The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1902-08-27
Efforts to Avoid the Law.

]
ations or corporations under certain
peculiar conditions.
Efforts to Avoid the Law.
For instance, some time ago the at.
torney general took action against a
certain trust. There has been con.
siderable discussion as to whether the
trust aimed at would not seek to get
out f:om under the law by becoming
single corporation. Now want laws
to enable us to deal with no matter
what shape it takes. want to see the
! government able to get at it definitely,
so that the action of the government
can not be evaded by any turning
within or without federal or state
statutes.
At present we have really no eff.
cient control over a big corporation
which does business in more than one
state. Frequently the corporation has
nothing whatever to do with the state
in which it is incorporated except to
get incorporated and its actions may
| be taken in entirely different commu.
mites which may object very much to
the methods Of Incorporation in the
state named.
| do not think you can get action by
any state, action by all the states. that
will give us satisfactory control OF
| trusts or big corporations and the re.
suit is at present that if we pass laws
nobody can tell whether they will
amount to anything Now that has two
bad effects. In the first place the cor.
poration becomes Indifferent; the law
making body gets into that most
pernicius custom of passing a law not
with reference to what will be done
under it but with reference to its
effect on the opinions of the voters
That is a bad thing.
What | hope to see is power given
to the national legislature which shall
make the control real. 1t would be an
excellent thing If we could have all
| the states act on somewhat similar
lines so that it would be unnecessary
for the national government to act,
but all of you know perfectly well the
states won't act on similar lines.
National Control Necessary.
If We can get adequate control by
the nation of these corporations then
we can pass legislation which will
| give us the power of regulation and
supervision over them. If the nation
had that power, mind you, | should
advocate as strenuously as | know
how that the power should be eXer.
cised with extreme caution and self
restraint. No good will come from
plunging in without having looked
carefully ahead. The first thing we
want is publicity. | want publicity as
as to the essential facts in which the |
public has an interest. | want the
knowledge given to the accredited |
representatives of the people of facts |
on which those representatives can, |
if they see fit, base their actions. No
suit will be undertaken for the sake
of seeming to undertake it.
Every suit that is undertaken will |
be begun because that great lawyer
and upright man whom we are so
fortunate as to have as attorney gen.
eral, Mr. Knox, believes that there is
a violation of law which he can get
at, and when the suit is undertaken it
won't be compromised excepting on
the basis that the government wins.
OF course, gentlemen, no laws
amount to anything unless they are
administered honestly and fearlessly.
Then believe, am not going to say
| am sure of it, but believe it is pos.
sible to frame national legislation
which shall give us more power than
we have row at any rate over cor
porations doing an Interstate business.
| con not guarantee that because in
the past it has more than once hap
pened that We have got laws on the
statute books which those who made
them intended to mean one thing and
when they came up for discussion it
was found that the intention had not
been successfully put into effect. But
! believe that additional legislation can
be had.
And when the power has been con-
ferred il will rest with the national
government to exercise it. At present
we are going to do the best we can
with strawless bricks, but remember
they are bound to be strawless. Wise
hws can do something and we are not
TO be excused if we fail to insist upon
those wise laws.
Must Have Honest Administration.
Honest administration of the laws
can do something more, and still less
are we to be excused as apeOpleifwe
condone or connve at failure to ad-
minister the laws by the public ser.
wants of the people. As those laws
have been enacted, after they have
been enforced, it will remain true here
in this country as 1t has been true IN
every country throughout history, that
the fundamental factor in each mans |
success i'm life must be that mans own
character, the total sum Of the quail
ties of truthfuness, earnestness. en-.
ergy. thrift and business ability on his
part
The state cannot do as much for
you as you can do for it. Under no
circumstances will it be possible by
law to shape convictions so that each
man shall succeed. If the man has not
got in him the stun out Of which
he can work success the state can not
supply it. What can be done by the
state, by the nation, is to make the
conditions such that each man shall be