Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-08-31

i stand for the square deal. but
when I say that l am for the square
deal / mean not merely that 1 stand
for fair play under the present rules
of the game. but that stand for hav-
ing those rules changed so as to work
for a more substantial equality OF OPP
portunity and OF reward for equally
good service.
This means that our governments,
national and state. must be freed from
the sinister influence or control Of spe-
ciel interests. Exactly as the special
interests OF cotton and slavery threat
ened our political integrity before the
civil war, so now the great special
business interests too often control and
corrupt the men and methods Of gov
eminent for their own profit.
We must drive the special interests
out of politics That is one of our
tasks today. Every special interest is
entitled to justice-full. fair and COM
plete-but not one is entitled to vote
in congress, a voice on the bench or
to representation in any public Of
fee. The constitution guarantees pro-
lection to property. and we must make
that promise good. But 1t does not
give the right of suffrage TO any cor
poration-
Control Commercial Forces.
The true friend of property. the true
conservative, is he who insists that
property shall be the servant and not
the master OF the commonwealth-who
insists that the creature Of mans max
ing shall be the servant and not the
master OF the man who made it The
citizens Of the United States must eff
fectively control the mighty CONNER
selves called into being.
There can be no effective control of
corporations while their political activ-
fly remains. To put an end TO it will
be neither a short nor an easy task.
but it can be done.
We must have complete and effective
publicity OF corporate affairs, so that
the people may know beyond perad-
venture whether the corporations obey
the law and whether their manage
ment entities them to the confidence
of the public. 1t is necessary that
laws should be passed to prohibit the
use Of corporate funds directly or in
directly for political purposes. It is
still more necessary that such laws
should be thoroughly enforced.
Corporate expenditures for political
purposes and especially such expendi-
lures by public service corporations
have supplied one of the principal
sources Of corruption in our political
affairs.
It has become entirely clear that
we must have government supervision
OF the capitalization not only OF pub
lie service corporations, including par
ticularly railways, but of all corpora
tons doing an interstate business. I
do not wish to see the nation forced
into ownership of the railways If 1t
can possibly be avoided, and the only
alternative is thoroughgoing and eff
fective regulation which shall be based
on a full knowledge of all the facts.
including a physical valuation OF the
property.
This physical valuation is not need
ed or at least is very rarely needed
for fixing rates, but it is needed as the
basis of honest capitalization.
We have come to recognize that fran
chiSes should never be granted except
for limited time and never without
proper provision for compensation to
the public. 1t is my personal belief
that the same kind and degree Of con-
troll and supervision which should be
exercised over public service corpora
lions should be extended also to COM
binatiOnS which control neceSSarieS of
life. such as meat, oil and coal. or
which deal in them on an important
scale.
1 believe that the officers and espe-
cially the directors of corporations
should be held personally responsible
when any corporation breaks the law.
Combinations IN industry are the re-
suit of an imperative economic law
which cannot be repealed by political
legislation. The effort at prohibiting
all combination has substantially fail