Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1908-02-01

desire to punish the wrongdoers onlp
10 far al is necessary to achieve this
end.
| Attacks on Reform Measures.
There arc ample material rewards fol
| those who serve with fidelity the nam.
/ mon Of unrlghteousness. but they are
J dearly paid for by the people who per
nit their representatives. whether in
public life. In the press or In the col
leges where their young men are
| taught, to preach and to practice that
there IL one law for the rich and an.
other for the poor. The amount OF
money the representatives of certain
great moneyed interests are willing to
spend can DO gauged by their recent
publication broadcast throughout the
papers OF this country from the Allan.
tic to the Pacific OF huge advertise.
ments attacking with envcnomcd bit.
terness the administrations policy OF
warning ngainst successful dishonesty
and by their circulation of pamphlets
and books prepared with the same oh.
ject, while they likewise push the cir.
culatlon OF the writings and apceches
OF men who. whether because they are
mislcd or BECAUSE seeing the light.
they yet are willing 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. tho speeches by
| public or private men to which I re.
fer. nre usually and especially In the
interest of the Standard OIL trust and
( OF certain notorious railroad comblna.
tiona, but they, also defend other in
dlvlduals and corporations OF great
wealth that have been guilty of wrong.
doing 1t is only rarely that the men
responsible for the wrongdolng them.
selves speak or write. Normally they
hire otherH to do their bidding or find
others who will do II without hire.
From the railroad rate law TO the pure
food law every measure for honesty In
business that has been passed during
| the last six years mas been opposed BIZ
these men on It's passage and In Its ad-
mlnistrntion with every resource that
bitter and INSCRIPTIONS craft could
suggest and tho command of almost
| unlimited money secure. hut for the
last ycnr the attack hns been made
1 with most bitterness upon the actual
administration Of the law. especially
through the department OF justice but
also through the interstate commerce
commission und the bureau OF corpora
lions. The extraordinary violence OF
the assaults upon our policy contained
In these speeches. editorials, articles.
advertisements and pamphlets and the
enormous sums OF money spent In
these various ways give fairly &C.
curntc measure OF the anger and ter.
ror which our public actions have
caused the corrupt men OF vast wealtk
to feel In the very marrow OF their be.
Ing. The attack Is sometimes made
openly against us for enforcing the
law and sometimes with n certain cum
ming for not trying to enforce II In
some other wny than that which ex.
perience shows to be practical.
Results Already Accomplished.
One OF the favorite methods OF the
latter class Of assailant is to attack the
administration for not procuring the
imprisonment Instead OF the fine of Of
tenders under these antitrust laws.
The man making this assault Is usually
either prominent lawyer or an editor
who takes his policy from the flnan.
clers md his arguments from their at
torneya. III the former, he has de-
Tended and advised many wealthy
malefactors. and he knows well TINT.
thanks TO the advice OF lawyers like
himself. a certain kind OF modern cor.
porntion has been turned into an adj
mirable instrument by which to render
1t well nigh impossible to get at tire
head of the corporation. at the man
who ia really most guilty. When we
are able to put the real wrongdocr in
prison. this Is what we strive to do.
This Is what we have actually done
with some very wealthy criminals,
who. moreover, represented that most
bnneful of all alliances. the alliance
/ between the corruption OF organized
:. politics and the corruption OF high
Y finance. This is what we have done In
the Gaynor and Greene case, In the
! case of the misnpplication of funds In
/ connection with certain great banks In
Chicago, In the land fraud cases, where.
/ as In other cases likewise, neither the
highest political position nor the pos
, session OF great wealth has avaiIed to
! save the offenders from prison. The
. federal government does scourge sin.
1t does bid sinners fear, for It has put
behind the bars, with impartial Sc.
verify, the powerful flnancler, the pow.
erful politician. the rich land thief tina
, rich contractor-all no matter how
high their station, against whom crimi-
, nal misdeeds can be proved All their
; wealth and power cannot protect them.
but 1t often happens that the effort to
: imprison a given defendant is certain
, TO be futile, while 1t is possible 10 fine
him or to fine the corporation OF which