Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1912-02-23
WILL OF PEOPLE SHOULD Be COURT
OF LAST RESORT, SAYS ROOSEVELT
Ex-President Gives Views on Legislation in Address
Before Ohio Constitutional onvention-Favors
Strict Government Supervision Of big
Business'-0ther Recommendations.

we must pay equal attention to the
proper distribution of prosperity. This
is true. The only prosperity worth
having is that which affects the mass
of the people. hold it to be our
duty to see that the wage-worker, the
small producer, the ordinary consum-
er, shall get their fair share Of the
benefit of business prosperity. But it
either is or ought to be evident to
every one that business has to pros
per before anybody can get any bene-
fit from 1t. Therefore / hold that he
is the real progressive, that he is the
genuine champion of the people, who
endeavors to shape the policy alike Of
the nation md of the several states
so as to encourage legitimate and
honest business at the same time that
he wars against all crookedness and
injustice and unfairness and tyranny
in the business world (for Of course
we can only get business put on a
basis Of permanent prosperity when
the element Of injustice is taken out
of it,
Regulating Big Business.
What is needed Is, first, the recog-
milton that modern business conditions
have come to stay, in so far at least
as these conditions mean that business
must be done in larger units, and then
the cool-headed and resolnte deter
mination to introduce an effective
method of regulating big corporations
so AS to help legitimate business as an
incident to thoroughly and completely
safeguarding the interests of the peo-
pie as q whole.
1t is imperative to exercise over
big business control and SUI
pervision which is unnecessary as
regards small business. ALI busi-
ness must be conducted under
the law, and all business men, big or
little, must act justly. But a wicked
big interest is necessarily more dam
gerous to the community than a
wicked little interest big business"
in the past has been responsible for
much OF the special privilege which
must be unsparingly cut out of our
national life. / do not believe In max
ing mere size Of and by itself GRIMM
al. The mere fact of size, however,
does unquestionably carry the po-
tentiality Of such grave wrong-dcing
that there should be by law provision
made for the strict supervision and
regulation Of these great Industrial
concerns doing an Interstate business,
much as We now regulate the trans
portation agencies which are engaged
IL, ;nfa +ot1
law does good in SO far as 1t can be
invoked against combinations which
really are monopolles or which restrict
production or which artificially raise
prices. But in so far as it's workings
are uncertain, or as 1t threatens cor
porations which have been guilty of
anti-social conduct, it does harm
Moreover, it cannot by itself accom-
plish more than trifiing part of the
governmental regulation of big busi-
ness which is needed The nation and
| the states must cooperate in this mat-
| ter. Among the states that have en-
| tered this field Wisconsin has taken a
| leading place.
All business into which the element
of monopoly in any way or degree en-.
ters, 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
control should be exercised by admin
istrative, rather than by judicial, Off
GERS. No effort should be made to de-
stroy a big corporation merely be
] cause it is big, merely because it has
shown itself peculiarly efficient
business instrument. But we should
not fear, II necessary, to bring the
regulation of big corporations to the
point of controlling conditions so that
the wage-worker shall have wage
more than sufficient to cover the bare
cost of living, and hours of labor no,
so excessive as to wreck his strength
by the strain of unending toll and
leave him unfit to do his duty as Q
good citizen of the community.
We also maintain that the natioI
and the several states have the righ
to regulate the terms and conditions
of labor, which is the chief element o.
wealth, directly In the interest of the
common good You, trainers of this
constitution, be careful so to frame 4
that under it the people shall leave
themselves free to do whatever ii
necessary in order to help the farmers
of the state to get for themselves ant
their wives and children not only tn,
benefits of better farming but als'
those of better business methods AM
better conditions of life on the farm
Moreover, shape your constitutions
action so that the people will be abl
through their legislative bodies, OF
! falling that, by direct popular vote, t.