Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1885-09-04

BRADsrREETs for August 20 dis,
cusses the difference between Engllsh
and American corporate management
In the course of this discussion the
following paragraph appears:
Al recent English railway meeting the chair
man Of the company, in answer To criticism by n
stockhoder appointments to the board of di-
rectprs, said: THE object of the directors was
to secure gentlemen representing every district
that the company served, and none Of the direc-
tors were connected with the stock exchanges or
engaged IN stockbroking " An application OF
such principles here would at any rate have the
effect OF reconstructing the boards OF number
of companies. II may also be observed that IN
England the criminal laws in regard TO corporate
managers are enforced. short time ago the
managers of joint stock steamship comnhnN
made upa false balance sheet for their stock
holders For this ofTense they are now serving
terms ot Imprisonment.
In another portion Of the same ar
ticle i. is stated that the large indebt
edness Of mary of the American
railway companies and the little ex-
pectatlon of dividends makes stock
holders Indifferent as to the action of
directors.
The first reform necessary in this
country is to enforce law having
sufficient stringency and sufficient
penalties to stop the margin gambling.
This is needed even more IN the grain
and live stock markets than in rail
way stocks. Ours is mainly nation
OF gamblers, not one iota more eleyat-
cd than the midnight game of crack,
ing safes, The mere betting on the
future price of grain or railway stocks
is not any worse than betting on a
horse race or hand at cards,
but the fellows who carry on
the grain ana stock gambling do
not limit their operations 10 betting,
but on all possible opportunities com-
bne and force the market up or down,
and money made in that way is in no
possible light any more honorably
made than that made by forcing locks
in the night to get nj other peoples
money. Whoever loses money by tho
markets being forced up or down by
these gamblers is robbed. 81 far as
the robbed party himself was engaged
in he gambling il may be said that he
is neither entitled to public sympathy
nor the protection OF the law but
these are not the only men robbed.
Every man who grows bushel of
grain to sell or fat steer for the
market, and every nan who buys
either is liaale 10 be robbed, although
in no way party TO the gambling. A
great many men who hold small
amounts of railway stocks get robbed,
although not engaged in gambling in
stocks
1t is true that the courts have pretty
uniformly decided all these margin
operations void; but the police breaks
up little gambling den when it is
discovered, while the palatial dens of
stock and grain gamblers not only go
uudlsturbed but assume to be respect
able, and the oily impudent inmates
even to stick their insolent check into
the discussion of the currency, and to
tell newspaper reporters what kind
of currency and how much OF it the
country needs to transact its legiti-
mate business. When these palatial
dens OF robbers and confidence be-
trayers are broken up by enforced
law, the first great step will have been
taken toward honor and honesty in
corporate management, and besides
the public can then leok upon at
tempts at sappressing faro banks and
other little dens of vice, without feel
ing Of contempt for the law and the
law maker.