The Montanian and Chronicle (Choteau, Mont.) 1901-1903, December 05, 1902, Image 5

SUPPLEM ENT TO THE CHOTEAU MONTANIAN AND CHRONICLE PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT’S MESSAGE _ _____ N Delivered to the Fifty-Seventh Congress of the United States at the Beginning of Its Final Session. To the Senate and House of Repre­ sentatives: W e still continue in a period of un­ bounded prosperity. This prosperity is not the creature of law, b u t undoubt­ edly the laws under which we work have been instrum e n tal in creating the conditions which made It possible, and by unwise legislation It would be easy enough to destroy It. There will un­ doubtedly be periods of depression. The wave will recede; but the tide will advance. This nation Is seated on a continent flanked by two great oceans. I t is composed of men the descendants of pioneers, or, in a sense, pioneers themselves; of men winnowed out from am ong the nations of the old world by the energy, boldness, and love of adventure found in their own eager hearts. Such a nation, so placed, will surely w rest success from for­ tune. As a people we have played a large p a r t in the world, and we are bent up­ on m a k ing our future even larger than the past. In particular the events of the last four years have definitely decided that, for woe or for weal, our place m u st be great am ong the na­ tions. We m a y either fail greatly or succeed greatly; but we can not avoid the endeavor from which eltner great failure or great success m u st come. Even If we would, we can not play a small part. If we should try, all that would follow would be th a t we should play a large part ignobly and sham e ­ fully. B u t our people, the sons of the men of the civil war, the sons of the men who had iron in their blood, rejoice in the present and face the future high of heart and resolute of will. Ours Is not the creed of the w eakling and the coward: ours is the gospel of hope and of trium p h a n t endeavor. W e do not shrink from the struggle before us. There are m any problems for us to face at the outset of the tw entieth century—grave problems abroad and still graver a t home; but we know that we can solve them and solve them well, provided only th a t we bring to the solution the qualities of head and . h e a r t which were shown by the men who, In the days of W ashington, founded this governm ent, and, in the days of Lincoln, preserved It. No country has ever occupied a higher plane of m a terial well-being than ours a t the present moment. This well-being is due to no sudden or ac­ cidental causes, but to the play of the e<onomlc forces In this country for over a century; to our laws, our sus­ tained and continuous policies; above all, to the high individual average of our citizenship. G reat fortunes have been won by those who have taken the lead in this phenom e­ nal industrial development, and most of these fortunes have been won not by doing evil, but as an incident to action which has benefited the com m unlty as a whole. Never before has m aterial well-being been so widely diffused am ong our people. G reat for­ tunes have been accum u lated, and yet In the aggregate these fortunes are sm all indeed when com pared to the wealth of the people as a whole. The plain people are better off than they have ever been before. The insurance companies, which are practically m u ­ tual benefit societies—especially help ful to men of m o d erate m eans—rep­ resent accum u lations of capital which are among the largest in this country. There are more deposits In the savings banks, more owners of larm s, more well-paid wage-workers in this coun­ try now than ever before in our his­ tory. Of course, when the conditions have favored the grow th of so much th a t was good, they have also favor­ ed somewhat the growth of w h a t was evil. It is em inently necessary th a t we should endeavor to cut out this evil, but let us keep a due sense of proportion; let us not In fixing our gaze upon the lesser evil forget the greater good. The evils are real and some of them are menacing, but they are the out-grow th, not of m isery or decadence, but of prosperity—of the progress of our gigantic industrial de­ velopment. This Industrial develop­ m ent m u st not be checked, but side by side with it should go such pro­ gressive regulation as will diminish the evils. We should fail In our duty if we did not try to remedy the evils, but we shall succeed only If we pro­ ceed patiently, w ith practical common sense as well as resolution, separating the good from the bad and holding on to the form er while endeavoring to get rid of the latter. TRUSTS AND TARIFF Combinations of Capital Should Be Regulated by Law tariff makes m a n u factures profitable, and the tariff remedy proposed would be in effect simply td m ake m a n u ­ factures unprofitable. To remove the tariff as a punitive m easure directed against tru s ts would inevitably result In ruin to the w eaker com petitors who are strugllng against them. Our aim should be not by unwise ta r if f changes to give foreign products the advantage over domestic