Willmar tribune., 1908-02-12

above have achieved great foreanes san
system Of morality which would also
anlon G6 and On
Of violence. corruption. and fraud, from
murder to briberY and bailot-box stuff
eaaay or a to ans the
struggle for honesty is the same whether
it is made on behalf Of one est Of men
or Of another.
Laws Must Continue to 90
Administered with Even Hand
The laws must in the future be. ad-
ministered as they are now being nd.
justice may continue to be. what it now
is. In very fact the department Of jus
tice, where 50 far as our ability permits
to great and small, rich and poor. weak
and strong. Moreover, there should be
no delay IN suPplementing the laws now
further legislation as outlined in the
message sent to congress on its assem-
bling. Under. the existing laws. much.
very much, has been actually accom-.
has been shown by actual experience
that they can be enforced against the
wealthiest corporation and the richest
lator of that corporation as vigorously
and fearlessly as against the humblest
offender; Above aii. they have been
and agents Of wrongdoers who have for
so many years gone scot free and fouted
the laws with impunity, against great
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
the representatives Of the national gov:
ernment fun power % to deal De With the great
merce. and above all. with the great in
terstate common carriers. Our people
should clearly recognize that while there
corporations. these difficulties must be
faced. and one of three courses followed.
The first course is to abandon all ef-
fort to oversee and control their actions
in the interest of the, general public
and to permit return to the utter lack
were left to the common law. I do not
for one moment believe that our people
would tolerate this position. The ex-
OF a
grew up under and was adapted to deal
with totally different conditions. In many
conditions cesHtS t These new W Conditions make it
| necessary. to shack!e cunning as IN the
past we have shackled force. The vast
individual and corporate fortunes. the
marked the development Of our industrial
system, create new conditions, and neces-
state change from the old attitude OF
regulating the acquisition and untram-
meled business use of property, in order
both that property may be adequately
o'S; those Who hold hold it may be prevented from
wrOngdoing.
The second and third courses are to
have the regulation undertaken either
| I~pA s\4\
course in any event both the national
government and the several state gov
ernments must do each its part. and
etSe ot6er 'c cannot no do. While the only really
by the representatives Of the national
and state governments working heart
and
troll can in the end only be obtained by
for almost all the corporations Of
enormous wealth-that is. the corpora
tions which it is especially desirable to
and Their
their Importance. not from that por-
ton of their business which is intra-
state, but from the interstate business.
where the line Of demarcation between
the two kinds Of business falls. This
line must ultimately be drawn by the
secure adequate control Of the great
corporations by state action has been
wise and effective, but much of it has
made sen ' to aecompiish % Wy by the he action % Of m
the state what can only be accom-
plished by the action of the nation, the
end the yw VIII be
| clared unconstitutional. So, likewise,
in the national arena. we who believe
in the measures herein advocated are
8@n NoT7 nd v1O<0 1o1 ~
lists who advocate action so violent
| that it 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
such time it is a sad fact that entirely
innocent people suffer from no fault
the keenest sympathy for the large
body of honest business men, of hon
| est investors, of honest wageworkers,
who t suffer Se:a because involved in a crash
sible. At such time there is natu-
raj tendency on the part Of many men
.f, to feel gloomy ,a1 and frightened at the
for this feeling. There is no nation so
absolutely sure of ultimate success
as ours: OF course we shall sue:
energy. with a continent for its do
main, and it feels within it's veins the
thrill which comes to those who know
not cast down by the fear Of failure.
| We are upheld by the confident hope
of ultimate triumph. The wrongs. that
exist are TO- be %opt eGtrected but they in no
come, doubt as to the great material
prosperity of the future or of the lofty
Spiritual dfe,tx life which is to be built upon
misdeeds done in the present must b.,
permitted to shroud from our eyes the
glorious future of the nation; but be-.
~ to 70 -
! never to swerve from our resolute pur-
pose to cut out wrongdoing and uphold
| what il right.
! do not for q moment believe that th9
actions OF this administration have
brought on business distress; so far "a
this is due to local and not worldwide
causes. and to the actions Of any par
| ticular individuals. 1t is due to the specu,
| lative folly and fragrant dishonesty of e
few men of great wealth. who seek to
shield themselves from the effects of theif
to the actions Of those who have sought
| to put stop to the wrongdoing. But
If 1t were true that to cut out rotten
ness from the body polite meant a mo-
prosperity. should not for one moment
hesitate to put the knife to the corrup-
ton: on behalf OF all our people. on
means than of the honest man who earns
each days livelihood by that days sweat
Of his brow, 1t is necessary to insist upon
| honesty IN BUSINESS ana pontlcS 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:
"Fondly do we hope. fervently do we
pray. that this mighty scourge may pass
away. Yet. IL God wills that it continue
until all the wealth piled by the bonds
mems two hundred and fifty years Of un-
requited toll shall be sunk, and until
| every drop Of blood drawn with the lash
| shall be paid by another drawn with
the sword, as was said three Thousand
years ago. 50 still it must be said: The
| iudgment3 of the Lord Qra true and