379 
gard  both  for  its  spirit  and  for  the  public  welfare,  is  very  nearly 
as  dangerous  as  to  disregard  the  law  altogether.  What  we  need 
is  the  use  of  the  law  for  the  public  good,  and  the  construction  of  it 
for  the  public  welfare. 
It  goes  without  saying  that  the  law  is  supreme  and  must  be 
obeyed.  Our  civilzation  rests  on  obedience  to  law.  But  the 
law  is  not  absolute.  It  requires  to  be  construed.  Rigid  con- 
struction of  the  law  works,  and  must  work,  in  the  vast  majority 
of  cases,  for  the  benefit  of  the  man  who  can  hire  the  best  lawyers 
and  who  have  the  sources  of  influence  in  law-making  at  their  com- 
mand. Strict  construction  necessarily  favors  the  great  interests 
as  against  the  people,  and  in  the  long  run  can  not  do  otherwise. 
Wise  execution  of  the  law  must  consider  what  the  law  ought  to 
accomplish  for  the  general  good.  The  great  oppressive  trusts 
exist  because  of  subservient  law  makers  and  adroit  legal  con- 
structions. Here  is  the  central  stronghold  of  the  money  power 
in  the  everlasting  conflict  of  the  few  to  grab,  and  the  many  to 
keep  or  win  the  rights  they  were  born  with.  Legal  technicalities 
seldom  help  the  people.  The  people,  not  the  law,  should  have  the 
benefit  of  every  doubt. 
Equality  of  opportunity,  a square  deal  for  every  man,  the  pro- 
tection of  the  citizen  against  the  great  concentrations  of  capital, 
the  intelligent  use  of  laws  and  institutions  for  the  public  good, 
and  the  conservation  of  our  natural  resources,  not  for  the  trusts, 
but  for  the  people ; these  are  real  issues  and  real  problems.  Upon 
such  things  as  these  the  perpetuity  of  this  country  as  a nation 
of  homes  really  depends.  We  are  coming  to  see  that  the  simple 
things  are  the  things  to  work  for.  More  than  that,  we  are  com- 
ing to  see  that  the  plain  American  citizen  is  the  man  to  work  for. 
The  imagination  is  staggered  by  the  magnitude  of  the  prize  for 
which  we  work.  If  we  succeed,  there  will  exist  upon  this  conti- 
nent a sane,  strong  people,  living  through  the  centuries  in  a land 
subdued  and  controlled  for  the  service  of  the  people,  its  rightful 
masters,  owned  by  the  many  and  not  by  the  few.  If  we  fail,  the 
great  interests,  increasing  their  control  of  our  natural  resources, 
will  thereby  control  the  country  more  and  more,  and  the  rights  of 
the  people  will  fade  into  the  privileges  of  concentrated  wealth. 
There  could  be  no  better  illustration  of  the  eager,  rapid,  un- 
wearied absorption  by  capital  of  the  rights  which  belong  to  all 
the  people  than  the  water  power  trust,  not  yet  formed,  but  in 
rapid  process  of  formation.  This  statement  is  true,  but  not  un- 
challenged. We  are  met  at  every  turn  by  the  indignant  denial 
of  the  water  power  interests.  They  tell  us  that  there  is  no  com- 
munity of  interest  among  them,  and  yet  they  appear  year  after 
year  at  these  Congresses  by  their  paid  attorneys,  asking  for  your 
influence  to  help  them  remove  the  few  remaining  obstacles  to 
their  perpetual  and  complete  absorption  of  the  remaining  water 
powers.  They  tell  us  it  has  no  significance  that  the  General  Elec- 
tric interests  are  acquiring  great  groups  of  water  powers  in  vari- 