products, but by proper regulation to give domestic com p eti­ tion a fair chance; and this end can not be reached by any tariff changes which would affect unfavorably all do­ m estic com petitors, good and bad alike. The question of regulation of the tru s ts stands ap a r t from the question of tariff revision. Stability of economic policy m u st al­ w ays be the prime economic need of this country. This stability should not be foS8lllzation. The country has ac­ quiesced In the wisdom of the protec­ tive-tariff principle. It Is exceedingly undesirable th a t this system should be destroyed or th a t there should be violent and radical changes therein. Our past experience shows th a t great prosperity In this country lias alw a y s come under a protective tariff; and th a t the country can not prosper un­ der fitful tariff changes a t short in­ tervals. Moreover, if the tariff laws as a whole work well, and If business has prospered under them and Is prosper­ ing, it is better to endure for a time slight Inconveniences and Inequalities in some schedules than to upset busi­ ness by too quick and too rudical changes. It is most earnestly to be wished th a t we could treat the tariff from the standpoint solely of our bus­ iness needs. It is, perhaps, too much to hope th a t partisanship m ay be en­ tirely excluded from consideration of the subject, but a t leant It can be made secondary to the business in In my message to the present con­ gress ut its first session I discussed at length the question of the regulation of those big corporations commonly doing an interstate business, often w ith some tendency to monopoly, which are popularly known as trusts. The experience of^the past year has emphasized, in my opinion, the desir­ ability of the steps I then proposed. A fundam e n tal requisite of social ef­ ficiency Is a high standard of individ­ ual energy and excellence; but this is in no wise Inconsistent with power to ac t in combination for alm s which can not so well be achieved by the indi­ vidual acting alone. A fundam ental base of civilization is the inviolability of property: but this is In no wise n- consistent with the right of society to regulate the exercise of the artificial powers which it confers upon the own­ ers of property, under the nam e of Corporate franchises. In such a way as to prevent the misuse of these pow­ ers. Corporations, and especially combi­ nations of corporations, should be managed under public regulation. Ex­ perience has shown th a t under our system of governm ent the necessary supervision can not be obtained by state action. It m u st therefore be achieved by national action. Our aim Is not to do aw ay with corporations; on th e contrary, these big aggregations are an Inevitable development of mod­ ern industrialism , and the effort to de­ stroy them would be futile unless ac­ complished In ways th a t would work the utm o st mischief to the entire body politic. We can do nothing of good In the way of regulating and supervising these corporations until we fix clearly in our minds that wc are niot attacking the corporations, but endeavoring to do aw a y with any evil in them. W e are not hostile to them; we are m erely determined th a t they shall be so handled as to subserve the public good. We draw the line against misconduct, not against wealth. The capitalist who, alone or in conjunction w ith his fellows, perform s some great Industrial feat by which he wins mon­ ey is a welldoer, not a wrongdoer, pro­ vided only he works in proper a n d legi­ tim ate lines. Wc- wish to favor such a m an when he does well. We wish to supervise and control his actions only to prevent him from doing III. Publi­ city can do'no harm to the honest cor­ poration; and we need not be over- tender about sparing the dishonest corporation. In curbing and regulating the com­ binations of capital which are or may become Injurious to the public wo m u s t be careful not to stop the great enterprises which h a v e . legitim ately reduced the cost of production, not to abandon the place which our country has won in the leadership of the in­ ternational industrial world, not to strike down wealth with the result of closing factories and mines, of tu r n ­ ing the wage-worker Idle In the streets and leaving the farm e r w ithout a m a rket for what he grows. Insistence upon the impossible m eans delay in achieving the possible, exactly as, on the other hand, the stubborn defense alike of w h a t Is good and w h a t is had in the existing system, the resolute effort to obstruct any attem p t a t bet­ term ent, betrays blindness to the his­ toric tru th th a t wise evolution is the su r e safeguard against revolution. No more im p o rtant subject can come before the congress than this of the regulation of Interstate business. This country can not afford to sit su ­ pine on the plea th a t under our pecu- ' liar system of governm ent we are helpless in the presence of the new conditions, and unable to grapple with them or to cut out w h atever of evil has arisen in connection with them. The power of the congress to regulate Interstate commerce is an absolute and unqualified grJiut, and without | lim itations other than those pre-| suribed by the constitution. The congress has constitutional au ­ thority to make all laws necessary and proper for exectuing this power, and t am satisfied th a t this power hits not been exhausted by any legislation now on the sta tu te books. It Is evi­ dent, therefore. th a t evils re­ strictive of commercial freedom and entailing restraint upon national commerce fall within the regulative power of the congress, and th a t a wise and reasonable law would be a neces­ sary and proper exercise of congress­ ional authority to the end th a t such evils should be eradicated. 