One of the most alarming phenomena of the time,--or rather it would be
alarming if the nation had not awakened to it and shown its determination
to control it,--one of the most significant signs of the new social era is
the degree to which government has become associated with business. I
speak, for the moment, of the control over the government exercised by Big
Business. Behind the whole subject, of course, is the truth that, in the
new order, government and business must be associated closely. But that
association is at present of a nature absolutely intolerable; the
precedence is wrong, the association is upside down. Our government has
been for the past few years under the control of heads of great allied
corporations with special interests. It has not controlled these interests
and assigned them a proper place in the whole system of business; it has
submitted itself to their control. As a result, there have grown up
vicious systems and schemes of governmental favoritism (the most obvious
being the extravagant tariff), far-reaching in effect upon the whole
fabric of life, touching to his injury every inhabitant of the land,
laying unfair and impossible handicaps upon competitors, imposing taxes in
every direction, stifling everywhere the free spirit of American
enterprise.

Now this has come about naturally; as we go on we shall see how very
naturally. It is no use denouncing anybody, or anything, except human
nature. Nevertheless, it is an intolerable thing that the government of
the republic should have got so far out of the hands of the people; should
have been captured by interests which are special and not general. In the
train of this capture follow the troops of scandals, wrongs, indecencies,
with which our politics swarm.

There are cities in America of whose government we are ashamed. There are