In these days the truth of the biblical saying, that “the wicked flourish like a green bay tree, but they shall be cut down,” has become evident to us in certain instances applicable to corporations.
Some ancient cities and empires, including the great Roman Empire, were ruined by the lawlessness and unscrupulousness of their rich men—the great oppressors of those days—and our America was fast falling too much under control of large corporations and corporation capitalists; but, the plain people of this country are for equality, equal rights, and fair play for all, and opposed to a plutocracy.
In his address at Memphis, this year, President Roosevelt said:
“I will no more stay my hand because a wrongdoer masquerades as a labor leader than if he masquerades as a captain of industry.
“I am against undesirable citizens when they are great capitalists who win a fortune by chicanery and when they are men who, under the guise of standing for labor, preach and encourage violence and murder.”
To show that he recognized the sensitiveness of certain corporation capitalists who are cast into a frenzy by his most common sense remarks, he once said: “It has come to a point where my saying that honesty is the best policy is liable to lead to a run on the banks.”
In discussing the cause of the present panicky contraction and disturbance in the business and financial world, nothing, however, could be further from the truth than to charge it all to the great corporation exposures and prosecutions.
There were many other things that contributed to bring about this year’s depression and disturbance, and to cast over the brightest sky that ever shone the heavy clouds of distrust, reaction, and panic.
The clouds in the financial sky can remotely be attributed in a large measure to the effect of the tremendous railroad, industrial and commercial development of the last ten years, which brought about capital requirements in excess of the ability of the country to supply them.
Naturally and necessarily, this resulted in precautionary steps being taken by bankers and others to limit demands that capital could not supply.