The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1912-02-29

that tells for fits betterment, man
whom his neighbors look up to and re-
spect. He is in no sense dangerous to
his community just because he is an in
tegral part of his community. bone OF It's
bone and flesh Of its aeSh. His life filters
are intertH.Eed With lie lie fibers of
his fellow Citizens. Yet move avs many
nol Of lbs l.lG1 Len theE come 70
make necessary traGe agreements with
one another find themselves in danger
of becoming unwilling trausgressors
of the law and are at loss to know
what the law forbids and what it per-
mits This is all wrong. There should
be fixed governmental policy, a policy
which shall clearly define and punish
wrongdoing 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. 1t is absurd
and wicked to treat the deliberate law
breaker as on an exact par with the
man eager to obey the law, whose only
desire is to find out from some compe-
tent governmental authority what the
law is and then live up to it. 1t is alb
surd to endeayor to regulate business
in the interest Of the public by means
of long drawn lawsuits without any
accompaniment Of administrative CON
troll and regulation and without any
attempt to discriminate between the
homes man Tho has succeeded in bust
ness because Of rendering q service to
the public end the dishonest man who
has succeeded in business by cheating
the public.
So much fer the small business man
and the middle sized business man.
Now for big business. 1t is imperative
to exercise over big business control
and supervision which are unnecessary
as regards small business. All bust
ness must be conducted under the law,
and ali business men, big or little, must
act justly. But a wicked big interest
is necessarily more dangerous to the
community than a wicked little inter
est big business" in the past has
been responsible for much of the spe-
cial privilege which must be unspar-
ingIy cut out Of our national life. |
do lot believe in making mere size Of
and by itself criminal The. mere fact
of size, however, does unquestionably
carry the Potentially of such grave
wrongdoing that there should be by
law provision made for the strict super
vision and regulation Of these great in
dustrial concerns doing an interstate
business, much as we now regulate the
transportation agencies which are en-
gagged in interstate business. The anti
trust law does good in so far as it can
be invoked against combinations which
really are monopolies or which restrict
production CT which artificially raise
prices. But in so far as its workings
are uncertain or as it threatens corpor-
ations which have not been guilty of
anti-social conduct it does harm. More
over, it cannot by itself accomplish
more than trif1ing part of the gov
ernmental regulation of big business
which is needed. The nation and the
states must cooperate in this matter.
Among the states that have entered
this field Wisconsin has taken a lead
/ ing place. Following Senator La Fol-
lette, a number of practical workers
and thinkers in Wisconsin have turned
that state into an experimental labora-
tory of wise governmental action in aid
| of social and industrial justice. They
have initiated the kind Of progressive
| government which means not merely
the preservation Of true democracy, but
the extension Of the principle of true
democracy into industrialism as well
as into politics. One prime reason why
| the state has been so successful in this
policy lies In the fact that it has done
justice to corporations precisely as 1t
has exacted justice from them.
This is precisely the attitude we
should take toward big business. 1t
/ Is the practical application Of the prin-
ciple of the square deal Not only as
q matter Of justice. but In our own
interest, we should serupulously re-
spect the rights ofshonest and decent
! business and should encourage 1t
where its activities make, as they often
do make, for the common good. In
other words, our demand Is that big
/ business give the people a square deal
and that the people give square deal
to any man engaged In big business
who honestly endeavors to do what is
! right and proper.
On the other hand, any corporation.
big or little, which has gained its pO-
sition by unfair methods and by inter
ference with the rights Of others.
which has raised prices or limited out
put in improper fashion and has been
guilty Of demoralizing and corrupt
practices, should not only be broken
up, but It should be made the business
Of some competent governmental body
by constant supervision to see that II
does not come together again, save un-
der such strict control as to insure the
community against all danger Of rep
etitien of the bad conduct.
/ Control Should Be Administrative.
/ An business into which the element
Of monopoly in any way or degree en-
tiers and where it proves In practice
impossible totally to eliminate this ele-
ment of monopoly should be carefully
supervised, regulated and controlled by
governmental authority, and such con
troll should be exercised by administra-