The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-12-30
A FEDERAL !. LICENSE.
Eugene q. Hays Plan for Securing
Effective Control Of
Trusts.
No Corporation Would Be Allowed
to Do an Interstate Business
4 Without Permission.

81 In all his campaign speeches Eugene G..
Hay went quite deeply into the discussion
of the trust question and the possible
remedies from ssthes evil resulting from
scombinat ions of capital He took the POI
sitton that congress had power under the
constitution, without amendment, to enact
necessary RENE dial legislation. At the
request of h e. II o u rn a J. Mr. Hay
gives below the substance of the Various
suggestions he has made as to the regula-
ton Of trusts. The subject is one that is
ever fresh In these days when public opin-
ion is about to crystalline into some form
of law by congress for the regulation and
restraint of trusts.
- There are now but few thoughtful
people said Mr.. Hay, who fail to appre-
ciate the evils and dangers Of trusts, and
all substantially agree that a remedy
should be found. The tendency toward
monopoly Is the evil which impresses
itself upon most people, but If this were
the only evil the common law would afford
a substantial, If not a sufficient, remedy:
but to my mind there are two evils which
lie much nearer the source of all the
trouble and danger which may result from
the modern tendency to consolidate and
which, II remedied, would cause all others
to disappear. :: : .l--.@ESl yy..
.@t't'They are. first, apitalization; and,
second, the use Of corporate funds to
influence political events. 81 IL
..< TWO Great Evils. ~
'If 7 am right in this, tariff reduction
would be. entirely futile and ineffective.
For my part, I see no other remedy than
government ownership of all utilities or
government leither state or nat1onaD
control OF all corporations. The first is
state, socialism and is inimical to de-
mocracy. The. second is a fundamental
principle inhering In the very existence of
every corporation. There will always be
some question as to the extent to which
that control should be exercised, but all
will agree that it should be exercised to
such extent as is necessary to keep the
corporation subservient to the interests
of the people = - = 81
Corporation Defined. st=@ -.
1.-The corr grafton is special. privilege
given by the state to some OF its citizens
to further the ends Of some commercial
enterprise. 1t derives its existence and
It's powers from the state, and should be
in all respects under the control of the
state. If we keep these facts in mind. we
are. not likely to get the rights of indi-
viduals and the rights of corporations
confused. & = -
TRUSTS are large corporations deriving
their existence from some one of the
states OF the union, but doing business in
all of the states. The want of uni
formity and the impossibility of securing
uniformity in the regulation of these large
corporations by the several states, are
what create the present difficulties and
have resulted in the evils and abuses that
nave grown up. Some states have bid
for the revenues that come from the or
ganlzatlon OF these large corporations by
prescribing no regulations for them what
ever, and the doctrine Of comfy under
which the corporations of one state do
business in another has now become so
universal that for one state to exclude
a corporation or place restrictions upon it
Tar more rigid than those placed upon it
by other states would be ruinous tn tho
commerce Of that state.
-~... Government Not: PowerIess. n.
1T mas been frequently asserted that the
United States government is powerless to
deal with the trusts. With this T do nor
agree. In my Judgment 1T is this oft-re-