Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1899-09-21

ton is a matter of no pubic movement
In another, 1 think it has serious as
1T matters very little how I capitalize
an enterprise in itself IL capitalize it /
the public would Immediately put the
shares at 100 per cent. premium, and they
would be quoted at 200. II would make no
difference whether capitalized it at 500, :
900 or 100000. If. on the other hand. I
capitalized at $4O0, 900. the shares would
sell at so, and that would not make very
Now, my friends, the remedy for all
evils, in my judgment, is the original rem
edy which / ggeSted-pubItcity, publici-
ty. The hatred of corporations, which. as
1 say, Is not wholly justified, is not dis
creditable to the public opinion of Ameri
ca In fact, lay down as cardinal rule,
which I think any person can follow with
perfect safety. that whenever you ind a
general opinion on any subject in Americal
there is always a pretty good ground for
it. (ApplauSe.) The diStruSt of corpora
tions arises not in my opinion from any
well-considered dislike TO corporate en-
titles.
But the management of corporations
has been the blacklist page in all our MIS-
tory. (Applause) And the public in
dignation unfortunately which ought to
be extended on the corporate management
which is responsible for tins shame, has
to often been visited on the stockholders,
have been the victims o: that infamy.
CnIprits Unpublished.
Now, all the history of infamy and of
brought one hour of shame or humilia
ton to those who have perpetrated II.
They are walking the streets to-day. their
heads high in the world of finance. TO the
best informed the story is only partially
known, to the vast mass OF the people Il
is a sealed book.
These frauds are perpetrated in in
sidious methods. The public are fooled as
to the value of the stocks, with specific
statements; interest," en Is panad on and 9o fbe
public believe them solvent; it pays its
fixed charges and the public buys the
stock, even though no dividends have
been paid, believing that dividends are
soon to be paid because the fixed charges
are met; interest is paid On the preferred
stock which never has oeen earned, in
order that the common stock may b.
foated. But when the collapse comes.
when the ruin is complete in nine cases
out of ten the engineers Of this ruin are
appointed the receivers by the courts IL
order to conduct the plan of reorganiza-
Against the monopoly mat depends on
government favor IN any shape or form. I
am as truly opposed as any gentleman
even from Texas. tLaushter.) But, my
friends, when we come to consider the or
ganization which dominates the markc'
without any aid from government. why
then we are face to face with forced in
PRODUCTION which is of radically opposite
Now, let us see what the objection -
that is. We are told that IL defeats con-
petition; but. my friends, that is an oh
vious mistake. | must say to begin with
that any industrial rial ors'aF N tnaf
need 1 regard as a benefit, and | can not
possibly bring myself to quarrel with it
Uaughter) / can not quarrel with It,
even if you call it a monopoly.
Competitions Results.
''If you have competition you will have
excellence. Is not every form of COMPETE
ton certain to produce excellence where-
ever it occurs? L heard my friend, So
cialist, this morning, whose name L be-
lieve ought to become famous all over the
United States after that most interesting
address which he delivered. declare that
competition was warfare. Let me pro-
test to that.
Competition Is not warfare in the sense
of being destructive. Competition is the
aSCertainment of the place of greatest
utility for each individual
These men are not thrown out of en-
pIoyment permanently, like the cobhler
was taken from his cellar where he was
making ore pair of shoes day. into the
with the increased power If machinery
So the man who is displaced by one elc-
ment of progress is got absolutely retired
from the field of industry, but he is trans
ferred from one field where he is no long
er most useful to anosher where his capa-
cities are of greater development.
You would not destroy him. When you
defeat him in competition you may
change his place, you make him go from
the sphere where he can not excel to the
sphere in which he can have a chance,
and. believe me, there is no human being
that-has not aptitude in some department
Now monopoly is made just as all
other monOpolies of intellect and made by
it is cruel and wrong 10 pay $50 to trust
for a good suit of cloths instead of pay
ing $50 for bad one to some retail tailor
so as to keep him going to preserve n mid
die man in an industrial capacity. why he
has a perfect right to do it. There is no
law to prevent him, but he has no right
to impose a similar sacrifice upon me.
who don't share his sCrr;pples. But don't
you see if it is wrong to encourage excel
lency in commodities il is equally wrong
to discharge excellency in professions?
Proof of Prosperity.
I'm my judgment there IS but on test
of prosperity, which is absolutely infalli-
ble-that is, the rate of wages paid to
Il was greatly impressed by the sta -
ment of Mr.. Gompers recognizing I e
steadily been toward a higher rate o.
wages. 1t is very agreeable to me to con-
cur in that statement, and 1 consider 1t
ture prosperity that the movement OF
wa ges is upward and must be upward be-
cause there are two forces working In
that direction.
But here / desire 20 say what perhaps
may sound strange TO some of you, and
may perhaps shock a great many of those
who approve what I have said before.
Labor unions do not affect the rate or
wages much. if at all think, perhaps, !
that proposition. And vet they are of
enormous benefit to the whole body of the
er as to the laborers, and it is in their
protection and their development that we
must find and hope FOR that era of peace
which means the great Industrial pros
perity to which this republic is destined.
My friends. these ere my suggestions:
Publicity for corporate mismanaSement'
vors: right of action against any corpora
ton whose service is suspended except N
times ready to discuss with it's employees
questions at issue between them by agen-
cies of their selection.
AZ am told that if we promote this CO.
operation we will destroy individualism.
Individualism - another of the phrases
which have been specially invented for
the perplexity of mankind. Individualism
in its last analysis is savagery. The say
age depending on himself alone for his
tree or the stone picked W by his unaided
hand from the ground for his weapon, is
the most complete instance OF individual
ism conceivable.
At the close of his speech the New
Yorker won the hearts of his listeners
by paying Mr.. Bryan few well-chosen
which the democratic
leader blushingly acknowledged. Mr..
Cochran likened Mr.. Bryan to mon
opoly, and claimed he was a bigger
monopoly as the leader of the demo-
cratic party than any financial corpo-
ration in the world.
Mr.. Cochran spoke for about two
hours, and when he finished, cries for
Mr.. Bryan came from all over the
house. Fina V Mr.. Bryan arose, and
said that for the good of the confer
ence, all partisan feeling should he
from the gathering, and al
though he agreed with Mr.. Cochran
in many of his arguments, it was nee
essary that his side of the controversy
should be given tomorrow.
The Columbia ut Bristol.