Litchfield enquirer., 1874-01-15
constitutIouaI eRestflctIon Of cor
 porate Privileaes.

ness had not already commenced; that re- quire any old aclose. corporation seeking remission of forfeiture, or any amend ment, to consent to the limitations of the new constitution; and that give the legis- lature power to buy up the property and francises of amy corporation, and even to to amend or revoke charters deemed in- Iurious to the public interest, certainly commend themselves to every intelligent mind. The provision entitling persons whose property is taken for public use to an assessment of its value by jury is a most wholesome restraint on a power very liable to abuse, and one our Legislature should copy. ta=t sdt ,5
 | One of the wisest provisions of the Ar ticle on private corporations is that which I allows minority representation on boards Of directors. It has always been one of most powerful arguments in behalf of universal suffrage and against the herequire- ment of property or educational qualif- cations for the suffrage, that there were N defrauded or 50 badly misrepresented as the stockholders of our private corpora tions. Though very intelligent bodies of men, and though having deep pecunia- ry interest in the good conduct of their corporate afairs, they are notoriously cheated and swindled by the boards they l choose, or appear to choose; for the man. agement of their business. One great oc- | easion of this misgovernment has no doubt been. the fact that objecting minor ities colld gain no representation on boards of directors. The off, cers of corporation usually manage to control a majority of the stock and re- elect themselves year after year, though known by the minority to be unfaithful servants. The Pennsylvania constitution now allows any minority large enough to elect single director to have represen- tation on the board; and the mere pres ence of such representatives of mi nority views cannot but be great check upon the majority. There ought also to be supplementary legislation giving such minority directors full access to all books, papers, accounts and records of the com pany, to much greater extent than the convenience of business would allow to ex- aminations by the individual stockholder.
 The section prohibiting the watering" of stocks is one that should not only be copied into the laws of every state, but a thorough examination should be made of our railroad companies and their stock shold be reduced to the amount of cash actually paid in.
 The Article on railroads deserves g careful perusal All railroad companies 1 are made common carriers, and discrimi- nation in charges is prohibited. The last clause of the third section, it will be per ceived, puts an end to such extra charges as the Housatonic ''stop off" charge.
 The provision compelling companies to keep books. showing the residence and names of antheir stockholders, is smore im- portant than would at first sight appear. Without that information the stock holder who is dissatisfied with the manage ment of a railroad company cannot com municate with other stockholders and or ganize an effective opposition to the ex isting management because he does not know who his fellow stockholders are.
 The sections prohibiting the consolida- ton of competing lines or the election of the same officials by companies that should be competing, and the combina- ming of mining and manufacturing inter- ests with those of transportation, are shrewdly devised and greatly needed, though they will certainly need very thor ough legislative action to make them of practical effect. -'v -~'
 The sections designed to prevent the enormous system of fraud that has grown out of the practice of allowing the officers of a company to furnish it material ~ or supplies at large profit to the officer and proportionate loss to the company. and to prevent. the corruption and favoritism that arise from the practice of allowing special rates or facilities to special com panies or persons, seem we'll calculated to remedy1erious abuses.
 The section abolishing the free pass system ia toto, is greatly needed reform. No one who is not aware of the extent to which this insidious from of influence is practiced, can have any adequate idea of its deadening effect upon the activity of those natural leaders of the people to- wards. reform-press, politicians, lawyers and legislators. @
 These provisions of the new constitu- tion of Pennsylvania are the work, be 1t remembered, of an exceptionally able, honest, unselfsh body of men, who gave long and careful consideration to this most important subject. They are such as commend themselves to every person who has seriously considered the question and they chould be embodied, in the main into the legislation of our own state. Will the people see to it that their repre-. sentatives give this subject the attention 1t deserves? When it was discovered, recently, that f certain Massachusetts liquor sellers who l were supposed to be serving the State in 5 penal capacity, were in fact thriving al their old business and undergoing pun. ishment merely by substitute. people thought the criminal instinct had hit on an entirely new device. A reference to the article on our first page will show that this dodge is as old as the landing oi the Pilgrims. If also shows that the mod ern selectman has come honestly by his views on the pauper question. If the troublesome savages of our day could be quieted in that easy way, and. instead o1