Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-09-18
Conference Was Success.

Chicago, Sept. 1S.-The Times-Herald
says: Save for the work of publishing
the result of the trust conference the du-
ties of the Civic Federation are complet-
ed. Fifty thousand copies of the report
are to be printed and distributed
throughout the country, so that those
VINO did not attend the conference may
have the advantage of the views express
ed by leading economists, lawyers, poll
ticians and thinkers from different Sec
tions Of the United States This Mr..
Head, the president, deems highly inn
portant. Among the reflections of Mr..
Head on the conference generall' are
the following statements:
The idea of the Civic Federation was
to nave full discussion of all sides of
the general question of trusts and
upon which there is endless con-
fusion of thought among the people and
we hoped, by giving all sides a fair hear
ing, to clear away much of the fog and
mist and to bring the people nearer to-
gether SO that they might better judge
OF the evils of these large combinations
II there We're any, and devise remedies
Tor such evils. In almost every respect
think the conference has been a decided
success. Many of the papers offered
were from careful economic students and
possessed not. only great but permanent
value. Among these might be mentioned
the papers contributed by Henry c.
adams J. W. jerks, John Graham
Brooks and Prof. John B. Clark of Col
umbia university. Undoubtedly the two
speeches which attracted most attention
We're those delivered by w. Bourke Cock
ran and VIM. Jennings Bryan.
''As result of the discussions it SEEM
ed to me that the general impression Of
those present was that the growth Of
trusts and combinations should be jeal-
ously watched and guarded and that
there should be careful supervision of
their operations by the state authorities
and also, possibly, by the general gov
neutrality-suspicious. somewhat similar
to that over national banks would be
most desirable and important-and that
all such corporations should be required
to have carefully kept books of account,
showing all the general operntions in
their business and that the features of
such statistics should be made public
something after the manner in which
the statistics of national banks is made
public. The objects sought through
these suggestions We're not only for the
benefit of the general public, who might
be considering an investment. but also
for the benefit of the stockholders who
might thus learn if the managers were
loyal to the interests of the stockhold-
ers.
'"There has ben some talk of there be-
ing political capital in the result of the
conference. I do not know that the re-
suit of the conference could be construed
to have any political bearing. The
question of business trusts and corpora
tions is not political question. There
are probably just as many democratic
stockholders in these various combina-
tions as republican. They have entered
in these various combinations with the
belief that they are advantageous in the
way of cheapening production and doing
away with the excessive competition
which in periods of depression is often
times fatal to all parties to the competi-
tion.
"Whatever may be the steps taken to
adopt Some remedies or restrictive
measures, which shall retain whatever
there may be of benefit in the trusts
while removing that which is prejudicial
to the national good. in my opinion. the
conference held in Chicago will prove an
historical meeting and it's influence as a
source of education and perhaps as a
starting point of some definite develop
ments will be felt for long time. The
Civic Federation is satisfied-yes, graft
fied-with the entire work of the confer
ence.