Show A banker says graft has now taken possession annapolis ML oct 5 dishonesty in high places in the slate the judiciary and great financial institutions and corporations and palliation of such nets by the makaea gravely threaten the future of the country according to views expressed today by J edward simmons president of the fourth national bank of new york in an address before the maryland bankers association he pointed out the lessons before the maryland bankers association and he pointed to the lessons taught by the fall of the ancient roman republic the reign of terror in france and the disasters which befell russian arms in the recent conflict in tho far east all ot which he said were due to palliated pallia ted dishonesty 1 I hear voices from the east and voices from the west he said voices from the pulpit and the divine voices from the college and the educator voices from the bench and bar voices from the press and its sages the voice of be president himself denouncing in ringing ones and deploring the universal spread of selfishness in its meanest and most repulsive form the form of dishonesty they bewail one universal carnival of dishonesty alas the voices are not unconfirmed he deplored the conditions which have led men to tolerate the terms graft and gratteri Grat and said he feared the very use of the words was an indication of mens tolerance of a thief and his trade ho called upon the members of the association to give their assistance in remedying a condition which makes it possible tor men who pose as the salt of the earth and who condemn without reserve choie wh osteal fifty dollars or forge a check or a hundred dollars or accept a bribe who themselves make millions by lying by misrepresentation by fraud abid by bribery without receiving punishment or even while the man who abeau the paltry sum is sent to jail he denounced the man or private life who in the interest of corporations of the trusts of the gas company of the railroad company of the insurance company havo recourse to every villainy named in the decalogue who docs the deed of a highway man with the air of a saint mr said that the workings and dangers of great corporations and multimillionaire multi millionaire enterprises havo not been and are not as fully understood as their advantages he believed that their dark had been and het out a lucidly and forcibly as their bright side he reec d to the growth of the socialist DP n nt a shown bv tho last as duo to p i i v fait ii I 1 c aire ill i 1 I b ali t fr 0 0 rl n nu a a i i i li arr i i t nv alit pie in i n e f alo nn T 1 V 1 i f i I 1 I 1 ISS ft r R i 11 i r i n i ding a ia a a campaign agana are grounds for hope TOI a tar reaching broems proems ha baud mr Sl nimons diac ossed the seorine iho e who debauch f ifka bior lo 10 enact law Q or to b i exact tribute from their fellow citizen under tha name of duty 1 I recognize readily said air simmons the vast blessings which union or consolidation for business purposes if properly and honestly conducted may bring upon the nation we must not forget however that all trusts are monopolistic in tendency and that almost every industrial du consolidation that has been made has had for its object the curtailment tail ment of competition the nearer approach to monopoly and when no competition exists then monopoly prevails under each circumstance it may be unjustifiable to make a tariff protect an industry but I 1 hold that no tariff Is justified that has not for its claim the advantage of the necessities of our country in its entirety the man who imposes a duty or leads another with or without a bribe to impose a duty in order to fill his pockets is dishonest and all the more baneful Is his dishonesty because he extracts his plunder without danger to himself from the poorer classes who cannot resist he does the deed of a highwayman with the air of a earnt and poses before his fellow citizens with a mien and surrounds his head with a self made halo in conclusion mr simmons said ahue the situation that confronts us Is undoubtedly serious we cannot meet it by adopting pessimistic views we certainly should not exaggerate the evils that exist to the point of discouragement coura gement but we should recognize their existence and should not underrate their magnitude comforting ourselves with the thought that gradual amelioration must come as it always has come with persistent and intelligent effort the very tact that the country has awakened to the prevailing conditions and that fearless and able men are organizing and leading a campaign against them are grounds for hope that a far reaching remedial process has already begun |