The weekly Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1911-1922, 1912-05-02

(From Roosevelt's Chicago Speech)
/ want to do full justice to the
big business man, but 1 also want to
do full justice to the small business
man, and the middle sized business
man. 1t should be the policy of
the government clearly to define
and punish wrongdoing-to give
in advance full information 10
every man just what he can and
what he cannot legally do. But
with the big business man, there Is
need for especial precautions which
are unnecessary as regards the
small business man. The people of
this country are not afraid of the
mere size of a business enterprise
provided it is honestly organized
and honestly managed. But they
feel that such size carries with it a
potentiality of wrongdoing that
makes it necessary that the nation
and if necessary the states shall
exercise over big business a control
and supervision, which are unneces-
sary as regards small business. 1t
is of the utmost consequence that
we shall get permanent business
prosperity, and it can only be per-
manent if it is on a safe basis, and
it can only be on safe basis If
there is effective governmental con-
troll of big business including the
issue and the sale of stocks and
bonds so as to prevent all such evils
as overcapitalization and the flag
rant abuse of power by exploiting
the business interests of the people
for the personal gain of the few.
Remember that "water" in stocks
means unjust taxation of innocent
people in order to get dividends. !
call this unjust taxation; it could be
called by a much harsher name did
| not wish to speak moderately; for
this unjust taxation, this extortion.
is practiced at the expense alike of
innocent stockholders and of the
great outside public of consumers.
1t is hard to over-estimate the
widely ramifying damage of this, as
of all other kind of business cor
ruption.
We Cannot Turn the Clock Back.
1t is useless to try to 60 back TO
the business conditions of sixty
years ago. In the first place it can
not be done, and in the second
place if it could be done it would
bring absolute ruin to the COM
munity.
Now / am not speaking as a mat
ter of theory, 1 am speaking in
view of what has actually happen
ed In connection with the utter fail
ure Of the suits against the Tobacco
Trust and the Standard Oil Trust
to accomplish a result Of real worth.
1t, is not my purpose at this time to
discuss the action Of the govern
ment in acquiescing in that decision
In its final form or to try to appor-
ton the responsibility for this
utter failure. The net result has
been that the Tobacco Trust and the
Standard Oil Trust materially in
creased the value of their stocks and
that there has been no diminution
of their power to control markets.
According to the press reports, the
market price of Standard Oil stock
has increased over two hundred mil
lions Of dollars from the time Of the
Supreme Court s decision, and the
price of oil has gone up during the
same period. In Wall Street [ am
informed that the only difference
noticeable is that SPECTATORS who
used to receive from their brokers
a single bit of paper representing
ownership of Oil stock now receive
an envelope containing twenty or
thirty bits of paper representing
nominally different certificates of
nominally different companies. In
my messages to Congress and In my
speeches while president, I again
and again pointed out that the anti.
trust law by itself, and without
such additional legislation as then