1 believe th a t monopolies, unjust discriminations, which prevent or cripple competition, fraudulent over- capitalization, and other evils in tru s t organizations and practices which in­ juriously affect interstate trade can be prevented under the power of con­ gress to ‘‘regulate commerce with foreign nations and am ong the several states\ through regulations and re­ quirem ents operating directly upon such commerce, the Instrum entalities thereof, and those engaged therein. I earnestly recommend this subject to the consideration of the congress with a view to the passage of a law reasonable in Its provisions and effec­ tive In its operations, upon whieli the questions can be finally adjudicated tlm t now raise doubts as to the neces­ sity of constitutional am endment. If it prove impossible to accomplish the purposes above set forth by such a law, then, assuredly, we should not shrink from am ending the constitution so as to secure beyond peradventure the power sought. The congress has not heretofore made any appropriation for the better enforcement of the a n t i- tr u s t law as It now stands. Very much has been done by the departm e n t of justice In securing the enforcem ent of this law, but much more could be done if con­ gress would m ake a special appropri­ ation for this purpose, to be expended under the direction of the attorney general. ftein n v n i o f TnrlfT. One proposition advocated has been the reduction of the tariff as a m eans of reaching the evils of the tru s ts which fall w ithin the category I have described. Not m erely would this, be wholly Ineffective, but the diversion of our efforts in such a direction would mean the abandonm e n t of all intelli­ gent attem p t to do aw a y with these evils. M any of the largest corporations, m any of those which should certainly be included in a n y proper scheme of regulation, would not be affected In the slightest degree by a change in the tariff, save as such change Interfered with the general prosperity of the country. The only relation of the tariff to big corporations as a whole Is th a t the interests of our people as a whole. Unquestionably these business inter­ ests will best be served If together with fixity of principle as regards the tariff we combine a system which will perm it us from tim e to tim e to muke the necessary reapplication of the prin­ ciple to the shifting national needs. We m u st take scrupulous care th a t the reapplication shall be m ade in such a way th a t it will not am o u n t to a dislocation of our system, the mere tht dislocation of our system, the threat of which (not to speak of the perfor­ mance) would produce paralysis In the business energies of the commu­ nity. The first consideration in m aking these changes would, of course, be to preserve the principle which under­ lies our whole tariff system th a t Is, the principle of putting American business , interests a t least on a full equality with interests abroud, and of alw a y s allow ­ ing a sufficient rate of duty to more than cover the difference between the labor cost here and abroad. The well­ being of the wage-worker, like the well-being of the tiller of the soil, hsould be trented as an essential in shaping our whole economic policy. There m u st never be any change which will Jeopardize the standard of comfort, the standard of wuges of the American wage-worker. Itveilirocllly Treaties. One w ay in which the readjustm e n t sought can be reached Is by recipro­ city treaties. It is greatly to be de­ sired th a t such treaties m ay be adopt­ ed. They can be used to widen our m a rkets and to give a greuter field for the activities of our producers on the one hand, and on the other hand to secure in practical shape the lowering of duties when they are no longer needed for protection am o n g our own people, or when the m inimum of dam ­ age done m ay be disregarded for the sake of the m axim u m of good accom­ plished. If It prove impossible to ra t i ­ fy the pending treaties, and If there seem to be no w a r ran t for the endeav­ or to execute others, or to am end the pending treaties so th a t they can be ratified, then the sutne end—to secure reciprocity—should be mot by direct legislation. W h erever the tariff conditions are such th a t a* needed change can not w ith advantage be made by the ap plication of the reciprocity Idea, then it can he made outright by a lowering of duties on a given product. If pos­ sible, such