Los Angeles herald., 1908-02-01

rights of the man of wealth and for
the rights of the wage worker. we
seek to protect the property of every
man who acts honestly, of every cor
poration that represents wealth hon
estly accumulated and honestly used
We seek to stop wrong doing, ana we
desire to punish the wrongdoers oniy
so far as is nee essary to achieve inns
end
There are ample material rewards for
those who serve with fidelity the mann
mon of ui4righteousness; but they are
dearly paid for by the people who per
nit their representatives, whether IN
public life, OF in the colleges where
young men are taught to preach ana
to practice, that there is one law LOT
the rich anG another for the poor.
Spend Money Freely
The amount OF money the representa-
lives of certain great moneyed inter-
ests are willing to spend can'be gagged
Icy their recent publication broadcast
throughput the papers of this country,
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, OF
huge advertisements attacking with en-
venomed bitterness the administra-
TONS policy OF warning against sue
cessful dishonesty, and by their circu-
y
with the Same object; while they like
wise push the circulation of the WRIT
ings and speeches of men, whether pc
cause they are misled or whether pc
cause, seein- the light, they yet are
willing to sin against the light, serve
their masters of great wealth to the
cost of The plain people.
The books and pamphlets, the news
papers, the speeches by public or pr
til. a Vn
and especially in the interests of the
Standard Oil trust and of certain nos
torious railroad combinations, but they
also defend other individuals and cor
porations of great wealth that nave
been guilty of wrongdoing. 1t is only
rarely that the men responsible Tor tne
wrongdoing themselves speak or WIlte.
Normally they hire others to 40 .hei.
bidding or find others who VIII 40 l.
without hire.
Much is said, in these attacks upon
the present administration, ABOUT Ine
rights of innocent stockholders. Inc
stockholders are not innocent VINO No,-
unfairly purchase stock in a corpora
tion whose methods and management
they know to be corrupt; ana stock-
holders are bound to try to secure
honest management, or else are
stopped from complaining about the
proceedings the government mas nee
essary in order to compel the corpora
ton to obey the law. There has beeh
in the past grave wrong done lnho-
cent stockholders by overcapltallza-
ton. stock watering, stock Jopplhg'
stock manipulation.
This we have sought to prevent, nrst'
by exposing the thing and punishlng
the offender when any existing law
had been violated; second, by recon-
mending the passage of laws Whlch
would make unlawful similar practlces
for the future.
Public men, lawyers and editors, who
loudly proclaim their sympathy Tor the
innocent stockholders" when some
great law-defying corporation is pun
ished, are the first to protest with
frantic vehemence against all ef1orts
by law to put a stop to the practices
which are the real and ultimate sources
of damage alike to the stockholders
and the public. The apologlsts
of successful dishonesty always
proclaim against any eHort TO
punish or prevent 1t on the
ground that any such effort will cause
an unsettled business" period. 1t is
they. who, by their acts, have unsettled
business, and the very men raising
this cry spend hundreds of thousands
of dollars in securing, by speech, ed
itorial or pamphlet, the defense by
misstatements of that they have done;
and yet when public servants correct
their misstatements by telling the
truth, they declaim against them Tor
breaking silence. lest values be de-
preciated." They have hurt the hon
oct h1siness men honest WOrkingmen,