Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1899-09-17

out the benefit of any tariff at all, al
though it could not extort SO much.
We cannot destroy monopoly until we
lay the axe at the root of the tree and
make monopoly impossible by law.
Discrimination by railroads has aided
trusts. That can be remedied by laws
which will place producers on equal
footing. But the remedy must be COM
plete enough to prevent the organlza-
ton of a monopoly. We differ more
in remedy than we do in our opinion
of the trust. Few people will defend
the trust as a principle. AS to the
remedy:
Both State and nation could have
concurrent remedies. In the first place
each State has or should have the right
to create any private corporation which
in the judgment of the people OF the
State is conducive to a welfare of the
people of that State. l believe that
we can safely entrust to the people of
a State the settlement of a question
which concerns them. If they create
a corporation it becomes destructive
Of their best interests they can destroy
that corporation, and we can safely
trust them both to create and to ami
hilate If conditions make humiliation
necessary. In the second place, the
State has or should have the right to
prohibit n foreign corporation from
doing business in the State and it ought
to have or has the right to impose sucn
restrictions and limitations as the peo-
pie of the State may think necessary
upon any foreign corporation doing bus
mess in the State. | believe. In add1-
ton to a State remedy there must be
a federal remedy. Congress has, or
should have, the power to place such
restrictions and limitations, even to the
point of prohibition upon any corpra-
tin organized in one State that wants
to do business outside of the State con-
trary to public good.
81 believe that these concurrent rem
edies will reach the difficulty; that the
people of every State shall first decide
whether they want to create a corpo-
ration; that they shall, secondly, de-
eide whether they want any outside
corporation to do business in the State,
and, if so, upon what condition; and,
thirdly, that Congress shall exercise
the right to place upon every corpora
ton doing business outside of the State
in which it is organized, such limita-
lions and restrictions as may be neces-
sary for the protection of the public
good.
Col. Bryan at this point read the
famous circular letter advertising the
Incorporation laws of Delaware. He
commented sarcastically on advantages
set forth in the letter.
A person in the audience inquired:
Delaware and New Jersey are both
Democratic States, are they not?" to
rrhioh NJ. r1-o ron1iad. FtThnxy xuorn
not in 1896"
He continued.
81 have read this letter in order to
show you that where a State can gain
an advantage from the incorporation
of these great a-ggregations of wealth,
it is not safe to place the people OF
other States at the tender mercies OF
the people of such a State as may de-
sire to secure its running expenses from
the taxes of corporations organized to
prey upon people outside.
Il am ready to adopt any method for
the humiliation of trusts. One that 1
suggest is this:
THAT Congress should pass a law
providing that no corporation organized
in any State should do business out
side of the State in which it is organ
lied until it receives from some power
created by Congress a license authoriz-
ing it to do business outside of it's own
State. Now, if the corporation must
come to this body created by Congress
to secure permission to do business out
side the State then that license can be
granted upon condition which will, in
the first place, prevent the watering OF
stock; in the second place, prevent
monopoly in any branch of business;
and, third, provide for publicity as to
all Of the transactions and business Of
the corporation.
If this is unconstitutional and so de-
elared by the supreme court, | am in
favor of an amendment to the consti-
tuition that will give to Congress power
to destroy every trust in the country.
In my judgment, when you take from
monopoly the power to issue watered
stock you will go more than half way
towards destroying monopoly in the
United States. You can provide for
publicity and that annually. or at such
other times, the corporations shall
make returns of its business, of its
earnings, and will go another long step
towards the destruction of the principle
OF
But l am not willing to stop there,
and, therefore, as a third condition, l
suggest that no license shall be granted
until the corporation shows that it has
not had a monopoly and is not attempt
ing a monopoly of any branch of in
dustry or any article of merchandise,
and then provide if the law is violated
the license can be revoked. | do not
believe in the government giving priv
ileges TO be exercised by a corporation
without reserving the right to with
draw them when those privileges be-
come hurtful to the people.
My contention has been that we have
been placing the dollar above the man;
that We have been picking out favor
ties in government; we have been be-
slowing upon them special privileges,
and every advantage we have given
them has been given them TO the det-
riment of other people. My contention
is that there is a vicious principle run
ming through the various policies which
we have been pursuing; that in our
taxation we have been imposing upon
the great struggling masses the bur-
dens Of government, while We have
been voting the privileges to the people
who will not pay their share of the
expenses of the government.