The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1891-03-05

to unbo,um themselves. No ma
n wants to become an unlimited
special partner in every little enter
prise he invests few hundred in.
the concern is to be hauled up an
Il shown to be failure before it has ha
e a years fair trial, he will not feel dis
o posed to take any share III go short
trial and so large risk.
-.
J Carter considered tn,
useless expense to be Incurred by TIT
. state in case his bill to require private
corporations to report in detail theil
private business becomes an effective
law in that particular and does mo-
generally paralyze private enterprise
by corporate methods? There arc
probably three times as many incor-
porated concerns in Texas as the
average citizen imagines. AS many
as a dozen charters day have been
issued by the secretary of state. De-
tailed reports from all of these every
wear would have well trained sup
Elemental bureau employed in provid-
lug and keeping a new set OF huge
books, a house full OF fresh pigeonholes
and world of absolutely valueless
statistics in shapely order. Ia the
case supposed the only good thing
about it would be fat salaries for about
half q dozen friends Of Senator
Carter or of somebody else. This
would be the result if the law should
fail Co do away with the present
method OF doing private business I'M
der charter. On the other hand its
success in the opposite direction
would work financial and material l. :
jury to the state in SO far as it opera
ted with the inevitable effect of driv
ing or repelling private capital,
domestic or foreign, from associated
employment in active and productive
investments.
The object and scope of the bill is
well explained in this editorial from
the Waco Day and it is called to the
earliest attention of the Legislature.
Some of the men who have been
permitted to go to Austin this year rs
legislators are mOnomaniacs on the
matter of CIRCULATING" things. Their
ambition does not halt with regulating
railways. They want the state to
take hold of business of all kinds and
exercise IL degree OF espionage and
control that it not only paternalism
in the highest degree, but which must
of necessity prove unwarrantably
onerous and disJasteful to the citizens
engaged in the business thus placed
uuder espionage. Senator Carter Of
the Fort Worth district, is one OF
these zealots. If the OmnipOtent
Creator Of this universe had not al
ready regulated the course and the
functions of the sun, moon and stars,
it is altogether likely that Senator
Carter would come to the front, self
confident to q marvellous degree, with
bill toput those lumiuaries of the
heavens under state control and regula-
ton. 1t contemplates uncalled for and
intolerable espionage of bu' mess affairs.
1t is sweeping and takes in all cor
porations except those formed for
charitable or benevolent purposes. 1t
would be we'll enough to require the
prescribed reports from bank Of de-
post, or trust compauy-both being
institutions handling the funds of the
general public. But where is the
Juity or the wisdom of requiring all
corporations to put on record for the
editication of an. one who chooses to
read such record the complete yearly
history of their busin ess? Outside Cf
banks and trust companies the gen
eral public has no more interest or
concern in the business affairs and
methods of a private corporation than
in the business affairs and methods of
an ordinary partnership OF two or
more persons formed to sell mer-
chandise, practice law or any other
private business. To illustrate more
clearly, this proposed law would COM
pei every private corporate enterprise
in this city to put on record every
January the record open to the world,
q complete expose of its business
assets, liabilities, expenses, salaries,
every detail of the business. Partner
ship business would not be subjected
to such requirements. Any intelli-
gent business man will recog-
nize readily enough that the
corporation, with such law
in force, will be placed at a
disadvantage in many ways. The dis
elimination is unjust and the effort of
such law will be to hamper and to
menace capital that is invested in cor
porate enterprises. Mr.. Carriers
measure is thoroughly essentially per.
nicious and the business influence of
the state ought to protest against its
passage. The next step in the pro.
gramme OF paternalism and "regula-
ton" will be to require Smith, Jones
e Co., who run private mercantile
business, to publish all their business
affairs to the world once year. And
there would be just as much wisdom,
just as much equity, just as much
sound public policy in that as in the