Weekly journal-miner., 1908-12-16

TWO sets Ok enemies, who, though nom.
 inally opposed to one another, are
 really allies in preventing n proper
 solution of the problem. There are,
 first, the big corporation men, and the
 extreme individualists among business
 men, who genuinely believe in utterly
 unrcgulated busincss-that is, in the
 reign of plutocracy; and, second, the
 men who. being blind to the economic
 movements of the day. believe in a
 movement of repression rather than
 of regulation of corporations. and who denouncc both the power of the rail
 roads and the exercise of the Federal
 power which alone can really central the railroads. Those who believe in efficient national control on the other hand, do not in the least object to combinations: do not in the least oh. iect to concentration in business ad. | ministration. On the contrary, they favor both. with the all importat pro. viso that there shall be suea publicity
 about their workings, and such thor. | oughgoing control over them, as to
 insure their being in the interest. and
 not against the interest. of the general public. We do not object to the con
 centration of wealth and administrn- ton; but we do believe in the distri. | button of the wealth in profits to the | real owners. and in securing to the public, the full benefit of the concen. | tratcd administration. We believe
 that with concentration in administra. | ton there can come both the advan- | tagc of n larger ownership and of a
 more equitable distribution of profits, | and at the same time a better service tO the commonwealth. We believe
 tluit the administration should he for
 the benefit of the many; and that
 greed and rascality, practiccd on n
 large scale, should be punished as re-
 lenilessly as if practiccd on a small
 scale.
 | We do not for a moment believe
 that the problem will be solved by
 any short and easy method. The solu-
 ton will come only by pressing vari.
 ous concurrent remedies Some of
 these remedies must lie outside the do.
 main of all government. Some must lie outside the domain of the Federal
 Government. But there is legislation l which inc Federal Goverpment alone
 can enact and which K absolutely vital in order to secure tde attainment of our purpose. Many laws are needed.
 There should bc regulation by the Na
 iionll Government of inc great inter
 state corporations. including e simple
 method of account keeping. publicity,
 supervision of the issue of securities abolition of rebates and of special privileges. There should be short tim,
 franchises for all corporations cngag cd in public business: including the corporations which get power from
 water rights. There should be Nation al as well as State guardianship oi mines and forests. The labor legisla ton hereinafter referred to shoul, concurrenily be enacted into law. f To accomplish this, means of cours' a certain increase in the use of no , the creation of-powcr, by the Cenra Government. The power already ex ists; it does not have to be created r the only question is whether it shal , be used or left idle-and meanwhil 2 the corporations over which the powc D ought to be exercised will not remai |. idle. Let those wao object to this in [ crease in the use of the only powe x available. the national power. h q frank. and admit openly that they pro q pose to abandon any effort to contrC lNR REftl nuNlufNN hhh V s, exercise supervision over the accum, lntion and distribution of wealth; fo q such supervision and control can onl come through this particular kind q |. increase of power. We no more b' e lieve in that empiricism which d T. mands absolutely unrestrained ind d vidualism than we do in that empir lt cism which clamors for dcadenin Q socialism which would destroy all Il r. dividual initiative and would ruin ti - country with a completeness that n, n even an unfcstrained individualism 10 self could achieve. The danger ss American democracy lies not in q is least in the concentration of admin E; trative power in responsible and 2 D. countable hands. It lies in having q ps power insuficiently concentrated, Se that no one can he held responsible nc the people for its use. Concentrat m power is palpablc. visible, responsib nd easily reached, quickly held Co accou m. Power scattered through many admi ry istrators. many legislators. many m IT. who work behind and through leg or lntors and administrators, is impa ,d. able. is unseen. is irresponsible, c m. not be reached, can not he held to ig count. Democracy IS Tn peril where' ii. the administration of political pow ss. is scattered among variety Of m ess who work in secret, whose very nan er. are unknown to the common peoI be IL is not in peril from any man W ie- derives authority from the people, V me exercises it in sight of the people. a lch who is from time to time compelled mt. give an account of its exercise to m people.
 yer Labor.
 in There are many matters affect use labor and the status of the wa
 to worker 10 which I should like to dr my your attention. but an exhaustive in. cussion of the problem in all its
 to poets is not now necessary. This ent ministration is nearing its end; a in. moreover under our form of gov' me. ment the solution of the problem ucn bends upon the action of the St' ate as much as upon the action of
 ef- Nation. Nevertheless, there are the tain considerations which l wish