New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-11-15
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.
AN EMPTY CHAMBER.
APRoPos OF SOME RECENT RESOLUTIONS ABOUT
STOCK y ALTERING.

APRoPos OF SOME RECENT RESOLUTIONS ABOUT
sTOCK-wATERING.
To me Editor OF The Tribune.
SIR The New-YOrk Chamber of Commerce does
not seem to have retained the interest or attention
of substantial or conservative business men to any
great extent. In its better days when the Chamber
had large influence, because solid and intelligent
men habitually met there to discuss matters of prac
teal interest TO the commerce of the city, there
would have been an indignant protest from many of
the worthiest merchants had an attempt been made
to use the Chamber as an instrument to break down
the values of properties and to create financial dis
trust The resolutions adopted at the last meeting
abou watering of stocks, capitalization Of earnings
and Governmental supervision and control Of cor
poTatiOns calculated to give satisfaction to the
wreckers of railroads, who seek gain by destroying
the value of property owned by others. These
resolutions would have been in place, Also in a
Granger meeting Of 1871 before even the farmers
of the Far West had learned that Communism in
legislation did not pay That such resolutions
should be adopted by a commercial body in New
York, however only proves that solid and conserv-
alive business men do not now take much inter-
est as they once did in the action Of that body.
The first resolution of this series aifirms that
stoci-watcring should be made misdemeanor by
law. But the truth is that no human being has been
VI 'ih no lhJdtCA Ny any HltIe dBiCclltub VI INC
stockholders Of corporation to have their property
represented by 200, or 800 or 900 certificates of
stock in place Of 100 previously issued The prop
erty is not changed. The public is not cheated by
change in the number Of certificates representing it,
The owners are not thereby enabled to charge one
cent more for any service than they had previously
charged 1t is not thereby made possible for them
to take cent more from the pockets Of the people
for the payment of dividends or to pay one cent
more IN dividends or to borrow one cent more. Men
who have sense enough to deal in securities at all,
otherwise than by telling muuths about the prop
erty Of others, know that the stock De it large
small, only represents certain definite property
and earning power and try to know what that earn
ing power Is before they buy. Every solid and con-
sentative business man in New York understands
this. But the gamblers who make living by under
mining public confidence aud the "anti-monOpo-
lists whose sorrow is that they have not been able
10 cXtOrt from railroads faYOrs not granted to others
IN the same business, play upon public Ignorance by
pretending that somebody is wTOnged or robbed
when Jones and Smith agree among themselves to
he owners Of property divided into twenty parts
instead OF owners OF the same property divided into
two parts.
Where false representations have been made II Is
right for body of business men to denpIInce them.
Where the conduct of Il corporation has been hostile
to the public interest, II is right 10 point ont the
fact. The call for more frequent and full ntOTma-
also just But when men propose to put corpora
lions under Governmental supervision and con-
troll they are merely pandering to ignorant prCju-
dices in order to break down public confidence in
the value of corporate properties. What would any
great railroad he worth If made the prize for poll
tIciauS 10 fight over at the polls OF in the Legisla
tureY An OLD MEMBER OF TIKI CHAMBER.
Ncr- York, Nov. ,, 1888