The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-03-15
NEED PLAIN LAWS
Il. r.. Writes Editorial on the
Conservation of Business.
Supplemental to His Speech
Delivered at Columbus, O.

New York, March 15.-Theodore
Roosevelt has an editorial article in
titled The Conservation of Business
Shall We Strange or Control 1t? 1t
Is in part as follows:
I'm my speech at Column bus [ tried
/ to develop two main lines of thought:
First-That the people must gov
ern themselves; that they have a
right to rule, and that we must OBJ
| tain social and industrial justice
ment; and, second, that our aim must
be to control business, not to strangle
1T. In business we must conserve
ideas, conserve efficiency, conserve
up-to-date methods just as we con
serve our forests, our streams, our
natural resources.
THE business question is strictly a
moral question, and the complying IN
technical manner with a technical
point of law so obscure that scarcely
any two men agree as to exactly Wnat
it means will never permanently sat
lsfy the people, for it corrects none OF
the immoral practices of which the
people complain.
I'VE are giving about rs per cent OF
our time to fighting among ourselves
about ourselves and only about rs per
merce and trade, while such for
midable competitor as Germany IS
doing exactly the reverse. The aver
age American business man is honest,
and is just as DESTROYS of obey1ng the
law is any one of his fellow citi-
zeus Yet when they come to make
necessary trade agreements are puz-
zled lest they may find they nave un,
Willingly transgressed the law. and
they are unable to find out in advance
what the law is.
This is all wrong. There should be
absolute clearneSs of the law. ana
IL Oy7% adY11iT n g
trative body to do for the world of in
dustriaI production what the interstate
commerce commission has done for
the industrial transportation
Control of Big Business.
There must be over big business
control and supervision by the nation
Cor if necessary, by the state) which
are unnecessary as regards small pusl-
ness. Our laws do not prevent over
capitalization or the fragrant abuse or
power in exploiting the business of the
people for the personal gain or Few
and yet they threaten vague disaster
not merely to dishonest, but to honest,
business men. There is urgent need
that they should be made both more
definite and more efficient. I do not
believe in making mere size OF and oy
itself criminal, but size does unques-
tionably carry the potentality of so
much grave wrongdoing that there
should, by law, be provision made for
the strict supervision and regulation of
those great concerns that do an inter- |
state business. 1t is idle to trust Such |
regulation merely to the efforts to pro- |
hibit all com binations, and thereby to !
restore the conditions of sixty years !
ago. Nor is it wise to trust only TO /
succession of lawsuits for removing i
the evils of monopoly and the like. In |
theory the ultra opponents of corpora |
lions have embarked on process of
strangling business. The effort has
been successful chiefly to the extent |
of alarming all business, and has not |
been successful as regards thoroughly |
and adequately controlling the very |
kinds of big business which 1t is most
urg entity necessary thus to control.
wall street was inclined to favor
control. being at that time alarmed as
to the workings Of the antitrust act
in view of the recent Standard Oil and
trust decisions. Obviously, |
however, Wall street has changed its
mind. 1t was prepared to support the |
policy of honesty and efficient control
rather than to see the ruin or both
bad and good business. But the rep
of the worst kinds of big |
business have now concluded that the
Standard Oil and Tobacco trusts were
not really hurt by the decisions, in
deed, that they were benefited. These
men care nothing for honest business
or for the welfare of the general bust
ness community if it conflicts with the
policy under which they hope to thrive |
better than under a policy of real con-
troll.
Platform Declaration. Il
1.-THE Republican party, in its platform
of four years ago in speaking of the II
Sherman law, declared as follows: Il
:" Experience has shown that it's effec-
tiveness can be strengthened and its real
object better attained by such amend
ments as will give to the federal govern
ment greater supervision and control over
and secure greater publicity in the man
agement of that class of corporations en-
gagged in interstate commerce having
anI n~&y nil TO fnnt N
lies II
However. no law was passed in ac-
cordance with this declaration. The suits
against the Standard oil trust and the
Tobacco trust were nominally successful.
For a moment Wall street was mucn
alarmed and turned to my proposal. Then
it plucl5ed up heart and inspired and en-
tered upon campaign of violent denun-
ciation of me.
What our people want is that the evils
Of big interests be eradicated and the ad
vantage, the benefits, preserved. I be-
ieve that our country is ripe today for a
straightforward, unflinching common
sense treatment of the trust question. OF
course its a big question But this eoun
ry does not mind tacking big questions.
Dur people realize that the trust problem
s a big hard problem, but they, the peO-
pie. have the hard common sense neces-
sary to solve it, Tt will not solve itself.
The people must solve IT. and they must
solve by thoroughgoing and efficient CON
rol Let our opponents of reactionary
habit make mistake. The people are
more voice in affairs indus
rial no less than in affairs political. Our
opponents believe the people can not bs
rusted. We believe that they can be.
Why?
Because they have been educated, and
because they are of the stuff that gives
good results under education. We believe
n real democracy for America because
We have a profound faith in the moral
mental and physical fiber of the avera ge
American man and the average American
woman; and we believe that they have
,een educated, in the true sense of the