The Daily Missoulian., 1912-08-07

ana not by lawsuit. II should pro.
hibit and effActually punish monopol,
achieved through wrong, and also nc
tual wrongs done BY Industrial cor.
poratlons which are not monopolies
such as the artificial raising OF prices
the artificial restriction on productiv.
ity. the elimination Of competition by
UNFAIR or predatory practices, and the
Ike; leaving Industrial organixa tions
Irec within the limits OF fair
and honest dealings to pro-
mote through the inherent e.
ficiency Of organization the power
OF the United states as a competitive
nation among nations, and the great
er abundance at home that will come
| 10 our people from that power wisely
exercised. Any corporatio should not
DC prosecuted under the antitrust
law as long as Il obeys In good faith
the orders Of the commission. The
commission would be able to interpret
IN advance, to any honest man asking
the interpretation what he may do
and what he may not do In CARRYING
on legitimate business. Any corpora :
tion not coming under the commission
shou d be exposed to prosecution under
the antitrust law. and any corpora.
tion violating the orders OF the COM
mission should at once become exposed
to such prosecutions; and when such
prosecution IL successful, Il should
be the duty OF the commission to see
that the decree Of the court Is put into
effect completely and In good faith, 80
that the combination is absolutely
broken up. and Is not allowed to come
together again. nor the constituent
parts thereof permitted to do busi-
ness save under the conditions laid
down by the commission. The last
provision would prevent the repetition
or such gross scandals as those at .
tendant upon the present administra- :
tion's prosecution OF the standard OIL
and the tobacco trusts. The supreme
court Of the United States in con-
demning these two trusts to dissolu-
ton used language Of unsparing Sc :
verify concerning their action. But
the decree was carried out In such a
manner as to turn into farce this
bitter condemnation of the criminals
by the highest court In the country.
Not one particle of benefit to the
community at large was gained on
the contrary the prices went up 10
consumers. independent competitors
were placed In greater Jeopardy than
ever before, and the possessions Of the
Wrongdoers greatly appreciated In val
ue. There never was d more fragrant
travesty OF justice, never an instance
IN which wealthy Wrongdoers bene-
fitted more conspicuously by law
which was supposed to be aimed at
them. and WHICH undoubted y would
nave brought about severe punishment
OF less wealthy wrongdoers.
The progressive proposal IL definite
Il Is practicable. We promise nothing
that we cannot carry out We prom
ise nothing which will j.opardize hon
est business. We promise adequate
control OF all big business and the
stern suppression Of the evils con-
nected with big business. and this
promise we can absolutely keep. Our
proposal Is to help honest business
activity. however extensive. and to see
that It is rewarded with fair returns
SO that there may be no oppression
either OF business men or of the COM
mon people. We propose to make 1t
worth whole for our business men to
develop the most efficient business
agencies for use In international
trade: for 1t Is to the interest of our
whole people that we should do well
In international business. But We pro-
pose to make those business agencies
do complete Justice to our own peo-
pie. Every dishonest business man
''''' DaNiST eltueT tHc
program of the republican convention
or the program of the democratic con-
vention to our proposal. because
neither OF these programs means or
can mean what II .purports to mean.
But every honest business man. big or
little, should support the progressive
program. and II is the one and only
program which offers real hope to all
our people: for 1t Is the one program
under which the government can be
used with real efficiency to see Justice
done by the big corporation alike to
the wage-earners II employs, to the
small rivals with whom 1t completes,
to the consumers who chase Its se-
curities, and to the CONSUMERS who
purchase Its products, or to the gem
eral public which II ought to serve,
as we'll as to the business man him.
self
We favor cooperation In business,
and ask only that II be carried on In
a spirit OF honesty and fairness. We
are against crooked business big or
little: we are In favor o. honest busi-
ness. big or little. We propose to
penalize conduct and not size. But |
all very big business, even though |
honestly conducted. is fraught with |
such potentiality of menace that there |
should be thoroughgoing governmental |
control over 1t. SO that Its efficiency |
In promoting prosperity at home and |
the power OF the nation In |
commerce may be main
tained. and at the same time fair play
Insured to the wage workers. the small |
business competitors the Investors. and
the general public. Wherever II Is
practicable. We propose to preserve
but where under mod
ern conditions competition has been
eliminated and cannot be successfully
then the government must
step In and itself supply the needed
on behalf of the people as a
whole.
1t is imperative to the welfare OF our
people that we enlarge and extend our
foreign commerce. We are pre- emil
nently fitted to do this because az
people we have developed high skill
In the art of manufacturing: our busi-
ness men are strong executives. strong
organizers. In every possible way
federal government should cooperate
IN this important matter. Anyone who
las Mad opportunity to study and OBJ
,erve first-h Germany's course In
his respect must realize that their
policy of cooperation between gov
,rnment and business has In compar-
ltively few years made thom leading
,ofn nofifOr fOr tho cOm m areo of tho