The Elk Mountain pilot., 1900-01-23
ROOSEVELT ON TRUSTS.
Extracts From His Message to the New
York Legislature.

Extracts From His Message to the New
York Legislature.
Nothing needs closer attention, moth
ing deserves to be treated with more
courage, caution and sanity than the
relations of the state to corporate
wealth and, indeed, to vast individual
wealth. For almost every gain there
is a penalty, and the great strides in
the Industrial upbuilding of the coun-
try, which have on the whole been at
tended with marked benefit have also
been attended by no little evil. The
point to be aimed at is the protection
of the individual against wrong, not
the attempt to limit and hamper the
acquisition and output of wealth.
1t is almost equally dangerous either
to blink at evils and refuse to acknowl-
edge their existence, or to strike at
them in n spirit of ignorant revenge,
thereby doing far more harm than is
remedied. The need can be met only
by careful study of conditions and by
action which, while taken boldly and
without hesitation, is neither needless
nor reckless. 1t is well to remember.
on the one hand, that the adoption of
what is reasonable in the demands of
reformers is the surest way to prevent
the adoption of what is unreasonable,
and, on the other hand, that many of
the worst and most dangerous laws
which have been put upon statute
books have been put there by Jealous
reformers with excellent intentions.
The first essential is knowledge of
the facts, publicly. Much can be done
at once by amendment of the corpora
tions laws so as to provide for such
publicity as will not work injustice as
between business rivals.
The chief abuses alleged to arise
from trusts are probably the following:
Misrepresentation or concealment re-
garding material facts connected with
the organization of an enterprise, the
evils connected with inscriptions pro-
motion, overcapitalization, unfair com
petition, resulting in the crushing out
of competitors who themselves do not
act improperly; raising of prices above
fair competitive rates, the welding of
ers OF course none of these abuses
may exist in n particular trust, but in
many trusts, as well as in many cor
porations not ordinarily called trusts,
one or more of them are evident. Some
of these evils could be partially rene
died by n modification of our corpora
ton laws. Here we can safely go
along the lines of the more conserva-
tive New England states and probably
not little further. Such laws will
themselves provide the needed publici-
ty and the needed circumstantiality
of statement.
We should know authoritatively
| whether stock represents actual value
| of plants or whether it represents
| brands or good will. or, IL not, what it
! does represent, If anything. 1t is de-
sirable to know how much was actual
ly bought, how much was issued free
and to whom and, If possible, for what
reason. In the first place. this would
be invaluable in preventing harm be-
ing done as among the stockholders,
for many of the grossest wrongs that
are perpetrated are those of promoters
and organizers at the expense of the
general public, who are invited to take
shares in business organizations. In
the next place, this would enable us
to see just what the public have right
to expect in the way of service and
| taxation.