New-York tribune., 1912-02-13

MAS achieved and made OF peILl0it ~
acceptance by the whole peVpiT T,ybtrh
:hings for which it fought ana III "i''0''
[ followed Lincoln's leadership. ..ack
Men praise Lincoln to-day ana a'tSHn s"rN
he ReDublican party, altogetneL tUf Uf
,etful of the fact that In Lincoln ,,ai,y H.
.he man and the party were 80 nat
lnited In aim and accomplishlhen., r'',, -
the history of the one Is tae .ta history
the other. The truth is that the n.St n 49,
M the last fifty years, with one OF W. ~
executions. has been the history OF tne
pennbIican party The progress lnat
mas been made has been made py S tnS
Republican party in the leglsiatlte OH" !ba
executive power lntrusteu W - ~
people at large.
ProaressiVes Not Extremists
There are those who look upon the
present situation as one full or evil anu
corruption and as a tyranny OF conceL
trated wealth, and who in apparent ue-
spair at any ordinary remedy are seer
ing 10 pull down those things WhiSi W
have been regarded as the pillars oI nv tIlo
temple of freedom and represeIlla,IlE,o 'l,|l,
Government and to reconstruct our "iIoie
society, on some new principle, not def
nitelv formulated, and with no intelhgent
or Ineligible forecast OF the exact coz
stitutioual and statutory results 10 pe
attained. With the effort 10 make Iile
legislation and the decision OF courts de-
mend on the momentary passions OF
peopIe necessarily indifferently informed
as 10 the issues presented, and With
out the opportunity having been gwen
them for time and study and that de-
liberation that gives security ana com
mon sense to the government OF the
people, such extremists WoGia hgl ~
us into a condition which could Hhu Ho
parallel except in the French Revolu-
lion or in that bubbling anarchy thal
once characterized the South American
republics. Such extremists are not pro-
gressives: they are political emotional
lists or neurotics, who have lost that
sense of proportion, that clear ana
candid consideration of their own weak
nesses, as whole and that clear per-
ception of the necessity for checks upon
hasty popular action which made our
people who fought the Revolution ana
who drafted the federal Constitution
the greatest self-governing people that
the world ever knew.
The Constitution was framed 70 give
to all men equality of right before the
law and the equality Of opportunity that
such equality Of right before the law
was intended TO secure. A review OF the
history of this country with the muta-
tions in the personal fortunes of the IN
dividuals that have gone to make up
history of the world has there been such
equality of opportunity as in these
United States, and it has been secured
by unfolding as sacred the rlShts OF
individual liberty and the rights Of prl-
Vate property in the guarantees OF the
federal and state constitutions.
1t has been said, and it is common
platform expression, that it is well 10
prefer the man above the dollar. as "
the preservation of property rights had
some other purpose than the assistance
TO and the uplifting Of human rights
Il Private property was not established IN
1 order to crafty love of some material
wealth or capital 1t was established
as an instrumentality in the progress OF
n civilization and the uplifting of man. and
Il II is equality OF opportunity that prl-
1 Vate property promotes by assuring 10
| man the results Of his own labor thrlit
and self-restraint. when, therefore, the
demagogue mounts the platform ana an
nounces that he prefers the man above
the dollar he ought to be interrogated
as TO what he means thereby-whether
he is i'm favor of abolishing the right OF
the institution Of private property and
of taking away from the poor man the
opportunity to become wealthy by the
use of the abilities that God has given
him. the cultivation of the virtues with
which practice of self-restraint and the
exercise of moral courage will forufy
him.
Government Action Still Needed.
Now. I am far from saying that the
development of business, the discovery
of new and effective methods Of using
capital has not produced problems
which call for. additional action by the
government to prevent the abuses or
the concentration of wealth and the
combination of capital. Moreover in
order to tempt investment we have
doubtless in times past permitted the
state to pledge to individuals privilege
more permanent and of wider scope than
the public interest demanded, and we
have permitted the establishment Of cor
potations and the acquisition Of power
through the corrupting use Of money in
politics. so as at times TO give to a
few dangerous control In legislation
and government; but during the last ten
years much progress against such abuses
has been made in this regard. Statutes
have been passed, notably the antitrust
statute and the interstate commerce law
and its amendments, to restrain mis-
use of the privileges conferred by char
ter and, If need be, there is nothing in
the future of the country to prevent and
everything in the principles and history
of the Republican party TO forecast
progress in this direction. Indeed, the
only progress that has been made of
real character IN these respects has been
made by the legislation and execution
of those whom the Republican party has
put in power. In so far, therefore. as
progressive policy in politics means the
close regulation of state given privilege.
so as to secure its use for the benefit Of
the public and TO restrain its abuse for
the undue profit of the grantee of the
privilege, the Republican party is en-
titled TO be called truly progressive
It's statesmen drafted and passed the
anti trust law Of 1890, and its successive
administrations have gradually brought
that TO be a controlling force in the
proper limitations upon business COM
binations in this country 1t holds itself
in readiness TO facilitate business still
more by the adoption of a federal incor-
poration act. which on the one hand will
give security to legitimately used capt.
tai and on the other hand secure more
certain compliance with the limitations
OF law by the great combinations OF cap
ital in industrial production whose chief
business is IN Interstate commerce.
When the interstate commerce law
was a dead enactment upon the statute
books of the country and it's violation
was universal by all the railroads en-
gagged i'm traffic between the states the
Republican party passed the rebate bill,
the rate bill and finally in this admins
tration the comprehensive amendment of
1910 which has now brought the rail-
roads within the complete control Of the
Interstate Commerce Commission and
the courts.
Legislation for Workingmen.
In what respect does this interstate
commerce law. now need amendment? q?
l..