Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-04-30

W
of the complaint against the use of
the injunction is unwarranted yet
that it is unqestionably true that in
number of cases, this power has been
used to the grave injury of the rights
OF laboring men. | ask that it be
limited in some such way as that |
have already pointed out in my pre-
vious messages, for the very reason
that do not wish to see an embittered
effort made to destroy it. 1t is I'M
wise stubbornly to refuse to provide
against repetition of the abuses
which have caused the present I'M
rest. In a democracy like ours, it is
idle to expect permanently to thwart
the determination of a great body of
our citizens.
Every far-sighted patriot should pro-
test first of all against the growth in
this country Of that evil thing which
is called "class consciousness" The
demagogue: the sinister or socialist
visionary who strives to arouse this
feeling of class consciousness in our
working people, does foul and evil
thing; for he is no true American, he
is no self-respecting citizen of this
republic, he forefeits his right to stand
with manly self-reliance on footing
Of entire equality with all other citi-
zens who bow to envy and greed, who
erect the doctrine of class hatred into
shlbboleth, who substitute loyalty
to men Of particular status, whether
rich or poor, for loyalty to those eter-
nal and immutable principles OF right
eousness which bid us treat every man
on his worth as man without regard
to his wealth or his poverty. But evil
though the influence of these dema-
gogues and Missionaries is, it is no
worse in its consequences than the
influence exercised by the man of
great wealth or the man of power and
position in the Industrious world, who
by his lack of sympathy with any
lack of understanding of, still more by
any exhibition of uncompromising hos
tility to, the millions of our working
people, tends to unite them against
their fellow-Americans who are better
off in this worlds goods 1t Is a bad
thing to teach our working people that
men OF means, that men who have the
largest proportion of the substantial
comforts of life, are necessarily greedy
grasping and cold-hearted, and that
they unjustly demand and appropriate
more than their share of the sub
stances of the many. Stern condem-
nation should be visited upon dema-
gogue and visionary who teaches this
untruth, and even sterner upon those
| capitalists who are in truth grasping
and greedy and brutally disregardful of
the rights of others, and who by their
actions teach the dreadful lesson far
more effective than any mere preacher
Of unrest. A "class grievance left
too long without remedy breeds Glass
consciousness and therefore class re-.
sentiment.
The Strengthening of the Antitrust
law is demanded upon both moral and
economic grounds. Our purpose in
strengthening it Is to secure more ef-
fective control by the national govern
ment over the business use Of the vast
masses of individual and especially
of corporate wealth, which at the pres
ent time monopolize most of the inter-
state business Of the country; and we
believe the control can best be exer-
cised by preventing the growth OF
abuses, rather than merely by trying
to destroy them when they have al
ready grown.
In the higher sense of the word, this
movement for thorough control of the
business use Of this great wealth is
| conservative. We are trying 10 steer
safe middle course, which alone can
save up from a plutocratic class gov
eminent on the one hand or social
istic 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 ownership of the
public utilities by which interstate
commerce is chiefly carried on, and
the evils which flow from the riot and
chaos and unrestricted individualism.
There is grave danger to our free in
situations in the corrupting influence
exercised by great wealth suddenly
concentrated in the hands of the few
We should in some manner try to
remedy this danger, in spite of the
sullen opposition of these few very
powerful men and with full purpose
to protect them in all their rights at
the very time that we require them
to deal rightfully with Others
When with steam and electricity
modern business conditions went
through the astounding revolution
which in this country began over half
century ago. there was at first much
hesitation as to what particular gov
ernmental agency should be used to
grapple with the new conditions. At
almost the same time, about twenty
years since, the effort was made to
control combinations by regulating
them through the interstate commerce
commission and to abolish them by
the antitrust act the two remedies
therefore being in part mutually in
compatible. The interstate commerce
law has produced admirable results,
especially since it was strengthened
by the Hepburn law two years ago.
The antitrust law, though it worked
some good, because anything is bet
ter than anarchy and complete alb
sence Of regulation. nevertheless has
proved in many respects not merely
inadequate, but mischevious
Power should unQueStionably lodged