change should ho m ade only after the fullest consideration by practical experts, who should ap proach the subject from a business standpoint, having in view both the particular Interests affected and the commercial well-being of the people as a whole. The m achinery for provld vidlng such careful investigation can readily he supplied. The executive de­ partm e n t has already at Its disposal m ethods of collecting facts and fig­ ures; and If the congress desires addi­ tional consideration to th a t which will religious anim o sity. We can get good governm ent only upon condition that wc keep tru e to the principles upon which this nation was founded, and judge each m an not as a part of a class but upon his Individual merits. All th a t We have u right to ask of 'any man, rich or poor, w h a te v e r his creed, his oecuption. Ills birthplace, or his residence, Is th a t he shall act well and honorably by bis neighbor and by bis country. W e are neither for the rich man as such nor for the poor man as such; we are for the upright m an rich or poor. So far as the constitutional powers of the national governm ent touch >nrse m a tters of general nnd vl- <nt moment to the nation, they should bo exercised In conformity with the prliic!p‘‘ above set forth. SECRETARY OF COMMERCE terests of the country—th a t Is, to the he given the subject by Its own com- m ittes. then a commission of business experts can be appointed whose duty It should bo to recommend action by the congress after a deliberate and scientific exam ination of the various schedules us they are affected by the changed and changing conditions. The unhurried and unbiased report of this commission would show w h a t changes should be made in the various schcd- u ’es, and how far these changes could go w ithout also changing the greut prosperity which this country is now enjoying, or upsetting Us fixed econo­ mic policy. The cases in which the tariff can produce a monopoly are so few as to constitute an Inconsiderable factor In the question; but of course if in any case it be found that a Riven rate of duty does promote a monopoly which works 111, no protectionist would ob­ ject to such reduction of the duty as would equalize competition. In my Judgment, the tariff on a n ­ thracite should be removed and un- thraclte put actually, where it now is nominally, on the free list. This would have no effect at all save In crises; but in crises It m ight be of service to the people. It Is earnestly hoped th a t a secretary cf commerce may he created, with a seat In the cabinet. The rapid m u lti­ plication of questions affecting labor and capital, the growth and complex­ ity of the organizations through which both labor and capital now find ex­ pression, the steady tendency toward the employment of capital In huge cor­ porations, and the wonderful strides of tills country toward leadership in the international business world ju s ti­ fy an urgent demand for the creation of such a position. Substantially all the leading commercial bodies In this country have united In requesting its creation. It is desirable that some such m easure as th a t which has already passed ilie senate he enacted Into law. The creation of such a departm e n t would In itself be an advance tow ard dealing with and exercising super­ vision over the whole subject of the great corporations doing an interstate business: and with thia end in view, the congress should endow the de­ partm e n t with large powers, which cculd be Increased as experience m ight show the need. TREATY W ITH CUBA Island Is Part of Our International. Political System. I hope soon to subm it to the senate u reciprocity .treaty w ith Cuba. On May 20 l a n ;ho United States kept Us promise to the island by formally v«i- cnt'ng Cuban soli and turning Cuba over to those whom her own people had chosen as the first officials of the new republic. Cuba lies at our doors, and w h a t­ ever affects her for good or for ill a f ­ fects us also. So much have our peo­ ple felt this that in the I'latt am e n d ­ m ent we definitely took the ground tlm t Cuba m u st hereafter have clos­ er political relations w ith us than w i n any other power. Thus In a sense Cuba has become a part o f our inter­ national political system . This makes it necessary that In return she should be given some of the benefits of be­ coming part of our economic system. It is, from our own standpoint, a short­ sighted nnd mischievous policy to fall In recognize this need. Moreover, It hi unw o rthy of a m ighty and generous nation, Itself the greatest nnd most successful republic In history, to re­ fuse to stretch out a helping hand to i young and weak sister republic just entering upon its career of Independ­ ence. W e should always fearlessly In­ sist upon our rights in the face of the strong, nnd we should with ungrudg­ ing hand do our generous duty by the weak. I urge the adoption of reci­ procity with Cuba not only because It Is em inently for our o\^n interests tc control the Cuban m a rket nnd by every means to foster our suprem a cy in the tropical lands and w a te rs south of