The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1908-12-12

pacity. and an ample reward for the
great directing intelligsnces alone com
petent to manage the great business op-
erattons of to-day II Is well to keep in
MIND that exactly as the anarchist IL tho
worst enemy of liberty and the reaction
ary the worst enemy OF order, so the
men who defend the rights of property
have most to fear from the wrongdoers
OF great wealth. and the men who are
championlng popular rights have most
to fear from the demagogues who in the
name Of popular rights would do wrong
to and oppress honest business men,
honest men of wealth. for tho success of
either type of wrongdoer necessarily In
vites violent reaction against the cause
the wrongdoer nominally upholds
Need Of Capitalization.
The proposal to make the ma
donal government supreme over and
therefore to give 1t complete control over
the railroads and other Instruments Of
interstate commerce is merely a propos-
al TO carry out to the letter one OF the
prime purposes. II not the prime purpose.
Tor which the constitution was founded.
II does not represent Capitalization. 1t
represents merely the acknowledgment
OF the patent fact that Capitalization has
already come In business. II this ire
sponsible outside business power is to be
controlled In the interest Of the general
public II can only be controlled in one
way; by giving adequate power of con-
troll to the one sovereignty capable Of ex-
ercisinE such power-the national govern
ment To abandon the effort for national
control means to abandon the effort for
all adequate control and yet to render like
ly continual bursts of action by state leg
islatures. which cannot achieve the pur-
pose sought for. but which do .
great deal of damage to the corporation
without comforting any real benent on
the public.
There should be regulation by the ma
uonal government of the great interstate
corporations including a simple method
of account keeping, publicity. supervision
of the issue OF securities. abolition of
rebates and of special privileges. There
should be short-time franchises for all
corporations engaged in public business;
including the corporations which get
power from water rights. There should
be national as well state guardianship
ton hereinafter referred to should con-
currently be enacted into law.
To accomplish this. means a certain In
crease ir the use of-not the creation of
power already exists: 1t does not have
to be created: the only question is
whether 1t shall be used or left idle
and meanwhile the corporations over
which the power ought to be exercised
will not remain idle. The danger to Amer
lean democracy lies not In the least in the
concentration of administrative power in
responsible and accountable hands. 1t
lies in having the power insuficiently
concentrated. SO that no one can be held
responsible to the people for Its use.
Concentrated power is palpable. visible.
responsible, easily reached. quickly held
to account. Democracy is in peril
wherever the administration Of po-
litical power is scattered among
a variety OF men who work in
n
known to the common people 1t IL not
in peril from any man who derives au-
thority from the people. who exercises
1t in sight of the people. and who II
from time to time compelled to give An
account of Its exercise to the people.
Legislation for Waoeworker.
There are many matters affecting labor
and tho status of the wageworker to
which I should like to draw your atten-
ton. but exhaustive discussion Of the
problem in all Its aspects Is not now nee
essary. believe in a steady ef
fort. or perhaps 1t would be more
accurate to say in steady efforts
in many different directions. to bring
about a condition of affairs under which
the men who work with hand or with
brain, the laborers. the supertntendents.
the men who produce the market and the
men who find market for the articles
produced shall own a far greater share
than at present of the wealth they pro-
duce, and be enabled to invest II in the
tools and Instruments by which all work
is carried on. AS far possible l hope
to see a frank recognition of the advan-
tages conferred by machinery, organiza-
ton and division of labor. accompanied
by an effort to bring about larger share
In the ownership by wage-worker Of rail-
way, mill and factory.
Postal Savings banks will make It
easy for the poorest to keep their saw
inZS in absolute fety The rpRnlafiOn
of the national highways must be such
that they shall serve all people with
equal Justice. Corporate finances must
be supervised so as to make it far safer
than at present for the man of small
means to invest his money in stocks.
There must be prohibition of child la
Dor. ..minutiOn OF women labor. short
ening of hours of all mechanical labor:
stock watering should be prohibited,
and stock gambling so far as Is possi-
BILE discouraged. There should be
progressive inheritance tax on large
fortunes Industrial education should
be encouraged. AS far as possible we
should tighten the burden of taxation
on the small man. We should put a
premium upon thrift. hard work. and
business energy; but these qualities
cease to be the main factors in accu-
mulating fortune long before that
fortune reaches point where 1t would
be seriously affected by any inheri-
tance tax such as 1 propose. 1t is emf
nently right that the nation should fix
the terms upon which tho great for
tunes are inherited They rarely do
good and they often do harm to those
who inherit them in their entirety.
There should longer be any palter-
ing with the question of taking care OF
the wageworkers who. under our pres
ent industrial system. become killed.
crippled. or worn out as part of the
regular incidents of given busi-
ness. AS far concerns those
who have been worn out, 1 call your
attention to the fact that definite
steps toward providing oldage pen
sions have been taken in many of our
private Industries. These may be in
definitely extended through voluntary
association and contributory schemes
or through the agency of savings