The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1897-04-23
Artificial Persons.

All corporations are artificial persons,
created by the State or government, and
should be made answerable to their Gre
ato,. The very idea is preposterous of
granting valuable franchise to COM
pany of less than half dozen persons, by
the State, and taking no care to know what
use they make of it. And this the States
and National government are constantly
in the habit of doing. These franchises
which are the basis of all corporations are
public property, and the act of granting
them, giving a charter to favored few to
pursue a business and protecting them in
the use of such special privilege, from
interference by any one else, is piece of
paternal favoritism that has not attracted
the degree of public attention it should
have done. A goldbug corporation paper
recently stirred up to sense of justic by
the Luxow investigation ungardedly, and
for the moment no doubt thoughtlessly,
gave expression to the following:
"What is needed today is not investiga.
ton or exposure or all this useless ques-
tioning, but simple statutes. requiring
publicity in the accounts and reports of
of these companies. Congress ought to
prohibit any corporation from carrying
on interstate commerce which does not
publish full reports under penalty. Each
State should do the same, and if this we're
done. if the American Sugar Refining
Company, the American Tobacco Com
pany and the others we're all forced to
healthy publicity the public interests
wonld be protected, investors would enjoy
safety and big profits would grow difficult.
The laws intended to prevent consolida
tons have all failed. Laws requiring
publicity all bring increased safety"
The business of revealing the dark
deeds of corporations should 60 a good
deal further than that. Every corporation
should be placed under public surveil-
ance, and every corporation that operates
its business in more than one State should
be required to have a charter from the
United States government. Every cor
poration should have a public officer to
examine its accounts and publish a de-
tailed statement of its affairs at least
quarterly.
1t cannot be justly claimed that any
corporation is private concern. The
corporation is all artificial person, created
by the State. The affairs ofa corporation
are entirely separate and distinct from the
business of any of its incorporates.
The State creates great business giant
with the power of thousand natural
persons, thing of combined and concen-
trated wealth and power. 1t cannot be
dealt with like natural person and pun
ished for crime as the natural person may
be. 1t is constituencies and without
moral responsibility, INSCRIPTIONS in its
acts and if of the large. wealthy class of
corporations is sure to become a tyrant,
trampling under foot the most sacred
rights of the private citizen. The AFRO
giant corporation defies law and browbeats
or brides the courts, corrupts legislatures
and the national congress, plumbers the
community by watered stock and bonds,
and refuses to answer the courts when
cited to give account of its dark doings.
This monster artificial person is based
on and owes its very life to grant from
the public, known as charter or fran.
chise, and by every impulse of Justice,
business principles, equity and common
sense should be strictly supervised by a
public officer. The corporation is in no
sense private business, but so lax is our
law and so perverted from the ways of
common justice. that this artificial mon
ster, this soulless unnatural thing is per-
mtted to disregard and trample under
foot with impunity the most sacred rights |
of the citizen and rob him of his property, |
This is a monster wrong that society |
has allowed to grow up in its midst, |
which threatens with its monopoly power !
TO transform the government of the
United States into an oligarchy of con-
centrated wealth and irresponsible power.
The careless American people must soon
turn over new leaf or prepare to hew
their way back to liberty with the sword.
With a strict State supervision and
the trust and illegitimate COM
bine would be impossible. The over
issue Of stock-watered stock-and bonus
could not be practiced. The monopoly
would be in the control Of law because
open to the eyes ofthe public. Its profits
would be Legitimate, and not as at present,
forced and unjust. This present beast of
prey upon the community would be
brought under control and be made a
docile servant in place of an arrogant
1,ocfar