us, but ulso because we. or the giant republic of the north, should make all our sister nations of the American continent feel that whenever they will perm it It wc desire to show ourselves disinterestedly nnd effect­ ively their friend. T h e Kinherii-M T r e a t y . A convention with G reat Britain has I ecu concluded, which will be a t once laid before the senate for ratification, providing for reciprocal trade arrange­ m ents between the United States and Newfoundlail on substantially the lines of the convention formerly ne­ gotiated by the secretary of state, Mr. Blaine. I believe reciprocal trade rela­ tions will be greatly to the advantage of both countries. ARBITRATION RECOMMENDED OUR MONETARY SYSTEM Element of Elasticity Is Needed in Our Currency. Interest rates are a potent factor in business activity, and in order that these rates may be equalized to meet the varying needs of the seasons and of widely separated communities, and to prevent the recurrence of financial stringencies which injuriously affect legitim ate business. It is necessary th a t there should be an elem ent of elasticity In our m o n etary system. B a n k s arc the natural servants of commerce, and upon them should be placed, as fa r as practicable, the bur­ den of furnishing and m a intaining a circulation adequate to supply the needs of our diversified Industries and of our domestic and foreign com­ merce; nnd the issue of this should be so regulated th a t a sufficient supply should be alw a y s available for the business Interests of the country. It would be both unwise and un­ necessary a t this time to attem p t to reconstruct our financial system. which has been the growth of a cen­ tury: b u t some additional legislation is, I think,desirable. The mere o u tline of any plan sufficiently comprehensive to meet these requirem e n ts would tran s ­ gress the appropriate lim its of this communication. It Is suggested, how­ ever, th a t all future legislation on the subject should be with the view of encouraging the use *>£ such intrum e n - talities as will autom a tically supply every legitim ate dem and of productive industries and of commerce, not only In the am o u n t, but in the character of circulation; and of m a k ing all kinds of money interchangeable, and, a t the will of the holder, convertible into the established gold standard. I again call your attention to the need of passing a proper Im m igra­ tion law, covering the points outlined in my message to you at the first ses­ sion of the present congress; su b ­ stantially such a bill has ulready passed the house. LABOR AND CAPITAL • -- Fair Treatment Should Be Secured for Each Alike. H ow to secure fair treatm e n t alike for labor and for capital, how to hold In che;k the unscrupulous man, w h e ther em ployer or employe, w ithout w eakening Individual Initiative, with- cu t ham p ering and cram p ing the In­ dustrial development of the country, is a problem fraught with great dif­ ficulties and one which It Is of the highest im p o rtance to solve on lines of sanity and far-sighted common sense as well as of devotion to the tight. This is an era of federation ar.d com bination. E x a c tly as business n;en find they m u st often work through corporations, and as it Is a constant tendency of these corporations to grow larger, so It is often necessary for la­ boring men to work In federations, and these have become Im p o rtant fuctois of m odern Industrial life. Both kinds of federation, capitalistic and labor, can do m uch good, and as a nfecessary corollary they can both do evil. Oppo­ sition to each kind of organization should take the form of opposition to w h a tever is, bad In the conduct of any- given corporation or union—not of a t ­ tacks upon corporations as such nor upon unions as such; for some of^the m o st fqr-Teaching beneficent work for our people has been accomplished through both corporations and unions. E a c h m u s t refrain from arb itrary or tyrannous Interference with the rights of others. Organized capital and or- ganlzed labor alike should remember th a t in the long run the Interest of each m u st be brought into harm o n y with the Interest of the general public; and the conduct of each m u st conform to the fundam e n tal rules of obedience to the law, of Individual freedom, and of Justice and fair dealing tow ard all. Each should remember t h a t In addi­ tion to power It m u st strive after the realization of healthy, lofty, and gen­ erous Ideals. Every employer, every wage-worker, m u st be guaranteed his liberty and his right to do a s he likes with his property or his labor so long as he does not Infringe upon the rights of others. It is of tltc* hlghcs\ Impor­ tance th a t em ployer a n ) employe alike should endeavor to appro ¡late each Inc viewpoint the other a-id the sur-. d'saster th a t will come upon both in the long run If either grows to take as habitual an attitu d e of sour hostil­ ity and distrust tow ard the other. Few people deserve better of the coun­ try th a n those representatives both of capital and labor—and there are m any such—who w o rk continually