The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1902-12-12

the element of Protection OF the
race. For instance, we are all
afraid of monopolies; we fear that
somebody by some new scheme will
squeeze us permanently, and yet
that has never happened. But, you
will say, what can prevent these
great aggregations of capital from
charging what they likea- The ans
wer is, that what prevents them from
charging an unfair price is the we'll
founded fear that they will thereby
risk and lose the vast sums already
piled up.
In other words, the same state OF
the world, the same general wealth,
which enabled one big pile of CAPT
tai to get together, will enable a
larger pile to get together, and, by
means of more machinery, to des-
troy the attempted monopoly. When
one set of capitalists of great renown
a year or two ago attempted to take
control of Pacific business, the un-
dertaklng was not so vast as to pre-
vent men whose names were, up to
that time, but little known from
meeting them and making, at least,
a drawn battle. The fact is that
every business man now knows that
the only monopoly anybody can get,
except the temporary one of patents,
to which no one objects, is by pro-
ducing some article cheaper and
selling it cheaper than any other
maker. Whether such a monopoly
is obnoxious and to be stamped out
| leave to the wise defamation of
the friends Of the people.
1t would be a good plan if some
body who believes in the efficacy of
legislation would sit down and draw
his statute and put into words his
Constitutional amendment, and see
where he would arrive. "Error," "
says the wise Latin, "lurks in gen
eralities. To talk of doing some
thing by means of something, if you
do not specify the something to be
done or the way to do 1t, is waste
of time.
After all the language which has
been used about the great corpora
tions one is little surprised at the
lack of specification Almost every
body announces that what we need
is "publicity" Even this is vague.
Do you expect the public to be in
trusted with the cost sneets? If you
do not, then what will your public
ity amount to? If you mean by
publicity" such statement as will
enable the outsider to buy wisely, or
the stockholder to sell at the true
value, fear we may be going be-
yond the province of free govern
ment, which certainly thus far has
left the task of keeping out of the
fire to the citizen whose fingers they
were.
But cannot we stop this stock
watering? Must we not do itP
Well, the value of stock is very
much a matter of opinion. 1t will
be noticed that the stock of one of
our greatest companies can be
bought for less than $40 The par
value is sIoo. In the judgment of
the world there is 90 per cent. water,
and In the market the water is
squeezed out. Could Legislature
do it more effectually2 As that same
stock sold at s5, there was a time
when there was only IS per cent.
of water. Is it proposed in the
new Constitutional amendment to
specify how often the test for water
is to be applied Are the stock
holders to be assessed daily for the
variations of each day, or are the
directors to be indicted daily9 Shall
officers of the Government deter
mine the value, or the public in
open market?
There is a piece of wisdom as old
as the world, which is worthy of all
consideration. Let us not be in
haste about great matters. When