Middletown transcript., 1899-09-23
WHAT OF TRUSTS !?
Col. Bryan Condemns the
Trusts Chartered by Del
aWare'S Democratic
Officials.

ware corporation is required to Civ
no secret or confidential information.
80. The certificate need not show
nor need public record be in any way
made of the amount Of stock subscrib-
ed by any incorporation.
A voice from the gallery-Colonel,
Delaware and New Jersey are both
Democratic States, are they not2
Mr.. Bryan-They were not in 1896.
Another voice from the gallery-Has
the gentleman any more questions to
put?
Mr.. Bryant am very glad to have
questions asked, because we are seek
ing the truth.
MR.. BRYAN's SPEECH. D
Mr.. Bryan's speech was in part as
follows:
81 want IT, start with the declaration
that monopoly in private hands is inde-
fensible from any standpoint and intol'
erable. make no exceptions to the
rule, l do not divide monopolies in
private hands into good monOpolies
and bad monopoIies. There is no good
monopoly in private hands until the
Almighty sends angels to preside over
US.
"Let me repeat that the primary
cause Of monopoly is love of money
and the dasi,e to secure the fruits of
monopoly; but | believe that falling
prices caused by rising dollar have
contributed to this desire and intensi-
fed it, btodnse people, with with their thEeeiiEE
plants. seeing the fdH in prices and
measuring the loss on investments,
have Inoktd about for some means by
which they could protect themselves
from this loss, and they have joined in
combination to hold up prices to pro-
tect their investments from a loss
which would not have occurred but for
the rise in the value of dollars and the
fall in the level of prices.
REMEDIES FOR MONOPOLY
81 believe we ought tohdve remedies
in bo h State and nation, and that they
should be concurrent remedies.
''In the first place. every State has,
Or should have, the right to create any
private corporation which in the judg-
ment of the people of the State, is con-
ductive to the welfare of the people ns
that State.
81 believe we can safely intrust to
the people of State the settlement of
question which concerns them. If
they create corporation and it be-
comes destructive of their best interests,
they can destroy that corporation, and
we can safely trust them both to create
and to annihiIate il conditions make
annihilsti1n necessary.
''In the second place, the State has,
or should have, the right to prohibit
any fyreign corporation from doing.
business inthe State, and it ought to
have, or has, the rightto impose such
restrictions and limitations as the.
people of the State may,think necessary
for foreign corporations doing business
in the State.
"In other words, the people of the.
State not only should have a right to
create the corporation they want, but
they should be permitted to protect
themselves against any outside corpor-
alton.
'But l do not think this is sufficient.
l believe, in addition to State remedy,
there must be a Federal remedy.
81 believe Congress has, or should
have, the power to place restrictions
and limitations, even to the point of
prohibition, such as may to Congress
seem necessary for the protection Of
the public good. f7tt
THE METHOD HE SUGGESTS
"The method that occurs to me is
this: That Congress should pass law
providing that no corporation orgsni-
zed in any State should do business
outside Of the State in which it is or
ganized until it receives from some
power created by Congress license
authorizing it to do business outside of
its own State.
''Now, If the corporation must come
to this body created by Congress to Sc
curs permission to do business outside
the State, then that license can be
granted upon conditions which will, in
the first place, prevent the watering of
stock; in the second place will prevent
monopoly in any branch Of business,
and, third, provide for publicity as to
all of the transactions and business of
the corporation"
A voice-Colonel. would such law
be constitutionalp
81 was going to cover that. / am
glad you mentioned it. What I mean
to say is this, that Congress ought to
pass such law.
s'If 1t is unconstitutional, and so
declared by the Supreme Court, I am
in favor of an amendment to the Con-
stitution that will give Congress power
to destroy every trust in the country.
';The first condition which suggest
ec was that no water should be. allow
ed In the stock. don't agree with
those who say 1t is matter entirely
immaterial whether corporation has
water in its stock or not. It is true
that In the long run. II you are able to
run as long as the run is, you may
squeeze the water out Of the stock, but
during AT that time the harm goes oq;
,,,,-s~.-, c1Y &l.Sf tina Ne fvttef a6asussso