The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1895-07-11
JUSTICE BROWNS
PLAIN TALK.
He Sees and Emphasizes the Con-
ditions Which Populists Have
Sought to Make Plain.
TRUSTS AND MON0POLIES

And what They are L~sd'sg se-ne rsii'
Tale College Graduates That Social u
rvss Means Moro 0essra@ess Control
The Evils eG Asgregsssd wealth.
Associate Justice Henry B. Brown
Of the United States Supreme Court
recently addressed the graduates d
the Yale Law school commencement
in Battell Chapel. His speech VA
remarkable for Its exposition OF the
Justices position on come pressing
problems, and as an extension Of the
remarks he made recently when tn,
Supreme court passed upon the in
come tax.
Justice Brown traced social AND
mercantile development in the cen
fury. Then he dealt with munich
pal corruption. corporate greed, ans
touched upon the labor question. III
said:
while the signs OF material de
velopment and prosperity of the
country were never more Auspicious
than at present, II is not to be de
MED that the tendencies Of the pas
thirty years have produced a stat,
of social
UNREST WHICH AUGURs ILL
for its future tranquility. Tn,
processes Of combination have re
suited not only in putting practical
ly the entire manufacturing indus
try Of the country into the hands o
corporations, but have enabled tn,
latter to put an end to competition
among themselves by the creation
of trusts to monopolize the produc
ton of q particular article. Upol
the other hand, labor, taking il
cue from capital, though more slow
ly, because less intelligent and aler
to its own interests, is gradually
consolidating its various trad,
unions, with the avowed object o.
debating the terms upon which the
PRODUCTIVE AND TRANsPoRTATio.
INDUSTRY
of the country shall be carried on
The reconciliation of this strife, il
reconciliation be possible, is tn,
great social problem which will con
front you as you enter upon tn,
stage of professional life.
while feel assured that the SO
cial dlsquietude does not point I,
the destruction of private property
it is not improbable that it will re
suit in the gradual enlargement o
the functions of government and t,
the ultimate
CONTROL OF NATIONAL MoNoPoLIEs
1t the government may be safely
trusted with the transmission of oul
letters and papers l see no reason
why it may not also with our tele-
grams and parcels, as is almost uni
versally the case in England, o.
with our passengers and freight
through State ownership of rail
ways. is in Germany, France, Aus
tria, Sweden and Norway. IL tn,
State owns its highways, why ma,
it not
ALSO OWN ITS RAILwAYSf
If q municipality owns its streets
and keeps them paved, severed and
cleansed, why may it not also high
them, water them and transport it.
citizens over them?
"Such at least is the tendency OF
modern legislation in nearly every
highly civilized State but our OWE
whose great corporate interests, BY
parading the bugbears of "paternai.
ISM and socialism, have succeeded
in securing franchises which
PROPERLY BELONG TO TIE PUBLIC
The fear, too, that these monopo
might be used for political purpose.
has hitherto proved an insuperabls
objection to their exercise by the
State, but the development of civil
service reform has of late been sc
rapid and satisfactory that Its In
PRODUCTION into this new field of use
fulness would follow as a matter O,
course, and would obviate the mos,
formidable difficulty in the way O,
the proposed change.
Universal suffrage, which it wa,
confidently supposed would inure t.
the benefit of the poor man, is 81
skillfully manipulated
AS TO RIvET HIS CHAINS
and to secure to the rich a predomi
nance in politics never enjoyed un
der a restricted system. Probabl,
In no country in the world is the in
fiuence of wealth more potent tina,
in this. and in no period of our his
tory has it been more powerful tina,
now. So far as such influence !,
based upon superior intelligenc,
and is exerted for the public good
it is doubtless legitimate; SO far a,
1t Is used to secure to wealth excep
tional privileges, to trample upo,
the rights Of the public, to stife fire,
discussion or
TO PURCHASE PUBLIC OPINION
by a subsidy of the press, it invites
measures of retaliation which ca,
scarcely fail to be DISASTROUS
After referring to the manner i,
which corporate powers are secure,