Waterbury Democrat., 1901-12-03

The men who demand the impossible or the undesirable serve as the allies of the forces with which they are nom- inalIy at war, for they hamper those
 who would endeavor to find out in ra tionaI fashion what the wrongs really are and to what extent and ill what manner it is practicable to apply reme- dies.
 How to Correct tue Evils.
 All this is true, and yet it is also true that there are real and grave evils, one of the chief being oyercapita1iZa- ton because of it's many baleful con- seulIences. 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 ernment the privilege of doing busi- ness under corporate form, which frees them from individual responsibility and enables them to call into their en- terprses the capital of the public, they shall do so upon absolutely truthful representations as to the value of the property in which the capital is to be invested. Corporations engaged in in- terstate commerce should be regulated if they are found to exercise license working to the public injury. It should be as much the aim of those who seek for social betterment to rid the busl- ness world of crimes of cunning as to rid the entire body polite of crimes of violence. Great corporations exist only hna a a fP. 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 publicity. In the interest of the pub- lie the government should have the right to inspect and examine the work ings of the great corporations engaged in 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- termined after publicity has been ob- tained by process of law and ill the course of administration. The first requisite is Knowledge, full and com plete-knowledg which may be made public to the world.
 Artificial bodies, such as corporations and joint stock or other associations, depending upon any statutory law for their existence or privileges should be subject to proper governmental super vision, and full and accurate informa- ton as to their operations should be made public regularly at reasonable intervals.
 The large corporations, commonly called trusts, though organized in one state, always do business in many states, often doing very little business in the state where they are incorpo- rated. There is utter lack of uniform. ity in the state laws about them, and, as no state has any exclusive interest in or power over their acts, it has in practice proved impossible to get ade- quate regulation through state action. Therefore, in the interest of the whole people, the nation should, without in. terfering with the power of the states
 
 of supervision and regulation over all corporations doing an interstate busi- ness.
 When the constitution was adopted, at the end of the eighteenth century, no human wisdom could foretell the sweeping changes, alike in industrial and political conditions, which were to take place by the beginning of the twentieth century. At that time it was accepted as matter of course that the several states were the proper authorities to regulate, so far as was then necessary, the comparatively in- significant and strictly localized cor porate bodies of the day. The condi- tions are now wholly different, and wholly different action is called for.
 I believe that law can be framed which will enable the national govern. ment to exercise control along the lines above indicated, profting by the expe- rience gained through the passage and administration of the interstate com merce act. If, however, the Judgment of the congress is that it lacks the con- stitutional power to pass such an act, then a constitutional amendment should be submitted to confer the power.
 There should be created cabinet of ficer, to be known as secretary of commerce and industries. as provided m the bill Introduced at the last ses. sion of the congress. It should be his province to deal with commerce in it's broadest sense, including among many other things whatever concerns labor and all matters affecting the great business corporations and our mer. chant marine
 Labor.
 The president declares that he re- gards 1t necessary to re-enact the Chi nese exclusion law. In regard to labor he says that the government should provide in it's contracts that all work should be done under .:fair'' conditions and that all night work should be for bidden for women and children as well as excessive overtime. He contiEues:
 Very great good has been and will be accomplished by associations or unions of wageworkers when managed with forethought and when they combine in- sistence upon their own rights with law abiding respect for the rights of others. The display of these qualities in such bodies is a duty to the nation f11an fn fl,o <.so