Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1909-06-18

above all things. of being misled by
wicked or foolish men who would
condone homicide and violence, and
apologize fer the dynamiters and the
assassin because. forsooth, they
choose to take the ground that crime
is no crime if the wicked man hap
pens also to have been shifuess and
rnthrifty or lazy man who has never
amassed property
Wrest Government From Rich.
1T is essential that we should wrest
the control of the government out OF
the hands of rich men who use il for
unhealthy purposes. and should keep
il cut Of their hands and To this END
The first requisite is TO provide means
adequately to deal with corporations.
which are essential to modern bust
ness, but which, under the decisions
of the courts. and because of the
shert- sightedness of the public. have
become the chief factors in political
end business debasement.
But il would be Just as bad TO put
the contrcl Of the government into
the hands OF demag0gues and visionar-
les who seek TO pander to ignorance
and prejudice by penallzing thrift and
business enterprise, and running all
men of means. with, as an attendant
results. the ruin OF the entire com
munity.'
Mr.. Roosevelt quotes an article by
Stevens, and English journalist. on
conditions in the United States. writ
ten in 1896, in which it was declared
that If individualism is left absolutely
uncontrolled as modern business
condition. the result will follow that
all power Of individual achievement
and individual effort in the average
man will be crushed out just as eff
fectivelv as if the state took abso-
lutte control of everything. On this
line Mr.. Roosevelt continues as fol-
lows
Movement Toward Socialism.
These who advocate total lack OF
regulation. those who advocate law
lessness in the business world. them
selves give the strongest impulse to
what | believe would be the deadening
movement towards state socialism.
There must be law to control the
big man. and therefore especially the
big corporations. in the Industrial
world in the interest of our industrial
democracy of today. This law must
be efficient. and therefore it must be
administered by executive officers, and
not by law suits in the courts. II
this is not done the agitation to in
crease out of all measure the share
of the government in this work VIII
receive an enormous impetus. The
movement fer government control of
the great business corporations is no
more movement against liberty tnan
a movment to put stop to violence
is movement against liberty. The huge
irresponsible corporation which de-
mands liberty from the supervision OF
government agents stands on the
same ground as the less dangerous
criminal Of the streets who wishes
liberty from police interference"
The ex-President closes with d.
rect reference to newspapers.
yet another thing" he says. mo
movement ever has done or ever Will
do coed in this country where as
sault is made not upon evil wherever
found. but simply upon evil as it hap
pans to be found in a particular class.
The Newspapers, Too.
The big newspaper, owned or con-
trclled in Wall street, which is ever
lastingly preaching about the iniquity
of laboring men, which is quite Will
ing to hound politicians FOR their
misdeeds. but which with raving fury
defends all the malefactOrs of great
wealth stands on an exact level with,
and neither above ncr below, that
other newspaper whose whole attack
is upon men of wealth, which declines
TO ondemn. or else condemn in apclo-
getic, perfunctCry, and wholly ineiiic-
lent manner, outrages committed by
labor.
This latter is the kind of paper
which by torrents CT foul abuse seeks
to stir up bitter class hatred against
every man of wealth whether he is an
honest man who by industry and abili-
~ has hcnorably won his wealth, and
who honorably spends ii, or a man
whose wealth represents robbery and
whose life represents either prcfh-
gacy. or at best an inane, useless, and
tasteless extravaganza.
This country cannot afford to let this
conscience grow warped and twisted,
as il must grow if it takes either one
Of these two positions. We must draw
the line. not on wealth nor or poverty,
but On conduct
stand for the Good Citizen.
We must stand for the good citi-
zen. Whether he be rich or whether
he be poor, and We must mercilessly
attack the man who does evil, wholly
without regard to whether the evil
is done in high or low places. whether
II takes the form of homicidal violence
among members Of a federation of
miners. or of INSCRIPTIONS craft and
greed in the head of some great Wall
-oo4 CONFORMATION -