New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1863-04-03

to the point 10 found in tho history of the Boot
Manufacturing Company. which had the mis-
fortune to got into debt, and was told that II o
son.in-aw, who was without any special qualf-
cations or fitness for the place, except having
married ono of o Directors daughters, should
10 elected the said Director would furnish money
and sedt % extricate the Company from its diff
cultjes. The son-in-law was elected, but the
money was not forthcoming. Another case Ia
given, in which The Treasurer Of the Hamilton
Manufacturing Company sent bis son to the South
to purchase cotton. This inexperienced yooth
brought back with him "a quantity OF miserable
trash, filed with sand and stones, and the Ham
lton stockholders were minus not less than fifty
thousand dollars by the operation. 81. ~.
Another crying evil, to which attention is called
in this pamphlet, is the enormous profit made BY
the selling agents of the corporations. 1t lis stated
that Mr.. j. w. Paige, selling agent of the Hami-
ton Company, has been in the receipt Of $22, 600
Der annum for his commissions. A. g. A. Law
renee g. Co.. selling agents Of the Lowell Com
psny, received, during period of seven years and
five months, for commissions, $le2, O56; for auc-
ton charges, $685.; for incidental expenses.
$IO5,O34 Thus tho Company paid to A. 81 A.
Lawrence & Co. the sum of $40, 1898 per annum
for selling their goods-the dividends averaging
scmi-annually only $l7 per share. One Of these
firms sells for eight and the other for nine such
corporations, which multplies the contributions
to them from the labor and capital of Massachu-
sets into monstrous sums. This is paid while
other houses of unquestionable character have
stood ready to transact tho business for half the
money. ltn 10
We have only to add, at present, that this
prodigal Encouragement may be partly accounted
for by the fact that the officers of these corpora
tons are in many cases very small stockholders.
DR.. Aver says: "There are individuals without
tho slightest voice in the management, who own
moro stock than all tho Treasurers in both Lowell
and Lawrence" The Treasurer Of one Of the
Companies was lately found to own just one
share in several orporations-barely enough to
give him right to vote in the annual meetings
I" lie voted" says DR.. Aver, con his one share
IN the dhmutOn ana tneu tansiefie" ~ !"
friend to serve him OF tho same meeting"
Such are few Of the abuses pointed out by DIR.
Aver in bis interesting pamphlet They are GER
tainly worthy Of the attention Of tho Legislature.
We can conceive Of nothing more cruel, of no
more heartless neglect Of sacred duty, than for
law makers TO leave the defensecss and dependent
at the mercy of any set of commercial specula-
tors, no matter how high their character may be.
No form Of human misery can be more intense
than that which ensues when the thrifty provis-
ions of the prudent are squandered. BY untrust-
worthy servants and selfish managers. The hard
fate Of such unfortunate people would seem to
offer premium upon recklessness and IMPROVE
dence, and to prove that Il is moro foolish to
saye than to spend. The Legislature Of Massa-
chusetts has sought TO remedy these evils, but in
many cases its puin provisions have been utterly
Possibly, more stringent acts. par
ticularly in tho matter Of proxy voting, mny be
thought desirable. s ST. ~