Morris tribune., 1899-10-07

tAiANs AOT puUllClly do ~ Oh u TIC
transactions and business Of the cor
poration.
Danger in secrecy.
You can provide for publicity, and
that annually or at such other times as
the corporation shall make returns of
lis business and of its earnings, be-
cause as has been well said by men
who have spoken here, corporations
cannot claim that they have a right
or that it IS necessary to cover their
transactions with secrecy, and when
you provide for publicity, so that the
public shall know just what there is
IN the corporation, just what 1t Is
doing and just what it is making, you
will go another long step toward the
destruction OF the principle of the mo-
nopoly.
But am not willing to stop there.
! DO not want to go one step or two
steps want to go all the way and
make the principle of monopoly abso-
'lutely impossible, or monopoly abso-
lutely impossible, in the industry of
this country. And therefore. as a
third condition. suggest that this IL
cense shall not be granted until the
corporation shows that it has not had
a monopoly and Is not attempting a
monopoly of any branch of industry
or any article OF merchandise, Then
provide that IL the law is violated the
license can be revoked do not be-
lieve in the, government giving privi-
Ieges to be used by corporation with
out reserving the right to withdraw
them when those privileges become
hurtful to the people.
Unjust Law Is Robbery.
Every unjust tax law is an indirect
form of larceny. If, for instance, a
SO, and one who ought to pay So pays
$40, the law that compels this con-
tribution from these two men virtually
takes S. from one mans pocket and
puts that S. in another mans pocket,
and l have claimed that when we col
lected our taxes we were making the
poor people pay not only their OVID
share. but the share of men whom
they have no chance to meet at the
summer resorts. And l have been
gratified to note the progress you have
been making in Illinois toward more
equitable division and more equit-
able distribution of the burdens Of
government.
IF we can secure government
whose foundations are laid in justice
and laws exemplifying the doctrine of
equality before the law-if we can Sc
cure such a government and such
laws. and then under such govern
ment and such laws wealth is accumu-
lated in a point where it becomes dan
gerous we can meet that question
when it arises, and | am willing to
trust the wisdom of society to meet
every question that arises and remedy
every wrong.
First. l would see if they die soon
enough to relieve US of danger, and If
they didn't ! would see what was nee
essary to protect society from them.
And this brings me to what l regard
very important branch of this sub
ject. Every trust rests upon a cor
poration. At least that rule is so
nearly universal that l think we can
accent ii as the basis for our delibera-
ton. Every trust rests upon cor
poration and every corporation is a
creature of law. The corporation is a
man, individuals.
When God Made Man.
when God made man as the climax
of creation, He looked upon His work
and said it was good, and yet when
God got through the tallest man was
not much taller than the shortest, and
the strongest man was not much
stronger than the weaker. That was
Gods plan. We looked upon His work
and said it was not quite as good as
it might be. and so we made a fcti-
tious man that is in some instances
hundred times-a thousand times-a
million times-stronger than God made
man. Then we started this man-made
giant out among the Godmade pyg-
mics. Now when God made man he
placed a limit to bis existence. SO that
if he were bad man he could not do
harm long, but when we made our
man-made man we raised the limit on
his age. When God made man He
breathed into him soul and warned
him that in the next world he would
he held accountable for the deeds done
in the flesh, but when we made our
man-made man we did not give him
soul. and if he can avoid punishment
in this world he need not worry about
the hereafter.
1--WE are not dealing with the nat
ural man: we are not dealing with
natural rights. We are dealing with
the nlan-made man and artificial priVi-
leges and so-called rights. What gov
eminent gives the government can
take away. What the government
creates it can control and insist that
both the state government and the fed
eral government must protect the God
made man from the man-made man.
OutgrOwth Of Unnatural Conditions.
"The trust is the natural outgrowth
of unnatural conditions created by
man-made laws. There are some who
would defend everything good or bad.
on the ground that it is part of des-
tiny and you cannot inquire into it.
The fact that it is, proves that it
is right: the fact that it is, proves that
it has come to stay, and the most
potent argument that was ever made
in defense of vicious system was not
that it was right. and ought to stay,
but that it has come to stay, whether
YOU like it or not. say that it is the
most potent argument that has ever
been advanced in behalf of an error
it is here, it has come to stay, what are