and regulation of these great business operations, for the same reason that it is in the interest of the corporation which wishes to treat its employes aright that there should be an effective Employers’ Liability act, or an effective system of factory laws to prevent the abuse of women and children.  All such legislation frees the corporation that wishes to do well from being driven into doing ill, in order to compete with its rival, which prefers to do ill.  We desire to set up a moral standard.  There can be no delusion more fatal to the Nation than the delusion that the standard of profits, of business prosperity, is sufficient in judging any business or political question—­from rate legislation to municipal government.  Business success, whether for the individual or for the Nation, is a good thing only so far as it is accompanied by and develops a high standard of conduct—­honor, integrity, civic courage.  The kind of business prosperity that blunts the standard of honor, that puts an inordinate value on mere wealth, that makes a man ruthless and conscienceless in trade, and weak and cowardly in citizenship, is not a good thing at all, but a very bad thing for the Nation.  This Government stands for manhood first and for business only as an adjunct of manhood.

The question of transportation lies at the root of all industrial success, and the revolution in transportation which has taken place during the last half century has been the most important factor in the growth of the new industrial conditions.  Most emphatically we do not wish to see the man of great talents refused the reward for his talents.  Still less do we wish to see him penalized but we do desire to see the system of railroad transportation so handled that the strong man shall be given no advantage over the weak man.  We wish to insure as fair treatment for the small town as for the big city; for the small shipper as for the big shipper.  In the old days the highway of commerce, whether by water or by a road on land, was open to all; it belonged to the public and the traffic along it was free.  At present the railway is this highway, and we must do our best to see that it is kept open to all on equal terms.  Unlike the old highway it is a very difficult and complex thing to manage, and it is far better that it should be managed by private individuals than by the Government.  But it can only be so managed on condition that justice is done the public.  It is because, in my judgment, public ownership of railroads is highly undesirable and would probably in this country entail far-reaching disaster, but I wish to see such supervision and regulation of them in the interest of the public as will make it evident that there is no need for public ownership.  The opponents of Government regulation dwell upon the difficulties to be encountered and the intricate and involved nature of the problem.  Their contention is true.  It is a complicated and delicate problem, and all kinds of difficulties are sure to arise in