional
labor leaders. and certain big financiers,
from the isgrace of which San Francis
co has just been rescued: a repetition
of the successful effort by the Standard
Oil people to crush out every competitor,
U oNtldWt II ColtllflOi ti 1 dLld "
establish a monopoly which treats the
public with a contempt which the public
deserves so long as it permits men of
such principles and such sentiments to
avow and act On them with impunity.
The cutlery against stopping dishonest
practices among w~rongdoers who hap
pen to be wealthy is precisely similar
to the cutlery raised against every effort
for cleanliness and decency in city gov
eminent. because, forsooth, it will hurt
business"
Tells of Criticising Judges.
"Our opponents nave recently been bit
terly criticising the two judges referred
to in the accompanying communications
from the Standard Oil Company and the
Santa Fe Railroad for having imposed
heavy fines on these two corporations;
and yet these same critics of these two
Judges exhaust themselves in ~denounc-
ing the most respectful and cautious
discussion of the official action of a judge
which results in immunity to wealthy
and powerful ~wrongdoers. Most certain
ly it behooves us all to treat with the
utmost respect the high office of judge;
and our judges, as a whole. are brave
and upright men. Respect. for the law
must go hand in hand with respect for
the judges; and, as a whole, it is true
now as in the past That the Judges stand
in character and service above all other
men among their fellow-servants of the
public. The judge who does his full
duty well stands higher, and renders a
bette better n sepTiee sd to y the Ppe Pc lie ed than any ny
greater respect; and if he is a true ser
want of the people. if he is upright, wise
and fearless he will unhesitatingly dis
if they conflict with the eternal prin-
ciples of right as against wrong. He
must serve the people; but he must
serve his own conscience first. All honor
to such a judge; and all honor can not
be rendered him Il it is rendered equally
to his brethren who fall mmeasurably
below the high ideals for which he
stands. Untruthful criticism is wicked at
all times, and whoever may be the OBJ
ject; but it is a peculiarly fragrant in
man should lightly criticise a judge; no
man should. even in his own mind. CON
| denim a Judge unless he is sure of the
facts. If a judge is asSailed for stand
ing against popular folly, and above all
for standing against mob violence, all
honorable men should rally instantly to
his support. Nevertheless if he clearly
fails to do his duty by the public in
dealing with lawbreaking corporations,
lawbreaking men of wealth. he must eX-
pect to feel the weight of public opin-
ion; and this is but right, for except in
extreme cases this is the only way in
which he can be reached at all. No ser
want of the people has a right to expect
to be free from just and honest criticism.
"An Ethical Movement"
1.-THE opponents of the measures we
champion single out now one and now
another measure for especial attack, and
speak as if the movement in WHICH we
are engaged was purely economic. 1t has
a large economic side. but it is funda-
mentally an ethical movement. 1t is not
a movement to be completed in one year,
or two years or three years.. 1t is a
movement which must be persevered in
until the spirit which lies behind it sinks
deep into the heart and the conscience
portant to choose the right means to
achieve our purpose, but 1t Is even
more important to keep this purpose
to secure national honesty in business
and in politics. We do not subscribe to
the cynical belief that dishonesty and
unfair dealing are essential to business
success, and are to be condoned when the
success is moderate and applauded when
the ELS success Gee is gr rd o,, T paen, me anG tbo es
engaged in the other combinations or
which 1 have spoken above have
achieved great fortunes can only be Jus.
tilted by the advocacy of a system or
morality which would also justify every
form of criminality on the part of a
labor union. and every form of violence,
corruption, and fraud. from murder to
bribery and ballot-box stuffing in poll
tics. We are trying to secure equality
of opportunity for all; and the, struggle
for honesty is the same whether it is
made on behalf of one set of men or OF
another. In the interest of the small
settlers and oI IandGWner E a msa,a again oWn ths
of huge wandering focks of sheep, or OF
corporations desiring to rob the people
of coal and timber, we strive to put an
end to the theft of public land in the
west. When we do this. and protest
against the action of all men, whether
in public life or in private life, who
either take part in or refuse to try to
stop such theft. we are really engaged
in the same policy as when we endeavor
to put a stop to rebates or to prevent
the upgrowth of uncontrolled m~onopolies.
Our effort is simply to enforce the prir-
ciples of common honesty and common
sense. 1t would indeed be ill for the
country should there be any halt in our
work"
State Government Must Aid.
Eith-, the state or national gov
ernment must undertake the regula-
ton, of which the president spoke, and
the executive asked the common
wcalths to share the responsibility of
curbing those corporations, which are
any event both the national and state
governments must each do it's part"
said President Roosevelt's message.
and each can do a certain amount
that the other cannot do. while the
only really satisfactory results must
be obtained by the representatives of
the national and state governments
working heartily together within their
ment th~orough-going and satisfactory
control can in the end only be obtained
by the action of the national govern
ment. for almost all the corporations of
enormous wealth-that is. the corpo-
rations which it is especially desirable
to control-are engaged in interstate
commerce., and derive their power and
their Importance not from that portion
of their business which is interstate,
but from the interstate business. 1t is not
easyalways to decide just where the line
of demarcation between the two kinds
courts. Much of the effort to secure
adequate control of the great corpora
and effective, but much of it has been
neither; for when the effort is made