Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-05-09
WILSON TALKS
ON THE TARIFF
All Privilege and Patronage
to be Cut Out.

Denver, Colo, May Ex-Governor
Woodrow Wilson Of New Jersey was
the principal speaker at the banquet
of the chamber of commerce here. He
said In part:
The country is to be congratulated
upon the fact that the atmosphere OF
politics has changed within the last
few years, for a few years ago there
was danger that reform would be
the source of continual uneasiness,
because 1t all seemed negative in
character. Its object was to correct,
to restrain, to punish. The talk was
of marauding corporations and great
combinations of wealth intended to
crush the common man; of the abuse
of their power by railroads. of re-
bates and secret rates and privi-
leges given to the big shipper as
against the small one; of the mo-
nopolizing of the markets by gigan-
tic trusts and combinations. These
things still trouble us, of course,
and are still in the background of a
great deal that we talk about, and
our motive In a great deal that we
do Is still to correct the abuses which
have arisen by these means, but hap
PLY the whole program of reform
has become less negative and more
constructive. 1t is becoming evident
that we shall not be satisfied with
merely prohibitive statutes and pen
alties imposed upon those who do
not sufficiently regard the public In
terest in the conduct Of their bust
ness. We see that what we are real
ly after is a reconstruction of our
methods of action, not only in the
field Of business, but also in the field
of politics. The picture is very much
enlarged before us, and we T seek
ing larger ends by invigoratlng con-
structive means.
A great people cannot afford to
be merely on the defensive. 1t is not
the gents of America to be satisfied
with safeguards and prohibitions.
We are therefore looking ourselves
over from top to bottom in order to
find what Encouragement of u stat
utes and practices is necessary in
order that we may go forward in a
happy and effective life. We are 60
ing about now to enact a thorough
program of popular reform, and we
know very definitely the object at
which we intend to aim.
In the first place, we mean to open
up all the processes of our politics.
We find that they have been too Sc
cret, to complicated, too round
about; that they have consisted too
much of private conferences and Sc
cret understandings, of the control
- lan{r1o44Nn Nv -oo- -.I@ ~
legislators, but stood outside and die
tated, controlling oftentimes by very
questionable means, which they
would not have dreamed of
allowing to become pub
lie, and so we have de-
termined that the whole process must
be altered-that we must take the
selection of candidates for Office, for
example, out of the hands Of small
groups of men, of little coteries, out
of the hands Of machines working
behind closed doors, and put it in the
hands Of the people themselves again
by means of direct primaries and
elections to which candidates of
every sort and degree may have free
access. We have begun to build up
which TO subetitutc
pubic f6T private machinery.
We have determined, In the second
place, to give society command of
It's W economic life again by de-
nying to those who conduct the great
modern operations of business the
privacy and independence that used
to belong properly enough to men
who used only their own capital and
their individual energy In business.
We have set out to make the pro-
cesses Of capital as open as the pro-
cesses Of politics. We are now GO
ing forward upon the principle that
those who make use of the great
modern accumulation of wealth,
gathered together by the dragnet
process of the sale Of stocks and
bonds, shall be treated as public
trustees; that they shall be made re-
sponsible for their business methods
to the great communities, which are.
in fact, their working partners: that
the hand which makes correction
shall easily reach them, and that a
new principle of responsibility NAV
be felt throughout their structure
and operation.
In the third place, we have deter
mined to safeguard our national re-
sources at every point. realizine &C