to bring about a good understanding of this kind, based upon wisdom nnd upon bread and kindly sym p a thy between em ployers and employed. Above all, we need to rem em b er that any kind of class anim o sity in the po­ litical world is, if possible, even morre wicked, even more destructive to n a ­ tional welfare, than sectional, race, or As civilization grows w arfare be­ comes less the normnl condition of foreign relations. The last century has seen a m arked dim inution of w ars be­ tween civilized powers; wars Willi un­ civilized powers arc largely mere m a t­ ters of international police duty, es­ sential for tlie welfare of the world. W herever possible, arbitration or som e -sim ilar method should ho em­ ployed In lieu of w ar to settle difficul­ ties between civilized nations, al­ though as yet the world has not pro- grssed sufficiently to render It poss­ ible, or necessarily desirable, to In­ voke arbitration in every case. The form a tion of the international tribunal which alts a t The H a g u e Is an event of good omen from which great con­ sequences for the welfare of all m a n ­ kind may flow. It Is f a r better, where possible, to Invoke such a perm a n ent tribunal than to create special arb i­ trato r s for a given purpose. It Is a m a tter or sincere congratula­ tion to our country that the United Slates and Mexico should have been the first to use tlie good offices of The H a g u e court. This was done last sum ­ m er with most satisfactory results In the case of a claim a t Issue between us and our siHter republic. It is earn­ estly to be hoped th a t this first case will serve as a precedent for others, in which not only the United States hut foreign nations may take advan­ tage of the m achinery already In ex­ istence at The Hague. H a w a i i a n K i r n Claim «!. I commend to the favorable consid­ eration of the congress the H aw aiian fire claims, which were the subject of careful investigation during the last session. ISTHMIAN CANAL Negotiations Are Now Pending W ith Colombia for Assent. The congress has wisely provided th a t we shall build a t once an llhm l- lan canal, If possible a t Panam a. The attorney general reports that wc car undoubtcdly acquire good title from the French Panam a canal company. Negotiations are now pending with Colombia to secure her assent to oui building the canal. This canal will be one of the greatest engineering feats of the tw entieth century; a greater en­ gineering feat than has yol been ac­ complished during the history of m a n ­ kind. The work should be carried out as a continuing policy w ithout regard to change of adm inistration, and It should be begun under circum stances which will make It a matt'-i- of pride for all adm inistrations to continue the policy. The canal will be of great, benefit to America, and of importance t<» all the wc.jld. It will ljc of ad v a iling; to us industrially and also as Improving our m ilitary position. It will be of advan- tage to the countries of tropical A m ­ erica. It is eauiestly to be hoped th a t all of these countries will do as some of them have already done w ith sig­ nal success, and will Invite to their shores commerce and Improve their m a te rial conditions by recognizing th a t stability and order are the prerequis­ ites ot successful development. No in­ dependent nation in America need have the slightest fear of aggression from the United States. It behooves each one to m a intain or­ der within its own borders and to d k - r.harge its Just obligations to foreign­ ers. W hen this Is done, they can rest assured that, he they strong or weak, they have nothing to dread from out­ side Interference. More and more the Ircreaslng interdependence and com- p'ex'ty of International political and economic relations render it Incum bent on all civilized and orderly pow ers to Insist on the proper policing of the world. THE PACIFIC CABLE Work of the Commercial Pacific Cable Company Begins. D u ring the fall of 1301 a com muni­ cation w as addressed *o the secretary of state, asking w h e ther permission would he granted by the president to a corporation to lay a cable from u point on the California coast to the Philippine- Islands by w a y of lia wall. A statem e n t of conditions or term s upon which such corporation would undertake to lay and operate a cable w a s volunteered. Inasm u c h as the congress w as short­ ly to convene, and Pacific cable legis­ lation had been the subject of consid­ eration by the congress for several years, it seemed to m e wise to defer action upon the application until the congress had first an opportunity to act. The congress adjourned w ithout taking any action, leaving the m a tter In exactly the sam e condition In w h ich It stood when the congress con­ vened. M eanwhile It appears th a t the Com­ m ercial Pacific Cable com p any had prom p tly proceeded w ith preparations for laying Its cable. It also m ade ap ­ plication to the president for access to and use of soundings taken .by the U. S. S. Nero, for the purpose of dis­ covering a practicable route -for a trans-PacIflc cable, the com p any urg-