6 10 Presidential Addresses 



regulation. Experience has shown that under our 

 system of government the necessary supervision can 

 not be obtained by State action. It must therefore 

 be achieved by national action. Our aim is not to 

 do away with corporations; on the contrary, these 

 big aggregations are an inevitable development of 

 modern industrialism, and the effort to destroy them 

 would be futile unless accomplished in ways that 

 would work the utmost 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 we are not attacking 

 the corporations, but endeavoring to do away with 

 any evil in them. We are not hostile to them; 

 we are merely determined that 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 with his fel- 

 lows, performs some great industrial feat by which 

 he wins money is a welldoer, not a wrongdoer, pro- 

 vided only he works in proper and legitimate lines. 

 We wish to favor such a man when he does well. 

 We wish to supervise and control his actions only 

 to prevent him from doing ill. Publicity can do no 

 harm to the honest corporation ; and we need not be 

 overtender about sparing the dishonest corporation. 

 In curbing and regulating the combinations of 

 capital which are or may become injurious to the 

 public we must be careful not to stop the great 

 enterprises which have legitimately reduced the cost 

 of production, not to abandon the place which our 



