Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1908-02-06

] yet when public servants correct their
1 instantaneous by telling the truth they
silence. lest Values be dsprsciStse.s
/ They have hurt honest business men.
honest working men. honest farmers;
ana now they clnmor against the truth
The keynote OF all these attacks
upon the effort to secure honesty In
business and In politics In well exc
pressed In brazen protests against any
enOrt for the moral regeneration OF the
business world. ON the ground that IL In
and that business panic " the neces-
sary penalty for such EFFORT TO secure
ssb n,s honesty r. S,.c, The morality q
made on behalf OF the men caught In
gambling establishment when that
the police. II such words mean any
| thing they mean that those whose SEN
tlmcnts they represent stand against
/ the cfIort to bring about moral re-
generation of business, which will pre-
banking and street railroad scandals in
n Alton deal; a repetition OF the com.
binntion between certain professional
politicians. certain professional labor
from the disgrace OF which san Fran
cisco has just been rescued; repeti-
n ,Snd ., t9 ne, SnSeSsstn, Snort ny tns
| competitor. TO overawe the common
| carriers, and TO establish n monopoly
tempt which tho public I deserves desc a so
| long as u permits men of such prin-
| ciples and sentiments to Rvow and act
| on them with impunity, The outcry
against stopping dishonest practices
| among wrongdoers who happen to be
wealthy IT, precisely similar 10 the out
cleanliness and deceney in city gov.
ernment. because. foraooth. u Will
hurt business" The same cutlery Is
made against the department Of JUS
tice for prosecuting the heads OF colos-
| sal corporations that has been made
against the men who In San Francisco
ity the wrongdoers among business
| men, public officials and labor leaders
| alike. The principle IL the same In
the two cases. Just aH the blackmall-
| er and brlbe glver stand on the same
| evil en- nence OF infnmy, so the man
who makes an enormous fortune by
| corrupttnR legislatures ana municipal
tiles and fieecing his stockholders and
| the public, stands on the same moral
| level with the creature who iattens on
| and the saloon. Moreover. In the last
| analysis, both kinds Of corruption are
/ far moro intimately connected than
| doing is at bottom the same. Corrupt
| business and corrupt politics act and
T ITSS with VIII eyer ,ho increasing dS6ase
head OF a corpora ton and the corrupt
| labor leader are both In the kame de-
| gree the enemies OF honest \corpora-
|
| bate taker. the franchise trafiicker
the manipulation of securities. the pur-
nxSGT SnS P5ofSS oss SI NNfs ne black
| err the demagoRue. the mob leader. the
| hired bully. and man-killcr-all alike
work ut the same web OF corruption
and all alike should be abhorred by
| honest men.
The business" which IL hurt by the
| movement for honesty is the kind OF
| business which. In the long run. 70
pays the country TO have hurt. II is
| tho kind OF business which has tended
to make the very name high finance" a
| term OF scandal TO which all honest
| American men OF business should join
| In putting an end. The special plead
| ers for business dishonesty. In denounc-
| ing the present administration for en-
| forcing the law against the huge and
| corrupt corporations which have dehed
the law also denounce Il for endeavor-
| Ing 20 secure sadly needed labor lcgls-
| latton, such as far-reRching law max =
| ing employers liable for injuries to
their employees.
business" Hurt by Movement
for Honesty Should BE Crushed
II Is meet and ~ that the apologIsts
for corrupt wealth should oppose every
| cnort to relieve weak and helpless peo-
pie from crushing misfortune brought
upon them by injury ia the business
| from which they gain n bare livelihood.
| The burden should be distributed. IL
| u hypOcriticHl bnaeness to speak of a
| girl who works in factory where the
dangerous machinery is unprotected as
having the right freely TO contract
| to expose herself to dangers TO life and
limb. She has no alternative but to
| suner want or else to expose herself TO
such dangers, and whom she loses a
| ured for life, IL Is moral wrong that
| the whole burden of the risk necosRarii
incidental to the business should be
placed with crushing weight upon her
weak shoulders. and all who profit by
her work escape scott free. This Ia
what opponents of a Just employers
liability law advocate; and IL is con-
sistent that they should usually also
advocate immunity for those most dan
gerous members OF the criminal class
the criminals of great wealth.
Our opponents have recently been
bitterly criticising the two judges re.
Ierred to IN the accompanying commu-
pany and the Stata Fe railroad for hav-
Ing imposed heavy fines on these two
congregations: and yet these same crit
selves In denounclng the most re-
spectful and cautious discussion OF
tns otheiaI aetlon OF Judge which re-
full wrongdoers. or which renders nuga
tory a temperate effort 20 better the
conditions Of life and work among
those OF our fellow countrymen whose
need is greatest Most certainly II be-
hooves us all TO treat with the utmost
our, Judges. MS whole are brave and
upright men: Respect for the law
must go hand In hand with respect FOR
the judges: and, as a whole. Il il 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 There is All
the greater need that the few who Raj
~ this great office. who fall below thIg
high standard OF Integrity. OF wisdom
OF sympathetic understanding and oi
courage. should have their eyes opened
70 the needs OF their countrymen. a
Judge who on the bench either trtIckIeS
To the mob and .shrinkH from aternly
REFRESHING violence and disorder ol
BOWS down before corporation; who
fails TO stand up valiantly for the
rights OF property on the one hand. oi
on the other by misuse OF the process
OF injunction or by his attitude toward
all measures for the betterment OF fhe
conditions OF labor. makes the wage.
! worker feel with bitterness that IN,
courts are hostile 20 him: or who fall
20 realize that all public servants lf
their several stations must strive n
stop the abuses OF the criminal rich
such o man performs an even wors,
service TO the body polite than IN,
Legislator or executive wnO goes wrong
. The Judge who does his full duty wei
stands higher, ana renders a beffel