Presidential Addresses 



fashion what the wrongs really are and to what ex- 

 tent and in what manner it is practicable to apply 

 remedies. 



All this is true; and yet it is also true that there 

 are real and grave evils, one of the chief being over- 

 capitalization because of its many baleful conse- 

 quences; and a resolute and practical effort must be 

 made to correct, these evils. 



There is widespread conviction in the minds of 

 the American people that the great corporations 

 known as trusts are in certain of their features and 

 tendencies hurtful to the general welfare. This 

 springs from no spirit of. envy or uncharitableness, 

 nor lack of pride in the great industrial achievements 

 that have placed this country at the head of the na- 

 tions struggling for commercial supremacy. It does 

 not rest upon a lack of intelligent appreciation of, 

 the necessity of meeting changing and changed con- 

 ditions of trade with new methods, nor upon igno- 

 rance of the fact that combination of capital in the 

 effort to accomplish great things is necessary when 

 the world's progress demands that great things be 

 done. It is based upon sincere conviction that com- 

 bination and concentration should be, not prohibited, 

 but supervised and within reasonable limits con- 

 trolled; and in my judgment this conviction is right. 



It is no limitation upon property rights or free- 

 dom of contract to require that when men receive 

 from government the privilege of doing business 

 under corporate form, which frees them from indi- 

 vidual responsibility, and enables them to call into 



