The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-08-26

| desires. along certain lines
But. while / most firmly believe in fxity Of
| policy. l do not believe that that policy should
| be fosszed. and If it is TO be changed. we
| must change our governmental method to
meet IT,
I believe with all my heart in the New Eng
! lane town meeting but you cannot work the
! New England town meeting in Boston. You have
| got TO try something else.
Now. when this Government founded
; there were great individual corporate for
tunes. and commerce and industry were being
| carried on very much they had been from
the days when Ninevah and Babylon stood n
| the Mesopotaman Valley. The wagon and the
pack train and the sailing craft-those were
| the methods of commerce.
Commercial Methods Changed.
Everything has been revolutionized in the bust
world since then and the progress OF civili-
zation from being trickle has become a torrent
There was no particular thing at that time 10
bother TO whether the nation or the State had
control of the corporations. They were easy 70
control. Now. however, the exact reverse is the
case-and remember l say, Corporations. 1 do
not say merely trusts merely combinations Of
corporations corporations under certain pecu-
liar conditions.
For instance some time age the Attorney Cen
eral took action against certain trnst There
had been considerable discussion az to whether
the trust aimed at would not seek to get out
from under the law by becoming a single cor
poration.
II want laws to enable US to deal with it. no
matter what shape it takes. / want to the
Government able to get at II definitely so that
the action Of the Government cannot be evaded
by any turning. with or without Federal or State
statutes
At present We have really no efficient control
over big corporation which does business IN
more than State. Frequently the CORPORATION
has nothing whatever to do with the State n
which It Is Incorporated except to get incorpor-
ated. and its actions may be taken in entirely
different communities-communities which may
object very much to the methods OF incorporation
IN the State named.
I do not think you can get action by any
State. action by all the States. that will give US
satisfactory control Of the trust big corpora
tions, and the result is at present that We have
a great. powerful. artificial creation which has
no creator to which 1t is responsible.
Looking for n Real Sovereign.
OF course II is a mera truism that the corpora
tion is the Of the state that the state is
sovereign Now. want to make real and not
a nominal sovereign: to have some one sover-
elsn to which the corporation shall be really.
and not nominally. responsible
, AT present II We laws nobody can tell
whether they will amount to ANYTHING Now that
has two bad effects IN the first place. the corpo-
ration becomes Indifferent to the Iaw-making
body, and in the next place the law-makIng BODY
eeIs 81 INTO the most pe-nic!ous custom Of passing
raw not with reference to what will be done
under It. but with reference to It's effects on
the opinions Of the voters
That is a bad thing. When any body OF law
makers passes law not solely with reference
10 whether that law will do good or ill., but with
the knowledge that not much will come OF It.
and that. Derhaps. the neople as whole will
likely think II good II docs not sneak well for
tire lawmakers and II does not sneak we'll for
the people. either
What hope to see is power given the national
legislature. which make the control real Il
would he excellent thing II We could have all
the States act on somewhat similar lines Sc that
1t would be unnecessary for the national Govern
ment TO act hut all Of you know perfectly well
the States will not act on somewhat similar
lines.
States Do Not Act in Harmony.
Nothing has been done in the direction of In
telligent dealing by the States as a collective
body with these great corporations. Here in
Massachusetts, you have what regard as on the
whole excellent corporation laws. l think that
most OF our diffcuties-here again remember I
am not promising the millenum-it is not in my
power to promise it-would be found in a fair
way OF solution if We had the power to put on the
national statute books. and did put them
laws for the nation much like those you nave
here. on the subject OF corporations. in Massa-
chusetts.
So you see. gentlemen. I not advocating
anything very revolutionary. l advocating
action to prevent anything revolutionary.
Now, if We get adequate control by the
nation of these corporations then we can pass
legislation which Will give the power Of
regulation and supervision over them. ff the
nation had that power, mind yOu should advo-
cate as strenuously l knew how that that
power should be exercised with extreme caution
and self-restraint No good will come from
punging in without having looked carefully
ahead.
The first thing we want is publicity, and 1
do not mean publicity as a favor by some cor
poratOn.
1 it as right from all corporation,
affected by the law.
1 want publicity the essential facts in
which the public has interest. 1 want knowI-
edge given 10 the accredited representatives of
the people facts on which these represent
atives can, IL they see fit. base their action
lately.
Antitrust Laws VIII Be Enforced.
The publicity itself would cure many evils
pr1a Of haya Sa45
now. great deal is being done now.
As far the antitrust laws go they will be
enforced. No suit will be undertaken for the
sake OF seeming to undertake 1t. Every suit
that is undertaken will be begun because the
great lawyer and upright whom We are so
fortunate as to have as Attorney General. Mr..
Knox believes that there is violation of the
law. which get at. and when the suit
is undertaken It won't be compromised except
ing on the basis that the Government wins
OF course, gentlemen. laws amount to
ANYTHING unless they are administered honestly
and fearessly.
Then. I believe. I am not going to say am
sure of II. but believe 1t is possible to frame
national legislation which shall give US more
power than have now. at any rate. over cor
poratons doing an interstate business.
I cannot guarantee that. because in the past
it has more than once happened that we have not
laws on the statute books which those who made
them intended to mean one thing. and when
they came up 70 decision. it was found that the
intention had not been successfully put into ef-
feet
But believe that additional legislation can be
obtained. l think have got to make up our
minds TO the fact that matter what our reyer-
ence to the past may be. duty to the present
ant to the VIII force us TO
power Is conferred upon the national admiuistra-
ton.
"Doing the Best That We Cam"
When the power has been conferred It will
rest with the national Government to exercise
it At present going to do the best we
can with strawless bricks. but remember they
bound to be strawless.
Finally. men and women OF New England. men
and women OF a State that represents much,
that has always represented so much that is
highest and best in the spirit OF true American
ism, I ask you to remember that after all has
been done that can be done by governmental
ton. after you have exercised your best wisdom
and exercised Il in the most resolute and lofty
spirit: after you have given all the needed power
to the national Government, and after that power
has been exercised in the wisest and most reso-
lutte fashion. 1t will still mean that what has
been done is not to make everything smooth for
each man. but simply to give better oppor-
tunity for each man to work out his own future
on good terms foI himself
Mans Character Is Fundamental
Wise laws can do something, and we not
to be excused II we fail to insist upon these
wise laws. Honest administration Of the laws