Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1899-09-22

allowed in the stock. / do not believe
any State should permit the organiza-
tion of any corporation with a single
drop OF water in the stock OF that cor
poration. Why should the corpora
tion be permitted to put out stock
that represents no real value? No
man can defend stock that does not
represent money invested, and only in
the case OF a monopoly can you secure
dividends upon stock that does not
represent money Invested.
We had a case in Nebraska where
we tried to regulate railroad rates,
and one railroad in our State was cap
italized and bonded for more than five
times what it would cost to duplicate
the road, and yet the judge held that
in fixing rates we had to consider the
watered stock as we'll as the actual
value OF that road. When the case
went to the supreme court, decision
was rendered which was in substance
that in determining what was rea-
sonable rate we had to take into con-
sideration u number OF things beside
the present value OF that road, meas
ured by the cost of reproduction, and
you will find that if the watering of
stock is permitted, then the cry of the
innocent purchaser is raised, and you
will be told that you must protect the
man who bought this stock. My judg-
ment is that no man can stand in the
position Of an innocent purchaser who
buys stock in corporation if that
stock is not represented by actual
money invested, because he can find
out what the stock stands for If he
will only investigate.
If this license is granted then the
first conditions can be that any corpo-
ration desiring to do business outside
OF the State it is organized in shall
bring to that board or body proof that
that stock is bona fde, and that there
is no water in it. In my judgment,
when you take from monopoly the
pewer to issue stock Represented by no
money, you will go more than half the
way towards destroying monopoly in
the United States.
You can provide for publicity and
that annually, or at other times, the
shall make returns of its
business, and when you provide for
publicity so that the public shall
know just what there is in the corpo-
ration, you will go another long step
toward the destruction of the princi.
pie of monopoly.
A third condition l suggest, that
the license should not be granted until
the corporation shall show that it has
not had monopoly, and is not at
tempting monopoly Of any branch OF
industry on any article of merchan-
disc and to provide that if the law is
the license can be revoked.
Now, l may be mistaken, but it has
seemed to me that this method OF
dealing with the trusts would serve as
an effective method. do not say
there shall be no private corporations,
but 1 say that corporation, if created
by law, is created for the public good,
and it should never be permitted to do
a thing that is injurious to the public
good. My contention is that there is
a vicious principle running through
the various policies which we have
been pursuing; that in our taxation
we have besn imposing upon the great
struggling masses the burdens OF the
government, while we have been vot-
ing the privilegs to the people who
will not pay their share OF the ex-
penses of the government.
Every unjust tax law is an indi-
rect form OF larceny. II we can secure
q government whose foundations are
laid on justice and laws exemplifying
the doctrine of equality before the
law, and then under such a govern.
ment and such laws wealth is accumu-
lated to a point where it becomes
dangerous. then We can meet that
question when it arrives and I am
willing to trust the wisdom of society
to meet every question that arises and
remedy every wrong. l have faith
that these questions will be settled
and settled right, but / want to pro-
test against this doctrine that the
trust is n natural outgrowth Of natural
laws. 1t is not true. The trust is the
natural outgrowth of unnatural con-
ditions created by man-made laws.
You cannot hide behind the doc
trine that it is here and you cannot
get rid of it. believe that the Amer
ican people can get rid of anything
that they don't want, and that they
ought to get rid OF everything that IS
not good. 1 believe that the Declara.
ton of independence is the grandest
document ever penned by human
hands. The truths of that declara-
ton are condensed into four great
propositions-that all men are created
equal; that they are endowed with
inalienable rights; that governments
are instituted among men to preserve
those rights; and that governments
derive their just powers from the con-
sent Of the governed. Such a govern
ment is impossible under industrial
aristocracy. Place the food and
clothing and all that we eat and wear