The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-08-06

| expressed in their constitution, there
must be a reference to the people
of the public effect of such decisions
| under forms securing full delibera-
| ton" to the end that the people may
rectify this alleged defect in their con-
stitution by a popular vote having all
the force of a constitutional amend
: ment. Our purpose is not to impugn
the courts, but to emancipate them
from position whenever they stand
finally in the way of social justice. .
/. L am we'll aware that every up
holder of privilege, every hired agent
or beneficiary of the special interests,
including many well-meaning parlo-'
reformerS, will denounce all this as
Socialism or 'anarchy'-the same
terms they used in the past in de-
nouncing the movements to control
the railways and to control public
utilities. AS a matter of fact the
( propositions 1 make constitute neither
anarchy nor Socialism, but, on the
! contrary, corrective for Socialism
and an antidote to anarchy
Constructive Control of the Trusts.
| In addition to punishment for
wrong-doing by the trusts, the imper-
alive demand is effective and COM
| plete regulation. The views of Presi-
| dent Van Hise, of the University Of
! Wisconsin, in his scientific work on
trust regulation are in harmony with
| the program of the National Progress
SIVeS The present conditions of
/
factory" The reason for this is ex-
plaineL, in Mr.. RooseveIts opinion, by
the fact that those dealing with the
subject have attempted to divide into
two camps, each as unwiSe as the
other. One camp has fixed its atten-
ton only on the need for prosperity
- prosperity to the big men on TOP,
trusting to their mercy to let some
thing leak through to the mass Of
their countrymen below which, in
effect, means that there should be no
attempt to regulate the ferocious
scramble in which greed and cunning
reap the largest rewards" The other
camp has so fixed it's attention upon
the injustices of the distribution of
prosperity, "omitting all consideration
OF having something to distribute, and
advocates action which, it is true,
would abolish most of the inequalities
of the distribution of prosperity. by
only the unfortunately simple process
of abolishing the prosperity ITSELF
The tendency of those now in con-
troll of the Republican party is to give
special privileges to big business, -
sporadic lawsuits under the Antitrust
law. The tendency of the Democrats,
and to correct the evils of such a
course when they become crying, by
judged both by their record in con-
gress and by the Democratic plat
form, is to abolish all business of any
size or efficiency. on the ground that
all bigness is badness, ant Iittleness
and weakness a sign of virtue. What
is needed is action directly the re-
verse of that thus confusedly indi-
Gated" There should be applied to
all industrial concerns engaged in
Interstate commerce in which there
is either monopoly or control of the
market the principles already adopted
in regulating transportation concerns
engaged in such commerce. The |
antitrust law should be kept on the |
statute book to be invoked against |
every big concern tending to monopoly |
or guilty of anti-social practices. At |
the same time a National Industrial /
commission should be created which |
should have complete power to regu-
late and control all the great indus
trial concerns engaged in interstate
business which practically means all |
of them in this country. This com |
should exercise over these
Industrial concerns like powers to
those exercised over the railways by |
the Interstate Commerce commission
and over the National banks by the |
controller of the currency, and adj
ditional powers if found necessary"
The commission should have free
access to the books of each CORPORA
ton and power to find out exactly
now it treats its employees, its rivals
and the general public.
Any corporation voluntarily coming
under the commission should not be
prosecuted under the antitrust law as
long as 1t oDeys in good faith the or
ders of the commission. The COM
mission would be able to interpret in
to any honest man asking the
what he may do and
what he may not do in carrying on a
legitimate business. When corpora
tions not submitting themselves to the
regulation of the commission or clear
ly evading or violating its orders are
prosecuted under the antitrust law
and convicted, the commission should
cree of the court is put into effect
completely" Only in this way can
there be avoided "such gross scan
dals as those attendant upon the pres
ent administrations prosecution of the
Standard Oil and the Tobacco trusts
a prosecution which has merely re-
suited in increased prices to the pub
lie, injury to the small competitor, and
actual financial benefit to the trusts
tn emselves. 1.-The Progressive pro-
posal is definite, it is practicable. We
promise nothing that we cannot carry
out we promise nothing which will
honest business. Our
proposal is to help honest business &C
tivity however extensive, and to see
that it is rewarded with fair returns
SO that there may be no oppression
either of business men or the com
mon people. We propose to make it
worth while for our business men to
develop the most efficient business
3gencieS for use in international trade:
for it is to the interest of our whole
people that we should do well in in
-ernational business But we propose
to make those business agencies do
justice to our own people.
Where these concerns deal with the
Of life, the commission
should not shrink, if the necessity is
proved, from going to the extent OF
exercising regulatory control over the
conditions that create or determine
prices" "
1t is imperative to the welfare of {
our people that we enlarge and extend 1
Dur foreign commerce. We are pre- !
fitted to do this because as 8
4 people we have developed high skill !
n the art of manufacturing; our bus {
ness men are strong executives. strong