Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-10-23

upon the principle that. when great
public utilities were clothed with the
security Of partial monopoly, whether
1t be railways, power plants, telephones
or what not, then there must be the
fullest and most complete control of
rates services and finances by Gov
ernmsnt or local agencies. 1t declared
that these businesses must be conducted
with glass pockets.
"As to our great manufacturing and
distributing industries, the Republican
party insisted upon the enactment Of
laws that not only would maintain COM
petition but would destroy conspiracies
to destroy the smaller units or dominate
and limit the equality of opportunity
among our people.
Zone of the great problems of gov
eminent is to determine to what extent
the Government shall regulate and
control commerce and industry and how
much It shall leave 1t alone. No system
Is perfect. We have had many abuses
in the private conduct Of business. That
every good citizen reSents. 1t Is Just as
important that business keep out OF
government as that government keep
out of business.
Nor am I setting up the contention
that our institutions are perfect. No
human ideal is ever perfectly attained,
since humanity itself is not perfect.
THE wisdom OF Our forefatherS IN
their conception that progress can only
be attained as the sum Of the accom-
pHshment Of free individuals has been
reinforced By all of the great leaders OF
the country since that day. Jackson,
Lincoln. Cleveland. Mckinley, Roose-
welt, Wilson and Coolidge have stood
unalterably for these principles.
United States Land of Opportunity.
And what have been the results Of
our American system? Our country has
become the land Of opportunity to those
born without inheritance, not merely
because of the wealth of its resources
and industry but because of this free
dom of initiative and enterprise RUS
STA has natural resources equal to ours.
Her people are equally industrious, but
she has not had the blessings of $50
years of our form of government and
of our social system.
BY adherence to the principles OF
decentralized self-government ordered
liberty, equal opportunity and freedom
to the individual our American expert
ment In human welfare has yielded a
degree of wellbeing unparalleled In all
the world. It has come nearer to the
abolition of poverty, to the abolition Of
fear OF want, than humanity has ever
seven years Is the proof of it. This
alone furnishes the answer to our OPP
ponerts. who ask us to introduce de-.
structive elements into the system by
which this has been accomplished.
Let us see what this system has done
for us In our recent years OF dtncult
and trying reconstruction. and let us
then Solennly ask ourselves If We now
wish to abandon 1t.
Profits Made Since War.
"As a Nation we came out of the war
with great losses. We made no profits
from 1t. The apparent increases In
wages were at that time fictitious. We
were poorer as Nation when we
emerged from the war. Yet during
cred from these losses and increased
our national income by more than one
third, even II we discount the imitation
of the dollar. That there has been
wide diffusion of our gain in wealth
and income Is marked by a hundred
proofs.
Il know of no better test Of the i'm
proved conditions of the average family
than the combined increase In assets
Of life and industrial Insurance, build
ing and loan associations and savings
deposits. These are the savings banks
of the average man. These agencies |
alone have in seven years increased by
nearly 100 per cent to the gigantic sum
of more than $50. o00, 000, 900, or nearly
one-sixth of our whole national wealth
We have increased In home ownership
we have expanded the investments Of
the average man.
I'm addition to these evidences of
larger savings. our people are steadily
increasing their spending for higher
standards Of living. Today there arc
almost Q automobiles for each 10 fani-
lies, where seven and half years ago
only enough automobiles were running
TO average less than for each 10 farni- |
lies. The slogan Of progress is changing |
from the fun dinner pail to the full |
s.our people have raoss to eat Better