Perth Amboy evening news., 1912-02-21

mination 10 Introduce an enectiUs
method Of regulating biz corporations
80 as to hslp legitimate business az an
incident TO thoroughly and completely
safeguarding the interests Of the peo-
pie as q whole. We are a business
people. The tillers OF the soil, the
wage-workers, tho business men,
these are the three big and vitality Inn
portant divisions of our population.
The welfare of each division Ia vitality
necessary to the welfare Of the people
as q whole. The great mass of bust
ness Ia either small or OF moderate
size. The middle-sszsd business men
form an element of strength which is
OF literally in~caiculsbie vaius to the
nation. Taken as a class. ahcy are
among our best citizens. They have
not been seekers after enormous for
tunes: they have been moderately and
Justly prosperous, by q of dealing
fairly with their customers, competi-
tors, and employees. The average bus
iness man of this type is, as a rule, 8
leading citizen of HIS community, fore
most in everything that tells for Its
betterment, a man whom his neighbors
look up to and respect; he is In no
sense dangerous to his community.
Just because be is an integral part of
his community, bone of its bone and
flesh of it's flesh. His life fbers are
intertwined with the life fhers of his
fellow citizens. Yet nowadays many
men of this kind, when they come to
make necessary trade agreements
with n another, find themselves In
danger OF becoming unwitting trans
gressors Of the law, and are ut q loss
to know what the law forbids and
what 1t permits. This IL all wrong.
There should be q fixed governmental
policy, q policy which shall clearly de-
fine and punish wrong-doing, and shall
give In advance full information to any
man as to Just what he can and just
what he cannot Legally and properly
do.
Control Of nsIg Business"
So much for tbs small business mAn
and the mlddlessized business .
Now for big businsss. It IL imperAr
tive TO exercise cvsr biz business a
control and supervision which In un-
necessary as regards small business.
All business must be conducted nnass
the Law. and all bustnsss men, bis or
little, must act Justly. But q wicked
big interest II necessarily more dan.
gerous to tho community than
wicked littls interest. Biz b~ustnssss
In ths past has been responsible for
much Of the special privilege which
must be unsparingly out out Of our
national life. ! do not believe in max
ing size OF and By itsslf crimin-
al. The mere fact OF sixe, however.
does unquestionably carry the po-
tentiality Of such grave wrong-doing
that there should be by law provision
made for the strict supervision and
regulation of these great Industrial
concerns doing an Interstate business,
much as we now regulate the trans
portation agencies which are engaged
In Interstate business. The antitrust
law does good In so far az It can bs
invoked against combinations which
really are ~monopolies or which restrict
production or which artifcially raise
prices. But In go far as Its workings
are uncertain. or as 1t threatens cor
porations which have been guilty Of
anti<socaal conduct, Il does harm.
4AsNYracvsTr-neEnnc 6y itself aecofn-
plish more than a trlfiEg part of the
governmental regulation OF big busF
ness which is needed. The nation and
ths states must cooperate in this mat
ter. Among the states that have en-
tered this field Wisconsin has taken o
ieadlng place. Following Senator La
FoIlstte, q number of practical work
ers and thinkers In Wisconsin have
turned that state into an experiment.
al laboratory of Wise governmental 40
ton In aid OF social and Industrial Jus.
tee. Thsy have initiated sas xinas OF
progressive government which means
not merely the preservation Of true
democracy. but the extension of the
principle OF true democracy into in
dustrlalism as we'll as into politics.
One prime reason why the state has
been so successful IN this policy lies
in the fact that 1t has done justice to
corporations precisely as 1t has 4
acted justice from them. Not
only as a matter OF justice. but In our
own interest, we should scrupulonsiy
respect the rights OF honest and de-
cen business and should encourage 1t
where It's activities make. IA they
often do make, for thu eommen good.
1t Ia for the advantage OF all OF us
when business prospsrs. Our demand
is that big business give the people a
square deal and that the people give
q square deal to any man engaged In
big business who honestly endeavers
to do what Is right and proper.
On the other hand. any corporation,
big or little, which has gained It's po-
sition by unfair methods and by In
reference with the rights OF others.
which has raised prices or limited
output in improper fashion and been
guilty Of demoralizing and corrupt
practices. should not only be broken
up, but It should be made the bust
ness Of some competent governmental
body by constant supervision to see
that 1t does not come together again,
save under such strict control as TO
insure the community against all dam
ger OF o repetition of the bad conduct.
This chief trouble with big business
has arisen from the fact that big
business has SO often refused to abide