Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1901-12-07

only on condition of comforting I'M
mense incidental benefits upon 9TH
ers. Successful enterprise Of the type
which benefits all mankind can only
exist If the conditions are such as to
offer great prizes as the rewards Of
success.
Reasons For Caution.
The president adds that there are
many reasons for caution in dealing
with corporations He says:
The same business conditions which
have produced the great aggregations
of corporate and individual wealth
have made them very potent factors in
international commercial competition.
Moreover. 1t cannot too often be
pointed out that to strike with ignorant
violence az the interests of one set Of
men almost inevitably endangers the
interests of ALL The fundamental rule
in our national lfe-the rule which I'M
derlies an others lis that, on the whole
and In the long run, we shall go upor
down together
The mechanism of modern business
is so delicate that extreme care must
be taken not to interfere with 1t in
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 10 incur the risk OF such farreaeh-
ing national disaster that it 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 reme-
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 overcapitaliza-
ton because of its many baleful con-
sequences, and resolute and practical
! effort nlst be made to correct these
| evils
1t is no limitation upon property
rights or freedom of contract 10 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 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. 1t 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
| because they are created and safe
| guarded by our institutions, and 1t 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 OBJ
tanned by process of law and in the
course of administration. The first
requisite is knowledge, full and COM
| plete-knowledge 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. tholgh 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
in the matter itself, also assume power
Of supervision and regulation over all
corporations doing an interstate bust
| ness.
Amend Constitution IL Necessary.
When the constitution was adopted,
at the end of the eighteenth century,
no human wisdom could foretell the
sweeping changes. alike in industrial