The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-02-01

Our main quarrel is not with tneSe
agents and representatives of the
interests. They derive their chief
power from the great sinister offend
ers who stand behind them. They are
but puppets who move as the strings
are pulled. II is not the puppets, but
the strong, cunning men and the
mighty forces for evil behind and
through the puppets, with whom we
have to deal. We seek to control
law-defying wealth; in the first place
to prevent its doing dire evil to the
Republic. and in the next place to
avoid the vlndictive and dreadful rad
icalism, which, II left uncontrolled. 1t
is certain in the end to arouse.
Sweeping attacks upon all property.
upon all men of means, without re-
gard to whether they do we'll or i'll,
would sound the death-knell of the
Republic: and such attacks become
inevitable II decent citizens permit
those rich men whose lives are cor
rupt and evil to domineer in swollen
pride, unchecked and unhindered. ov-
act in no vindictive spirit, and we
are no respectors of persons. II
labor union does wrong, we oppose II
as firmly as we oppose a corporation
which does wrong; and we stand
equally stoutly for the rights OF the
man of wealth and for the rights of
the wageworker We seek to protect
the property of every man who acts
honestly, of every corporation that
represents wealth; honestly accumu-
lated and honestly nsed. We seek to
stop wrongdoing, and we desire to
punish the wrongdoers only so far
as is necessary to achieve this end.
There are ample material rewards
for those who serve with fidelity, the
mammon OF unrighteousness: but
they are dearly paid for by the peo-
pie who permit their representatives
whether in public life, in the press,
or in the colleges where their young
men are taught, to preach and to
practice that there is one law for the
rich and another for the poor. The
amount of money the representatives
of certain great moneyed interests
are willing to spend can be guaged
by their recent publication broadcast
throughout the papers of this coun-
try, from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
of huge advertisements attacking
with envenomed bitterness the Ad-
ministration's policy OF warning
against successful dishonesty. and
by their circulation of pamphlets and
books prepared with the same OBJ
ject; while they likewise push the
circulation of the writings, and
speeches of men who. whether be-
cause they are misled, or because,
seeing the light. they yet are will
ing to sin against the light, serve
these their masters of great wealth
to the cost of the plain people. The
books and pamphlets, the controlled
newspapers the speeches by public
or private men to which / refer, are
usually and especially in the interest
OF the Standard Oil Trust and OF
certain notorious railroad combina-
tions, but they also defend other in
dividuals and corporations OF great
wealth that have been guilty of
wrong-doing. 1t is only rarely that
the men responsible for the wrong
doing themselves speak or write.
Normally they hire others to do their
bidding, or find others who will do
1t without hire. From the railroad
rate law to the pure-food law. every
measure for honesty in business that
mas been passed during the last six
years has been opposed by these men
on lts passage and in its administra-
tion with every resource that bitter
ana unscrupulous craft could suggest
and the command of almost unlimited
money secure. But for the last wear
tne attack has been made with most
DiFterness upon the actual administra-
tion OF the law, especially through the
department Of Justice. but also
tnrough the Interstate Commerce
commission and the Bureau of Cor
porations. The extraordinary violence
Oh the assaults upon our policy con-
'aiheu IN these speeches, editorials
articies' advertisements and namnh,
lets and the enormous sums Of mon
ey spent in these various ways give
d ia'rly accurate measure os tho
anger and terror which our nublio
ACTIONS have caused the corrupt mon
vi vast wealth to feel in the verv
marrow or their being. The attacL
IS sometimes made openly against ne
ipr enforcing the law, and some
times with certain cunning for NO,
trying to enforce 1t in some other
way than that which experIence
SHOWS to be practical. One of the
iavorite methods of the latter class
or assailant is to attack the Adminis-
tration Tor not procuring the impris-
onment instead of the fine of Of
lenders under these antitrust laws.
me man making this assault Is usu-
any either prominent lawyer or an
editor who takes his policy from the
hnanciers and his arguments from
their attorneys, II the former, he has
uefended and advised many wealthy
maiefactors, and he knows well that