Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-12-13
RIGHTS OF CORPORATIONS
M Dos Passos Before the Industrial Conn
mission.
Denounces the Cutlery Against Wealth
ana 'apit"i-Anairs of a Company
Do Not Belong TO the Public.

Mr.. John r. Dos Passos OF New YORK.
continued his testimony before the indus.
trial commission yesterday afternoon after
The Stars report was closed
lie took the position that In dealing with
industrial matters there was no necessity
OF excuse Tor federal legislation. He claim
eu the purposes of the trainers Of the fed
eral Constitution We're to control the states
only so far as their foreign interests were
concerned and to prevent them from inter-
fering with one another
In speaking Of corporations he said throa
classes Of individuals are interested In leeis-
latlon on that SUBJECTIVE public the state
and the stockholders. together with the
creditors Publicity OF the affairs Of cor
pofatlons' ne claimed is not necessary. No
man not interested in a corporation has
any business TO know about its affairs
II they have no interest In a CORPORA
ton. he said, referring 70 the public at
large. they have no more business to know
about its affairs than they have TO know
about the affairs Of your family OF your
private fortune. Mr. Phillips" he said
turning TO the vice chairman. the govern
melit has no more right to interfere in Your
private business than II has to go In your
house aad ask you what you are reading
There are great many things ne said
that the state has no business to go into
such as a mans religion, his business his
ordinary habits of life He said that If
prospectus is issued by a corporation that
makes false statements that act is crime
and is punishable under the law at present
That is the case in every state. That pro-
tects the public to that extent
a stockholder, he asserted, has a right
II open the books. the directors being mere
ly his trustees. They can open the books
of the corporation through an equity court
This amply protects his interests.
Interests of the State Protected.
So far as the state is concerned it Is pro-
tected because it can extinguish corpor-
alton as a candle. II reserves that right
in the charter The state can examine into
the affairs Of the corporation if the condi-
tons warrant. So that the demand for
publicity Is not warranted.
Some people, he said, make warfare
against capital, and their idea Is to exter-
minate corporations. ''LegiSlate against cor
porations." he said, and you legislaie
against yourselves" The millionaires can
take care of themselves, and they VIII do
it, and warfare against the corporations
is a warfare against the small stakeholder.
When great banking concerns take large
interests in these corporations they do SO to
turn them over to others. He said II was
fashionable TO cry out against wealth Pref
udice OF demagogism is al the bottom OF
such criticism.
Let me tell the politicians. he said. that
the wealth of this country Is one OF Its
strong supports.
He didn't mean to create an aristocracy
which is ostentatious, but he said that men
who have worked in this country and have
earned their money by hard toll should be
respected. The men who occupy the big
residences on 9Th avenue, he said. are the
men who from childhood were thrown out
in the world, and they had acquired their
money by hard work luck and an exercise
of judgment. We could expect patriotism
and conservatism from that class TO main
tain the government to the end.
obligations of Corporations.
Prof. jerks then cross-exantned the Wit
ness at some length. He was asked wheth-
er there were great corporations that are
organized for speculative purposes, and he
said he did not think so among the large
ores.
He was asked whether he saw any rea-
son why companies should not state upon
their organization what part of the stock
represents good will, patent rights etc, in
addition to actual investment. li@ said he
saw no special reason why that should not
be done in some cases and saw reasons why
it should be done In others In England the
law provides for such statement. but In
Eng and there are ten times many spec
ulatiye corpora atoms as in this country, He
said no law could be passed to guarantee
to an investor that he would make money
through his stock purchases. If the law
was against fraud it could go no further.
The speculative feature of investments
could not be done away with. Two men
would view proposed enterprise different
ly. One would go in and make money and
the other would stay out
He believed every corporation should have
an auditor who should make quarterly
statements, which should go to stockhoId-
eri and be published, il necessary. He
meant by opposing publicity that every one
should not have right to go into the offic.
with power to demand that he be shown
the books. The statement by an auditor to
which he referred WAS of the kind that Is
made In England. He did not think Il was
necessary 10 have an officer Of the govern
ment make this statement The auditor
would be an officer OF the corporation on
which he reports
He said that the Addystou Pipe Company.
whose case was recently decided BY the
United states Supreme Court was illegal
under the common law, as against public
pohcy' ana that it required no legislation