The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1908-02-07

Justice may continue I'd be, what Il now
Is, in very fact the department or JUS
tice. where 50 far - pur sbility per-
hand TO great and small rich and poor,
weak and strong. Moreover. there
should be no delay In experimenting The
laws now on the statute books By the
enactment of further legislation as
outlined in the message i sent TO the
congress IN its assembling. Under the
existing avs much very much. has
been actually accomplished during the
past six years, and 1t a been shown
by actual experience that they can be
enforced against the wealthiest cor
poration and the richest and most pow
erful or manipulation OF that
corporation. as vigorously and fearless
~ as against the humblest offender.
Above all, they have been enforced
against the very wrongdoers n
so many years gone scot-tree and
fiouted the laws with
against great law-defying corpora.
tions of immense wealth. which, until
within the last half dozen years have
treated themselves and have expected
others to treat them as being beyond
and above all possible check from law.
1t is especially necessary to secure TO
the representatives of the national gov
full power 10 deal with the
great corporations engaged in inter-
state commerce. and above all, with the
great interstate common carriers. Our
ptuplt Htlbhlu tiGaliN itNOb ia AtiNt
while there are difficulties in any
course of conduct to be followed in
dealing with these great corporations,
these difficulties must be faced. and one
of three courses followed. The first
course is to abandon all effort to over
see and control their actions In the In
terest of the general public and to per-
nit q return to the utter lack of con-
troll which would obtain If they were
left to the common law. l do not for
one moment believe that our people
would tolerate this position, The ex-
traordinary growth of modern indus
trialism has rendered the common law,
which grew up under and was adapt
ed to deal with totally different condi-
lions, in many respects inadequate 10
deal with the new conditions. These
new conditions make II necessary to
shackle cunning as in the past we have
shackled force. The vast individual
and corporate fortunes, the vast com
binations of capital. which have marked
the development of our industrial sys-
TEN, create new conditions, and neees-
state a change from the old attitude
OF the state and the nation toward the
rules regulating the acquisition and
untrammoled business use OF prop
erty, in order both that property may
be adequately protected, and that at
the same time those who hold it may
be prevented from wrongdoing.
Talks of Financial Stress.
I'VE have just passed through two
months of acute financial stress. Al
any such time it is u sad fact that en-
tirely innocent people suffer from no
fault of their own and every one must
feel the keenest sympathy for the
large body of honest business men, OF
honest investors. of honest w~agework-
ers. who suffer because involved IN a
crash for which they are in no way
responsible. At such a time there is
a natural tendency on the part of many
men to feel gloomy and frightened at
the outlook; but there is no justifca-
tlon for this feeling, There Is no ma
ton so absolutely sure of ultimate sue
cess as ours. OF course we shall sue
coed. Ours is a nation of masterful
energy. with a continent for its domain,
and it feels within its veins the thrill
which comes to those who know that
they possess the future. We are not
cast down by the fear Of failure. We
are upheld by the confident hope Of u1-
innate triumph. The wrongs that ex-
list are to be corrected; but they in no
way Justify doubt as to the final out
come, doubt as to the great material
prosperity of the future, or of the lofty
spiritual life which is to be built upon
that prosperity as a foundation. No
misdeeds done in the present must be
permitted to shroud from our eyes the
glorious future of the nation; but be-
cause of this very fact 1t behooves us
never to swerve from our resoltte pur-
pose to cut out wrongdoing and uphold
what is right. | do not for n me
~ 49, N'N - - N't'
istration rave brought on business dis
tress; so far as this is due to local n
not worldwide causes, and to the ac-
tons of any particular individuals, 1T
Is due to the speculative folly and fla
grant dishonesty of a few men of great
wealth. who seek to shield themselves
from the effects of their own wrong
doing by aseribing its results to the
actions of those who have sought to
put a stop to the wrongdoing, cut If
1t were true that to cut out r|ottcnness
from the body polite meant a mo-
mentary check to an unhealthy
seeming prosperity, ! should not for
one moment hesitate to put the knife
to the corruption. On behalf of all
our people, on behalf no less of the
honest man of means than Of the hon
est man who earns each days livcli-
hood by the days sweat Of his brow, it
is necessary to insist upon honesty in
business and in politics alike. in all
walks of life. in big things and in little
things; upon just and fair dealing as
between man and man. Those who
demand this are striving for the right
in the spirit of Abraham Lincoln said
the president in conclusion,