The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1914-07-02

Eedcn TO control lneSe corporations,
So they are forced into the absurd Pc.
sition of proposing to destroy all bust.
ness power. They cannot, under their
theories of government control bust,
less. Therefore, their sole alterna.
tive is to destroy it. They are alb
solutely blind to the facts OF history
Unlimited competition has proved
one of the greatest curses of modern
civilization. II was unlimited com.
petition which created the great
trusts, exactly as it created the
sweat-shop and Is chiefly responsible
for child labor. The New Freedom
is merely the exceedingly old freedom
which permits each man to cut his
neighbours throat.
The Progressives are of the TWEEN,
tieth century. They face the facts
Of today. They are not afraid of pow
or, either in business or in Govern.
ment. Their program will allow bust
ness concentration in so far as such
concentration gives social and econo-
mic efficiency and good service. But
it will also give the Government full
power to see that business concentra-
ton does serve these necessary ends,
and that it is not used for unfair COM
petition or for monopoly, or for the un-
fair treatment of labor or for any 9TH
er anti-social end.
This is the only tenable position on
the trust problem, for it faces the
facts, and does not try to turn back
the hands OF the clock. By long and
disappointing experience we have had
several cardinal facts hammered into
US.
FIRST: We cannot and do not want
to destroy all corporations; we must
have large units to do our work.
SECOND: We cannot make every
man compete with every other man;
we cannot go back to 1850, still less
to 1850.
THIRD: We cannot destroy mono
poly by attacking all forms of cOncen-
tration whether monopolistic or not.
FOURTH; We cannot destroy real
monopoly by attacking it's legal form.
We must find out and take away the
real >economic basis of monopoly,
which is a very different thing.
FIFTH: We can get no effective
results through the courts, with their
slow and restricted procedure.
SIXTH: We must encourage hon
est business, and allow that business
concentration which will give the pow
err necessary to serve us. This policy
of the encouragement of decent bust
ness is as important to the welfare
of our people as is our other policy
Of effective warfare against corrupt
and unfair business.
SEVENTH: There must be coop
Grafton among business men, among
wage-workers and among farmers.
Our program recognizes the facts
OF today. We must have business
power to do our work. We Progress
sives are not afraid Of power. We
know that power can be controlled to
good ends and is necessary for great
ends. We know this is true in bust
ness, as in government, and that no
other position is possible for the mod
ern state.
We cannot control our great Nation
al businesses without power, National
power. But the Democrats dare not
use power themselves, or let anyone
else have it. Their trust program, as it
stands today, is made futile by this
fear.
The real business problem Is the
question of that great mass of corpora
lions. which are neither monopOlies on
the one hand, nor individual business
es on the other. Here is the truth
that so many overlook. If we view the
whole area of cur business, we find at
one end, covering small section, a
part of our business which is still |
small and individual. We find at the |
other end and also covering a small |
section, certain great businesses which |
are substantially monopolistic. But, in !
between these two extremes, and COW
ering by far the largest area of our
total business, is a mass Of corpora
tons, having a greater or less degree
of business concentration, but not
Individual, on the one hand, nor in
any sense monopolistic on the other.
We have had now twenty-four years.
experience with trying to regulate
business by destruction. The result
has been nearly flat failure. The ad.
ministration proposes policy Of fur
Their destruction, even more unlntel-
ligent in conception, and certain to be
more futile in performance, than the
existing policy which it amends.
The only alternative is the Progress
sive plan, which is sane, effective and
fair. We propose to provide strong
Commission, getting prompt action by
direct administrative process; with
power in that Commission to attack
directly all unfair and oppressive forms
Of competition; power in that Com
find out what is the real business cor
nerstone of its monopoly, and then
bring the full strength of the Govern
ment directly against it. We propose {
to do away with all unfair practices i
by big business or little business.
We propose heartily to encourage hon
est business, and, to give full scope
to efficiency, provided the efficiency is
used for the benefit and not to the de-
.riment of the people as whole.
From all of this 1t follows that we
nave "a right to ask good citizens,
men to whom the honor Of America
n international matters, and the we'll
are Of all of us within our own boun-
laries, are dear, to join against the {
ant int two tof,