The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-09-29


and Of promoting prosperity. dep~
recate vindictive feeling against rail
way corporations. against the ccmpet-
Ing parts OF trusts after they have
compiled with DEGREES OF courts dis
integrating them, against reasonable
the tariff, or against the solution Of
the monetary question, which appeals
tc an reasonable and experienced men
All IL Sans Boat.
We IN this country are ali in the
same boat. Speeches made In one part
of the country 10 arouse the people Of
that region against the enterprises or
business Of another are made by the
blindest men. Let there be prostra-
ton Of business In one large section
and that prostration will spread quick
ly TO ali the rest
What makes men happy? What fur
nishes shoes and clothes and good,
wholesome food to the family OF father
and mother and children but prosper
Gus times, in which labor Is In high
demand, wages are good, sales are
plenty, prices are normal, and every
BODY Is sharing in the general pros
perity?
In attempting to rid ourselves OF the
evils that were growing in business
go as TO put dangerous power into
the hands Of concentrated wealth, we
mad to do many things that savored
OF hostility to capital, at least to the
capltal which was engaged in those
Things that II was thought necessary
20 enact statutes to condemn. / am
no defender of those evils. On the
contrary. have been as strongly In
FAVOR or their suppression by statutes
made effective az anyone: but think
we have arrived at time when the
people themselves ought to acquire
sufficient perception into the operation
OK economic forces to realize that a
sectional prejudice leading to leRis-
lation against the interests of one
part OF the country win as certainly
rebound to the detriment of another
as night will follow day. We are in
the same boat. We are all tossed by
the same waves. Why, then, should we
allow a hostility toward parts OF the
country which is certain to work in
jury 10 all?
1t Is not progressive policy in any
true sense to be hostile to prosperity
OF any part OF the country. 1t is not
progressive to be against a railway
corporation because 1t is a railway
corporation. 1t IL progressive to take
measures by statutes which shall regu-
late railways and prevent their re-
CURING to evils OF which they have
been guilty In the past; but, assuming
them to be engaged in lawful bust
ness, II Is Of the highest interest that
We should secure TO them reasonable
rates, so that their shareholders may
have profit, and that we should not
enact legislation In a spirit of hostility
and think that merely because we
have hit railway corporation and
injured 1t we have done something for
the public good. Any other view Is
lacking in sanity, and Ii Is that spirit
Of unreasoning and unreasonable an
tagonism which political exigency
seems to develop and against which
the complaints of business men may
with propriety and good reason be
directed.
OF course. We are all anxious to
prevent the acquisition OF undue
profits by anybody, whether in the
form Of discriminating rates and re-
bates or by combination in restraint
OF trade, or by any other means which
is unlawful or improper; but we ought
not to allow our fear that something
Of that sort may happen to lead us on
to q general attitude Of enmity toward
the accumulation OF money by thrift
and foresight and to it's lawful invest
ments in great enterprise for reason
able profit.
The misfortune OF the situation I
perfectly realize. It is one OF the In
evitable consequences Of a deep-rooted
evil. You can not eradicate IL by
popular movement without the move
ment becoming so very strong as to
be carried for the time beyond the
nedian line OF common sense and into
extremittes Of unreasonableness.
We have reached a point where we
can call halt, not in the progress
sive movement to keep business from
these abuses, but where we can call
halt against appeals TO a spirit of
pure hostility TO prosperity on the
theory that one no can be prosperous
without being dishonest or violator
Of law in securing the profits OF his
business.
Put Shoulders Together.
Let us put our shoulders together
In movement to promote the bust
ness prosperity of the country by
frowning down those attacks that are
NhEHANCIGd not Dy real u@SlTG TO
eliminate abuses, but by a wish to
arouse In the people an unjust preju-
dice and take away from their clear
clear perception as to their real inter-
est In encouraging the investment of
capital in commencing it's thrifty,
wise, and lawful use to secure good
and reasonable profit, and to enjoy the
widespread influence of the prosperity
that business thus ENCOURAGED is
bound to shower upon the people at
large.
We must have investments from
which to secure a large wages fund,
which Is needed to support the wage
earners. We must inspire in the bust
ness men who control those invest
ments the confidence they they will
not be driven out OF business II rail-
roads are unjustly legislated against
by state legislation to the point where
they can not do a profitable business.
the injury is more direct to the wage
earners OF the railway than Ii Is 10
the shareholder, because the share
holders presumably are the people
who have some means of livelihood
than the dividends from the stock,
while the wage earners are entirely
dependent on q continuance OF condi-
tions which make the wages fund
large and supports the wage earner
and his family.
Let US reason together. Let us ba
charitable and kind. Let us not be 50
suspicious and ascribe corrupt mo-
tives TO everyone In the community