The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1908-12-08
PRESIDENT R00SEvELT'S MESSAGE -
STRONG HAWAII Recommended IONS

tralization 1t represents merely the
acknowledgment of the patent fact
that Capitalization has already come
in business. If this irresponsible out
side business power is to be controlled
in the interest of the general pubic it
can only be controlled in one way;
by giving adequate power of control
to the one sovereignty capable of eX-
ercising such power-the National
Government. Forty or fifty separate
state governments can not exercise
that power over corporations doing
business in most or all of them: first
because they absolutely lack the au-
thority to deal with interstate bust
ness in any form; and second, because
of the inevitable conflict of authority
sure to arise in the effort to enforce
different kinds of state regulation, Of
ten inconsistent with one another and
sometimes oppressive in themselves
Such divided authority can not regr-
late commerce with wisdom and eff
feet. The Central Government is the
only power which without oppres-
sion, can nevertheless thoroughly and
adequately control and supervise the
large corporations To abandon the
effort for National control means to
abandon the effort for all adequate
control and yet to render likely con-
tinual bursts of action by State legis-
latures, which can not achieve the
lint xrrhf n
great deal of damage to the cor
poration without comforting any real
benefit on the public.
| believe that the more farsighted
corporations are themselves coming to
recognize the unwisdom of the vic
! lent hostility they have displayed dur
ing the last few years to regulation
and control by the National Govern
ment OF combinations engaged in in
terstate business. The truth is that
we who believe in this movement of
asserting and exercising a genuine
| control, in the public interest, over
these great corporations have to con-
tend against two sets of enemies, who,
though nominally opposed to one an
7 other, are really allies in preventing
a proper solution of the problem.
There are first the big corporation
men, and the extreme individualists
among business men. who genuinely
believe in uttely unregulated business
that is. in the reign of plutOcracy;
and. second, the men who, being blind
to the economic movements of the
day. believe i'm a movement of repres-
|, sion rather than of regulation of cor
: porations, and who denounce both the
power of the railroads and the eXer-
, else of the Federal power which alone
can really control the railroads. Those
who believe in efficient national con-
troll on the other hand, do not in the
least object to combinations; do not
in the least object to concentration in
business administration. On the con-
= trary. they favor both, with the all
important proviso that there shall be
such publicity about their workings
and such thoroughgoing control over
them, as to insure their being in the
: interest, and not against the interest
[ of the general public. We do not oh.
{ ject to the concentration of wealth and
, administration; but we do believe in
: the distribution of the wealth in pro-
: fits to the real owners, and in securing
> to the public the full benefit of the
= concentrated administration. We be
I lieve that with concentration in ad
I ministration there can come both thu
advantage of a large ownership anC
4 of a more equitable distribution o
: profits, and at the same time a bet
= ter service to the commonwealth. w
Z believe that the administration SHOULD
1 be for the benefit of the many; ant
Q that greed and rascality, practiced oil
large scale, should be punished a
o reientlessly as if practiced on a small
scale.
= We do not for a moment believe tina
4 the problem will be solved by an.
d short and easy method. The solution
+ will come only by pressing variou
concurrent remedies. Some OF thes
= remedies must lie outside the domain
n of all government. Some must Ii
e Ioutside the domain OF the Fedora
IS Government But there Is legislatio
II which the Federal Government alon
: can enact and which Is absolutely vi
t. tai in order to secure the attainmen
? of our purpose. Many laws are need
Il ed There should be regulation by tn
, National Government of the great iT
l. terstate corporations. including
o simple method Of account kepinl
/ publicity, supervision of the issue {
r securities, abolition of rebates and {
Al special privileges, There should |
le short time franchise for all corporl
p lions engaged in public business; II
As Guiding the corporations which q
D. power from water rights There shou