The record-union., 1899-09-16
5 Wassern0an, kaufman & Go.

And that government only is just and
beneficent which has neither favorites
nor victims.
Nov, / have said that these favors
are extended by the common belief, and
I have said and acknowledged that if
one person attains rates that are ex-
cessively favorable, his goods are
transported at a loss. What is the
remedy? Some gentlemen have sug-
gested municipal ownership. Cap
plause.)
Ladies and gentlemen, 1 have no
quarrel with the applause for munich
pal ownership. 1 concede the principle
of it (applause). The Government has
no right to empower any private agency
to perform a function unless it be one
which the Government would be bound
itself to perform if that agency were
not to be found. The only excuse for
| empowering a private corporation to
discharge a public function is the ex-
cuse that the service would be more
effective. The question then of muni-
cipal ownership is a mere question of
expediency. There are many grave
questions to be considered before a
municipal ownership could be reduced
to practical operation, even though we
would now set about the task.
Nov, is there any practical remedy
that this conference can suggest that
that can be put in form by any legisla-
ton that happens to be adopted. NV
friends, it seems to be very simple
matter. The fact is, you would not
have the task of framing a law to de-
nounce special rates to individuals:
that is the law to-day. The remedy is
simply to define a practical penalty, a
serious one, and to provide for the
proper statute of publicity. and YOU
need not enforce the penalty. An officer
of a corporation granting a special IA
yor to any person who has a right to
use that possession on equal terms
with everybody else ought to be hell
guilty of serious felony applause J
Now, with a statute authorizing and
making it the right of every shipper.
of every person using a public fran
chise to have disclosed to him at anv
time every contract and agreement
made with any other person. you will
find there will be little difficulty about
avoiding the enforcement of the penal
statute, for it will not be transgressed.
We want a simple statute of publicity,
and I believe that will check the spe-
cial fovors.
eve do not object to the principle OF
cooperation. Corporate existence is
the natural evolution of the partner
ship; it is scheme by which men.
strangers to each other, can operate in
production, While partnership was a
scheme limited to men who knew each
other and were compelled to work to-
gether. But the management of cor
porations has been the blacklist page
in our history. (Applause) And the
public Indignation, unfortunately,
which ought to be expended upon the
corporate management which is re-
sponsible for this shame, has too often
been visited upon the stockholders and
the corporators themselves, who have
been the victims of that infamy To
all this, my friends, the remedy is
publicity. A statute which would
modify but slightly. If at all, the ex-
listing laws of every State, would make
this species of fraud impossible
mo corporation has a right to Sc
crecy in the discharge of it's duties.
No corporation anxious to perform hon
est service to the public and its stock
holders will seek secrecy or will insist
upon it. Remember that this secrecy
is not invoked by corporate members
against the public any more than it is
against their own stockholders.
Ladies and gentlemen we have but
any stockholder shall have the right to