The Detroit times., 1909-06-17
RICH PEOPLE MUST
NOT RULE, SAYS ROOSEVELT
Continued from Page one)

man. then business must be hurt. even
though good men are involved In the
hurting. until il so adjusts itself that
Il Is possible TO prosecute wrong-do-
ing without stampeding the business
community into terror-struck de-
Tense of the wrong-doers and an angry
assault upon those VINO have exposed
them on the other hand, we must
beware. above all things, OF being
misled by wicked or foolish men who
would condole homicide and violence,
and apologize for the dynamiter and
the assassin because. forsooth, they
choose 20 take the ground that crime
Is no crime IL the wicked man happens
also 10 have been a shiftiess and I'M
thrifty or lazy man who has never
amassed property.
Rich Must Not Rule.
IL Is essential that we should wrest
the control OF the government out OF
the hands of rich men who use II TO-
unhealthy purposes, and should keep
Il cut OF their hands; and 10 this end
the first requisite is to provide means
adequately 10 deal with corporations.
wfrtrtt1 aru- essential To modern br5t'
ness. but which, under the decisions
of the courts. and because OF the
short -sightednoss of the public, have
become the chief factors In political
and business debasement But 1t
would be just as bad To put the cor
troll OF the government into the hands
OF demagogues and Missionaries who
seek 10 pander TO ignorance and
prejudice by penaliZing thrift and
business enterprise, and running all
men of means, with, as an attendant
result, the ruin OF the entire com
munity. The tyranny of politicians
with a bureaucracy behind them and a
mass OF ignorant people supporting
them would be just as insufferable
as the tyranny Of big corporations.
The sinister and adroit reactionary
the sinister and violent radical. are
alike in this, that each works in the
end for the destruction OF the cause
that he professedly champions.
Unrestricted IndivlduaIsm.
II has been shown beyond power of
reputation that unrestricted individu-
alism, for instance, means the destruc-
ton OF our forests and our water sup
ply The dogma OF 'individualism
cannot be permitted to interfere with
the duty of great city to see that
householders. small as we'll as big. live
in decent and healthy buildings, drink
good water and have the streets ade-
quately lighted and kept clean. Indi-
vidual initiative, the reign OF indiyid-
ualism may be crushed out just as
effectively by the unchecked growth
of private monopoly if the state does
not interfere at all, as it would be
crushed out under communism, or as
Il would disappear, together with
everything else that makes life worth
living. if we adopted the tenets OF
the extreme Socialists.
In 1896 the party of discomfort met
with a smashing defeat for the very
reason that, together with legitimate
attacks on real abuses, they combined
wholly illegitimate advocacy even OF
the methods of dealing with these real
abuses and in addition stood for
abuses OF their own which, In far
reaching damage. would have cast
quite into the shade the effects of the
abuses against which they warred. Ii
was essential both 10 the material and
moral progress OF the country that
these forces should be beaten and
beaten they were, overwhelmingly.
Government and Monopoly.
II would be easy to name several
big corporations, each one of which
has within it's sphere crushed out all
competition. so as to make, not only
It's rivals but its customers, as de-
pendent upon it as II the government
had assumed complete charge Of the
product. II would. in my judgment,
he very unhealthy thing for the gov
eminent thus to assume complete
charge. but it is even more unhealthy
TO permit a private monopoly thus to
assume IT,
There must be law to control the
big mon, and therefore especially tho
big corporations, in the industrial
world. In the interest of our Industrial
democracy of today This law must
be efficient. and therefore II must be
administered by executive officers, and
not by lawsuits in the courts. If this
IS not done the agitation to increase
out Of all measure the share OF the
government in this work Will receive