Free press., 1901-12-07

and enables them to call into their enterprises
the capital of the public. they shall DO SO
the value Of the property IN which the capt.
tai is TO be invested Corporations engaged
If they found to exercise a license work
ing to the public injury 1t should be a
betterment to rid the business world OF
crimes Of cunning to rid the entire body
polite OF crimes of violence. Great corpora
and safeguarded by our institutions and It
is therefore our right and our duty to see
that they work in harmony with these insti-
tutions-
Publicity Remedy for Trusts.
The first essential in determining how to
deal with the great Industrial combinations
is knowledge Of the facts-publcity- In the
interest Of the public, the government should
have the right to inspect and examine the
workings Of the great corporations engaged
sure remedy which We can now invoke. What
further remsdies needed in the way of
goTernmentai reguIaton, or taxation, can
obtained, by process of law, and in the course
of administration. The hrst requisite is
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 gov
ernmentai supervision, and full and accurate
information to their operations should be
made public regularly at reasonable intervals.
THE large corporations, commonly called
do business in many states. often doing very
little business in the state where they are
Incorporated There is utter lack of uniform
ity in the state laws about them; and
state has any exclusive interest in power
over their acts, it has in practice proved i'm
possible TO get adequate regulation through
state action Therefore, in the interest of the
whole people, the Nation should. without in
terIerlns with the power OF the states in the
matter itself, also assume power OF super
vision and regulation over all corporations
doing an interstate business This is espe-
cially true where the corporation derives a
portion of its wealth from the existence of
some monopolistic element or tendency in its
business. There would be no hardship in
such supervision banks are subject to it, and
in their case if is nov accented as simDIe
matter of course Indeed, it is probable that
supervision of corporations by the National
government need not go so far as is now the
case with the supervision exercised over them
Dg SO conservative a state as Massachusetts,
in order to produce excellent results.
oelieVe that law can pc framed Which
will enable the National government to exer-
else control along the lines above indicated;
ptohting by the experience gained through
the passage and administration of the Inter
state-C Commerce Act If, however. the judg
ment of the Congress is that it lacks the
constitutional power to pass such act,
then q constitutional amendment should be
submitted to confer the power.
There should be created Cabinet officer.
to be known as Secretary Of Commerce and
Industries, provided in the bill introduced
at the last session of the Congress. 1t should
broadest sense including among many other
things whatever concerns labor and all mat
and our merchant marine.
Restriction on Immigration.
with the sole exception of the farming
interest, no one matter is of such vital mo-
ment to our whole people as the welfare OF
the wage-workers. II the farmer and the
wage-worker are well of, it is absolutely
certain that all others will be well on, too.
1t is therefore matter for hearty congratu-
Iation that on the whole wages are Higher
to-day in the United States than ever before
in our history, and far higher than in any
9TH init TIa cTar n Of iI-iT iG a leo
higher than ever before. Every effort of leg
islator and administrator should be bent 10
secure the permanency of this condition OF
things and its improvement wherever posi-
BILE. Not only must our labor be protected
by the tariff but it should also be protected
SO far as it is possible from the presence in
this country of any laborers brought over by
contract, OF of those who, coming freely,
yet represent a standard of living so de-
pressed that they undersell our men in
the labor market and drag them to a lower
level. 1 regard it as necessary, with this
end in view to re-enact Immediately the law
excluding Chinese laborers and to strength
en- it wherever necessary in order to make
its enforcement entirely effective.
$50 far as practicable under the conditions
OF government work. provision 4 - should 11 be
hour law easy and certain. In all indus
tries carried on directly or indirectly for the
dren should be protected from excessive
hours of labor, from night work, and from
work under unsanitary conditions.
THE most vital problem with which this
country, and for that matter the whole civ
ilized world, has to deal, is the problem
which has for side the betterment of
ciaI conditions, neral and physical, in large
cities, and for another side the effort to deal
with the tangle of far-reaching questions
which we group together when We speak of
labor Very great good has been and will
be accomplished by associations unions Of
wage-wc~kers, when managed with fore
thought, and when they combine insistence
spect for the rights of others The display of
these qualities in such bodies is duty to the
Nation no less than to the associations them
cases be action by the government in order
to safeguard the rights and interests of all.
municipality than by the Nation. But On
points such as those touched on above the
National government can act
''OUr present immigration laws are unsat-
isfactory. We need every honest and eff
clent immigrant fitted to become an Ameri-
can citizen, every immigrant who comes here
to stay, who brings here a strong body,
stout heart a good head, and a resolute pur-
pose to do his duty well in every way and TO
bring up his children law-abiding and
there should be a comprehensive law enact
ed with the object of working threefold i'm
provement over our present system First,
we should aim to exclude absolutely not only
all persons who are known to be believers in
anarchistic principles OF members of an
are of a low moral tendency or of unsavory
reputation. This means that We should re-
qure a more thorough system of inspection
abroad and more rlg1d system OF exanlna-
tion at our immigration ports, the former be-
ing especially necessary.
1.-THE second object OF a proper immigra-
ton law ought to be to secure by careful
and not merely perfunctory educational test
some intelligent capacity to appreciate Amer
lean institutions and act sanely Ameri-
can citizens. This would not keep out all
anarchists, for many of them belong to the
intelligent criminal class. But it would do
what is also in point, that is tend to de-
crease the sum of ignorance, so potent in
producing the envy, suspicion, malignant
passion and hatred of order, out of which
anarchistic sentiment inevitably springs.
Finally, all persons should be excluded who
are below certain standard of economic fit
ness to enter our industrial field COM
petitors with American labor There should
be proper proof of personal capacity to earn
an American living and enough money to in
sure a decent start under American condi
labor, and the resulting competition which
gives rise to much of bitterness in AmeTi
can industrial life; and il would dry up the
springs of the pestileatial social conditions
in our great cities, where anarchistic organ
izations have their greatest possibility of
growth.
Question of Reciprocity.
There is general acquiesence in our pres
ent tariff system a national policy. The
first requisite to our prosperity is the con-
tinuity and stability of this economic policy
Nothing could be more unwise than to dis
turb tho business interests of the country by
any general tariff change at this time. Doubt,
wish to avoid in the interest Of our COM
mercial and material well-being- Our expert
ence in the past has shown that sweeping
TeViSiCnS tariff DrOdu@e