Show SECRETARY mum ROOT SEES ON ONLY GOOD GOnD Objectionable Practices by the Railroad Companies Belong to the Dead Past THEY HAVE ALL REFORMED ALTON DEAL WAS NOT SO BAD AFTER ALL New Haven Conn May lIay 21 Secretary of State Ellhu Root taking as his specific specific topic The Outlook delivered the th fourth four i and last in the series of Dodge lectures at Yale tonight on The Responsibilities Re lie Responsibilities of ot Citizenship Secretary Taft who was here for the Yale Yal cor corporation corporation meeting meetIngs was an interested spectator Mr Root said In la the whole field of popular govern government government ment I am convinced that one of the plainest duties duts of citizenship Is hope hopefulness hopefulness hopefulness and that pessimism is criminal weakness Formerly Practised The objectionable railroad practices which are now so widely and justly con condemned condemned condemned and which furbish so fertile ferUle a 11 source of political discussion are not now snow practiced they ther are old ohl practices which formerly formed passed The rebates which are now noV forbid forbidden forbidden forbidden den by br law and for which great cor corporations corporations arc are being indicted and an con are merely a form of discriminatory discriminatory discriminatory rates which once prevailed with without without without out objection It was by giving special cial dal rates that railroad companies in induced Induced induced people to build factories and ard pack packing packing ing jug houses and elevators and a great variety of other business establishments Uong the lines of their roads that Was as the way they built up their business We Are Growing Better BetterIn In recent years cars however the people of the country have come to an appreciation dation t of the idea that these great pub lie agencies cannot give special rates to toome some iome men without doing injustice to others and that the common right of the people demands equality of facil facility facility facility ity and of cost in transportation which the railroads are bound to furnish and hind special privileges to one as ns against the other The lesson of oC all this is that the prosecutions and convictions fr fir violations of the law are rot not evidence Ilce that we are growing worse but evidence that we are arc growing bet better better ter that our government Is applying a higher standard of justice In the con control control trot of public utilities Alton Deal D al Not So Bad The same Is the management of corporations and the manipulation of securities s to which attention has been railed sharply by b the testimony before the interstate commerce commission regarding re regarding regarding garding the organization of the Chicago Alton railroad Thirty or forty years yeara ago when the management of the Erie railroad and the Atlantic Great West Vest Vestern orn ern em and the Union Pacific railroad d at attracted much attention the things done 1 1 corporation managers were so 50 much worse that the Chicago Alton AIton affair would not have hae received any an notice at atall atall atall all The railroad wrecker was a com corn common common cornmon mon type tYle of railroad manager Since then a higher standard Is asserting it Itself self It is perfectly safe to assert that the standard of probity and fidelity among the corporation managers of the country Is higher now than it has ever been blen before beCore Prosecutions in the West The prosecutions which the depart departments departments departments ments of the interior and justice have hae been conducting against the land thieves In the west have hae awakened intense in among the defendants and their friends because the wrong was so in inveterate that they had come to look up ur upon uron upon on it as a right When hen the officers of the law presented and effected the novel idea that it was as all dishonest to deprive the government of ot its land illegally as asto asto asto to deprive an Individual of at his land il U illegally legally it seemed a cruel Injustice There was simply a little advance of the moral which gave the life to laws that had been dead ead before Trusts and Unions The Tho facilities of transportation and communication which enable modern business s to spread ov or oer r a great ex expanse expanse pause of territory have haye made it pos possible sible sibl for trusts and combinations lions ions t to be ue made for the purpose of driving drivIng ing tog out competitors competitor restricting production production production tion and Increasing prices On the other hand labor organizations designed for forthe forthe forthe the just purpose of securing fair treat treatment treatment ment meat as to employment wages and hours and conditions of work are on their part endeavoring to put up the prices re restrict restrIct restrict strict production and drive dove out compe competition competition competition by stringent rules which prohibit any an member from doing more than a specified amount of work each day da un an der penalty of expulsion and which pro prohibit prohibit prohibit hibit the employment of at any anyone one not nota a Ii member of the union under penalty of strike Merely Incidental All of these things are but incidents of the process of adjustment In the di division division division vision of the new wealth Our popular government Is dealing with them assiduously assiduously assiduously by awakened public opinion gradually gradually ally all crystallized into laws adapted to meet the new conditions There is occasionally undue excite excitement excitement excitement ment but It is temporary and when it is seen Been to approach the verge of de destructive destructive action It Is promptly calmed and restrained by h the sober judgment of the people The secretary of com corn commerce commerce merce and labor Informs me that within the last dozen years ears the percentage of a Socialists Soci lists in hi the labor organizations of the United States has decreased from 8 3 to about 3 8 per cent In considering the of democratic Institutions we must remember the millions of at immigrants immigrants immigrants grants who have come to us The vast mass of our immigrants come from coun countries countries countries tries In which there is but little political political political cal training or development among the people and the they have had to be edu educated educated educated In mind and character for self government |