Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-09-29
1.-THE Reaction Of the Gov
eminent TO Business
Is Subject Of Speech al Wafer
loo, Ia, Thursday.
Announces That Trust Prosecutions
BY Government Will Continue.

| W dteftOO, LII, sept. LS.-GGeSluent
Taft today. in a speech defining THE
relation of the government to bust
mess, announced that the trust pros
Ieeutlons begun by the department OF
Justice at Washington would continue
despite the recent criticism that bus
liness was being made to suffer.
He served notice that the Big
business interests of the country
must be brought within the law. just
as the railroads have been. and de-
elined to admit that there exists any
discretion which would enable the at
| torney general To stay the hands OF
| the government.
| At the same time the President
Imade an earnest appeal for reason
able consideration of the railroads and
the big industrial corporations on the
ground that their reformation was
being brought about steadily and sat
fisiactory and that nothing WAS to be
gained by "Vindicative hostility"
| Mr.. Taft bitterly denounced those
politicians who seek To arouse the
prejadiees of the people and 10 ar
ray one section of the country against
ianother. Such utterances. he dec1ar-
ed to be those Of "Rl!ndest Of men"
| The trust prosecutions. Mr.. Taft
said. need not be long continued be-
cause he believed the business COM
munity was rapidly taking i'll the eff
| feet of the recent decisions Of the
supreme court and were preparing To
isquare themselves with the law.
| I'VE have reached the point. ne
| SAID, where We can call a halt: not
| in the progressive movement tn keep
/ business free from abuses, but where
We can call a halt against appeals to
| a spirit of pure hostility to prosperity
| on the theory that no one can be pros
| porous without being dishonest or q
violater OF the law" Here in Iowa the
home Of many of the PreogressiVes in
| Congress. President Taft declared:
| 1T is not progressive policy in any
| true sense, To he hostile to the pres
perity of any part OF the country.
1T is not progressive to be against
railway corporation because it is Il
| corporation
Mr. Taft repeatedly detained
against sectional prejudice and I'M
| reasonable denunciation of eorpor-
atoms by persons seeking political adj
yantages.
Why" he asked. should we allow
| the political fortunes Of any man, or
set Of men to mislead us into a hos
| tility toward parts of the country
which is certain to work injury to all :?
I'VE are all in the same boat: all
| tossed by the same waves. Let there
| be prostration of business in one
| large section and that prostration will
quickly spread to all the rest
| Let us not be suspicious and aseribe
corrupt motives to everyone in the
| community but our particular friends
and political associates. Let us have
legislation that helps. or an absence
| OF legislation If it be unnecessary.
Let us approve and praise the great
! business enterprise and genius that By
proper methods accumulates property
and puts it into productive industries
| that support thousands of woramen
| and furnishes profit to those whose
savings have gone into the shares and
| bonds of the enterprise"
Mr. Taft said he had heard from men
engaged in business the seyerest criticism
of the antitrust law. Their position, he
declared, could not be supported. They
seem to think he continued, that there
| ought not to be some measure making
legal the control of competition and linz
/ tied monopoly, some statute enacted
which shall establish line between those
| monopolies that are reasonable and those
that are not No such line is possible. and
| the supreme court has expressly SO de-
cided."
The President said he had seen argu-
ments based upon the attitude of for
eign governments in fondling and pro-
tecting monopolies. No such policy was
POSSIBLE in this country. he declared and
added that If competition was to disap-
pear, state socialism must come, because
the government might better control a
monopoly than a private company.
Mr.. Taft spoke in the public park here
1t had been raining hard all day and the
ground was soaking wet. a crowd of sev-
leral thousands listened intently to him
and applauded vigorously when he con
Icludcd.
The Presidents first day i'll Iowa was
one of large crowds all along the lint
from Council Bluffs 10 Waterloo. In most
of his speeches. Mr.. Taft dwelt upon the
tariff. He again promised TO recommend
reductions in the various schedules as
the Tariff Board reports upon them and
TO sign any bills based upon these re-
ports.
II want you TO know where I stand
said the President. IF you do not ap-
PROVE when YOU know where / stand
said the President, YOU know what K
do. and if you do approve you know What
TO do. In any event. | am content Il
abide your verdict
The President was welcomed to Iowa
by Governor Carroll, Senator Kenyon ant
a large delegation of Republicans. sena
tor cummins was not in the party.
FIGHT aRANDONE