The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1902-12-16
Senator Dryden on the Trusts.
Should Be No Legislation Without
the Most Careful Consideration.
Tj++1a +o e>o...,1,;., IS No.
Little to Complain of Now.

/ WASHINGTON, Dec. 8.-The features of
President Roosevelt's message to Congress
which gave rise TO the most comment were
those relating to trusts and the tariff In
connection with the conservative tone of
the PRESIDENTS message, the comments of
Senator John F. Dryden of New Jersey,
president of The Prudential Insurance
Company, on this subject are of import
ant on account of his large experience in
corporation matters, and because he is a
representative in the Senate of the State
in which most of the great corporations
have been chartered.
OF GREAT IMPORTANCE.
"The subject is one of such magnitude
and of such far reaching importance, and
one upon which any action by Congress
may affect so many interests that are vital
to the prosperity of the country" Mr..
Dryden said, that nothing should be
done without the most careful considera-
ton.
In the first place, it should be ascer-
tanned what the evils in the present sys-
tenn are, and, in the second place, it should
be ascertained what are the remedies for
the evils. | think that this would be
much better than to make haste to pro-
vide remedy and then try to find some
evil that the remedy could be made to fit.
The shortness of the present session
will probably make it impossible to do
much 1t is very easy to generalize and
there has been great deal of generaliza-
ton as to the evils of large corporations
and as to the remedies which should be
applied, but there is not yet any clearly
defined and generally accepted opinion as
to the nature of the evils or of the
remedies to be applied.
hot
those who are most Jealous for immediate
action, is shown by the perfect snow
storm of bills proposing widely different
plans of legislation on CHS subject now
being introduced in Congress.
LITTLE TO COMPLAIN OF.
If we study the question historically
from the time when our ancestors emerged
from a state of feudalsm, | think we will
find that we have little 10 complain of in
present conditions. No legislator of the
present day would think for moment of
voting for charters granting exclusive and
monopolistic privileges such as were
formerly granted, not only by the English
Parliament, but by our own Congress and
by our State legislatures. The very men
who founded the Constitution of the
United States granted charters, such,
for instance, as that of the United States
Bank, which absolutely excluded com
petition.
THE State of Virginia gave to a cor
poration the exclusive right to navigate
the waters of that State, and New York
granted a similar monopoly to Fulton and
Livingston. In my own State of New
Jersey, Alexander Hamilton drew a
charter for manufacturing corporation
which granted such sweeping privileges
that member of the New Jersey Legisla-
ture charged Hamilton with having drawn
charter which would give the company
an absolute monopoly of manufacturing,
not only in New jersey but in the United
States.
NO SUCH MoNoPoLIEs NOW.
mo such monopolies are granted now
The charter of the United States Steel
Corporation gives it no exclusive right.
1t has competitors and will continue to
have them. Its stock is sold in the
open market, aud any man with 800 or
$500 or 81 900 can buy it and become a
partner in its profits do not know that
it is an evil if great corporation is able
to manufacture sc economically as to be
able to sell cheaply to our own people and
to foreign nations.
1T must be beneficial to the entire
country if our manufacturers are able to
go into the markets of the world and
bring the money of other nations here for
distribution among our wage-earners and
farmers, the men on whom the prosperity
Of the country has always rested and must
continue to rest
''We are now in state of transition,
and it is inevitable that the changes going
on should hurt some individuals. just as
the transition from stage-coaches to rail
roads hurt individuals, but we should be
careful lest in trying to remedy some evil
which has not yet been clearly defined we
may injure the industries of the country
and those dependent upon them as inves-
tors and wage-earners.