Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1901-12-07

legitimate business Gun be acuu1nalHU
| ed by the person specially benGate
only on condition Of con8erFing In
1ense incidental benefits upen ott
ga. Successful enter rise ce the typ
which benefits al maRktnd can enl
| exist If the conditions are such as i
offer great pixies as the rewards o
success.
ReasonS Fer C@uAssn4
Tho president adds t1at thdke a.,
many reasons Cor caution In dealtni
with corporations. He saysG
The same business c0ndsEa6nR wiliol
have produced the great aggr sehon;
ef corporate and Individual wealth
have made them very potent factors II
international commercial competition.
Moreover, It cannot too oGsen b.
pointed out that to stEfaDe with ignosan'
violence at the interests OF enc set Of
men almost inevitably endangeCB Tho
interests Of all. The fundamental rule
in our national hfe-ths rule Wh3ch un.
derlieS all others is that, on the whole
and in the long run, we shall go UP or
down together.
The mechanism Of modern business
is so delicate that extreme care must
be taken not to interfere with It In
a spirit of rashness or ignorance. In
dealing with business interests, for
the government to undertake by crude
and i'll considered legislation to do
what may turn out to be bad, would
be to incur the risk of such faTFeach-
ing national disaster that 1t would be
preferable to undertake nothing at all.
The men who demand the impossible
or the undesirable serve as the allies
Of the forces with which they are NOM
inally at war, for they hamper those
who would endeavor to find out In ra-
tional fashion what the wrongs really
are and to what extent and In what
manner it is practicable to apply RENE
dies.
How to Correct the Evils.
All this is true, and yet it is also
true that there are real and grave evils,
one Of the chief being overcapitalza=
ton because of it's many baleful con-
sequences, and resolute and practical
effort must be made to correct these
evils.
It is no limitation upon property
rights or freedom of contract to re
quire that when men receive from gov
eminent the privilege Of doing bust
ness under corporate form, which frees
them from individual responsibility
and enables them to call into their en-
terprises the capital Of the public, they
shall do so upon absolutely truthful
representations as 60 the value of the
in which the capital is to be
invested. Corporations engaged in in.
terstate commerce should be regulated
if they are found to exercise a license
working to the public injury. 1t should
be as much the aim Of those who seek
for social betterment to rid the bust 4
ness world Of crimes Of cunning as to
rid the entire body polite of crimes Of
violence. Great corporations exist only
because they are created and safe
guarded by our institutions, and it is
therefore our right and our duty to
see that they work in harmony with
these institutions
Publicity the First Essential.
The first essential in determining
how to deal with the great industrial
combinations is knowledge Of the facts
In the interest Of the pub
lie the government. should have the
right to inspect and examine the work
ngs of the great corporations engaged
n Interstate business. Publicity is the
only sure remedy which we can now
invoke. What further remedies are
needed in the way of governmental
regulation or taxation can only be de-
ermined after publicity has been OBJ
aimed by process Of law and in the
course of administration. The first |
equisite is knowledge, full and COM
,lete- knowledge which may be made
public to the world.
Artificial bodies, such as corporations
md joint stock or other associations,
upon any statutory law for
heir existence or privileges should be
uUJSSI " PAOpOA SoPSA
'ision, and full and accurate informa
ion as to their operations should be
made public regularly at reasonable
intervals.
The large corporations. commonly
allied trusts, though organized in one
tate, always do business in many
tates, often doing very little business
q the state where they are incorpo-
ated. There is utter lack of uniform
y in the state laws about them, and,
S no state has any exclusive interest +
4 or power over their acts, it has in
ractice proved impossible to get ade-
uate regulation through state action.
therefore,, in the interest of the whole
eople, the nation should, without in
with the power Of the states
l the matter itself, also assume power
supervision and regulation over all
doing an interstate bust
ess.
Amend Constitution If Necessary.
When the constitution was adopted,
the end Of the eighteenth century,
o human wisdom could foretelE the