Evening journal., 1901-09-21

,rity.
The corporation rarely nses Illegal
methods 10 Cypress the people. for It's
business from the nature of the case
cannot be conducted with that secrecy
possible 10 an individual When it is
Oppressive it is because by sheer
weight Of capital II can crush out oppo-
,sitiOn by legitimate business methods.
This has been true Of certain great mo-
Incpolles. which a great many men re-
gard as f.rcing onerous burdens upon
the backs of labor. But the same busi-
ness methods employed on a miniature
scale would probably meet with COM
mondation.
II has been discovered by even men
limited opportunities that the subject
Is a delicate one. and that any legis-
lation that will not hamper business,
and, hence decrease general prosperity
is hard to enact. The number OF char
ters annually granted, with their at
tendant fees. has attracted the Jaw
makers of several States. They have
said. that inasmuch as the laws OF
somo commonwealths can be found OF
sufficient breadth to grant charter
for> almost any purpose. their OWL
States had as well make bid for &
rart Of the patronage, and reap the in.
cldental revenues. A glance will show
that in the States where there Is the
greatest number OF chartered compan
les s'doing business. and where there ar,
the largest aggregations Of capital, tn
regulations are most strict while II
those sections where there is the great
est prejudice against these aggrega
ltions. the charters are granted New
York concerns in large numbers are
chartered in New Jersey or Connect
cut. Pennsylvania companies in New
Jersey or Delaware. OF course we d.
not mean to say that when concern
go away from home to obtain their
charters they are necessarily outlaws
but such suspicion is created by tn,
act As a consequence there is one
healthy element, legitimate concerns
take pride in obtaining their charters
where they propose to do business.
For number of years, owing to las
regulations, New Jersey had almost a
monopoly of granting these franchises
to concerns which could not be char
tered in their own States. There wa
Ia provision that their principal office,
should be in that State. but that was
only nominally complied with. II
Camden. Newark and Jersey City there
were many buildings, devoted to thes'
principal Offices which never saw
representative OF the company. Mex
West Virginia made a bid for this class
OF business, and many of the charter
for the "get-rich-Quick' concerns il
vogue decade ago, were granted there
The Delaware law, which was passed
lsevera. years since, has received much
newspaper attention, and whatever It
merits or demerits. It has been a reve
nue. raiser To be candid, we presum,
that it was not framed with an eye
single to the necessities of the business
in our own State. but the revenue de
rived from foreign concerns was no
lost to sight. Yet, If certain States
have made provisions that are too mar
row and restricted to admit OF combi
nations whose purposes are reasonable
and right. there is no reason why othe
States should turn them away. 1t l.
charged that the Delaware law is ex.
ceedingly lax inasmuch as it does no
hold the incorporated companies undei
close supervision. The annual state
ment, which must be filed with tn
Secretary of State, does not require
any business details; and, consequent
ly. abuses are not subject to correction
from this source. Yet there is no rea-
son why all States where these con
Germs do business may not cover any,
defect by statutes of their own, lookinf
to the supervision and control of sucf
ompanies.
While certain States like New Jersey
West Virginia and Delaware have beer
} regarded as Offering inducements Il
wildcat concerns, there is a growing
thought that the laws of the more con
servative States have been too rigid
Connecticut has broken away from he
traditions and enacted what is prob
3 ably the most liberal law on the sub
5 iect In New York. too, certain oner
r GUS restrictions have been abolished
= and the rate of taxation lowered. Prot
? ably the ideal legislation lies some
r where between the two extremes. a
S represented by the former New Yor
= law and the present Delaware system
> President Mckinley
s The following poem was written I