The Ely miner., 1908-02-07

part of a labor union, and every form
of violence, corruption. and fraud. from
ing in politics we are trying to secure
equality of opportunity for all; and the
struggle for honesty is the same whether
it is made on behalf of one set of men
or of another.
Laws Must Continue to Be
Administered with Even Hand
The laws must in the future be ad-
ministered as they are now being ad.
ministered, so that the department OF
justice may continue to be, what It now
tice, where so far as our ability permits
justice Is meted out with an even hand
to great and small, rich and poor, weak
and strong. Moreover, there should be
no delay in supplementing the laws now
on the statute books by the enactment of
further legislation as outlined in the
bling. Under the existing laws, much,
very much, has been actually accom-
plished during the past six years, and 1t
has been shown by actual experience
that they can be enforced against the
wealthest corporation and the richest
and most powerful manager or manipu-
and fearlessly as against the humblest
offender, Above all. they have been
enforced against the very wrongdoers
so many years gone scot free and fouted
the laws with impunity, against great
law-defying corporations OF immense
dozen years, have treated themselves and
have expected others to treat them as
being beyond and above all possible
It is especially necessary to secure to
the representatives Of the national gov
ernment full power to dea! with the great
merce, and above all, with the great In
terstate common carriers. Our people
should clearly recognize that 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.
fort to oversee and control their actions
in the interest of the general puonc
and to permit a return to the utter lack
of control which would obtain II tney
were left to the common law. I do not
for one moment believe that our people
would tolerate this position. the eX-
traordinary growth of modern industrial
ism has rendered the common law, which
grew up under and was adapted to deal
with totally different conditions, In many
respects inadequate to deal with the new
conditions. These new conditions make 1t
necessary to shackle cunning as In tne
past we have shackled force. The vast
vast combinations of capital, which have
marked the development or our lndustrlai
system, create new conditions, ana neces.
state change from the oia atneuae r,,,os os
regulating the acquisition and untram-
meled business use Of property, In order
both that property may .b be sa@a adeauaiie1s tims
those who hold 1t may be prevented from
wrongdoing.
The second and third courses are to
have the regulation undertaken elther
by the nation or by the states. OF
course in any event both the nationai
government and the several state gov,
ernments must do each its part, and
other cannot do, while the only really
satisfactory results must be obtained
by the representatives of the natlonal
lily together within their respective
spheres, But in my Judgment nen
the action of the national government,
for almost all the corporations OF
enormous wealth-that is, the corpora
tions which it is especially desirable to
control-are engaged in interstate COM
merce, and derive their power and
their Importance not from that por-
state, but from the Interstate business.
It is not easy always to decide just
where the line of demarcation between
the two KINGS OF BUSINESS he drawn taS bv the
federal courts. Much of the effort to
secure adequate control of the great
corporations by state action mas 3 oeen e =
been neither; for when the effort is
| made to accomplish by the action OF
| the state what can only be accom-
result can only be disappointing, and in
the end the law will probably be de-
| clared unconstitutional. So, likewise,
in the national arena, we who believe
| in the measures herein advocated are
| hampered and not aided by the extrem-
| lists who advocate action so violent
| that 1t would either be useless or else
| would cause more mischief than it
| would remedy.
We have just passed through two
months of acute financial stress. At any
to- foa of hof ont firal "
| 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 hon
est investors, of honest wageworkers.
| who suffer because involved in crash
| for which they are in no way respon-
raj tendency on the part Of many. men
| to feel gloomy and frightened at the
outlook but there is no justification
for this feeling; There stt is no naton SO
as ours. OF course we shall sue
| ceed. Ours is nation Of masterful
energy. with a continent for its do
| main, and it feels within it's veins the
| thrill which comes to those who know
| that they possess the future. We are
not cast down by the fear OF failure.
| of ultimate triumph. The wrongs that
| exist 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 resolute pur-
pose to cut out wrongdoing and uphold
| what is right.
/ do not for a moment believe that the
| actions of this administration have
| brought on business distress; SO far as
| this is due to local and not worldwide
| causes, and to the actions of any par
| ticular individuals, it is due to the specu-
| lative folly and fragrant dishonesty of a
| few men of great wealth, who seek to
shield themselves from the effects OF their
| own wrongdoing by ascribing it's results
| to the actions of those who have sought
| to put a stop to the wrongdoing. But
| if it were true that to cut out rotten
| ness from the body polite meant a mo-
| mentary check to an unhealthy seeming
| prosperity, I should not for one moment
| hesitate to put the knife to the corrup-
ton. On behalf of all our people, on
| behalf no less of the honest man OF
means than of the honest man who earns
| each days livelihood by that days sweat
| of his brow, it is necessary to insist upon
| honesty in business and 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 de-
| mand this are striving for the right in
| the spirit of Abraham Lincoln when he
| said: .