The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-09-21

from being an evil. are a natural bust
ness evolution. and make for the gen
eral prosperity of our land. We do not
wish 10 denounce corporations. We
wish TO make them subserve the public
benefit; all individuals. rich or poor.
must be subject to the law of the land
and the government will hold them to
rigid observance thereto. The big
gest corporation. like the humblest pri-
waite citizen, must be held to strict
compliance with the viii of the people
as in the fundamental law The rich
man who does not see that this is In
his interest is indeed short -sighted.
When we make him obey the law
we insure for him the absolute protec-
ton of the law. The savings banks
show what can be done in the way OF
genuine benefcent work by large cor
porations when intelligenuy admins
tered and supervised. They now hold
over $500. 0O0. 900 OF the peoples money,
and pay annually about 500. 000, 600 OF
interest or profit to their depositors
There Is no talk OF danger from these
corporations; yet they possess great
power, holding over three times the
amount of the present national debt
More than all the currency, gold, sill
yer, greenbacks, etc, in circulation IN
the United States. The chief reason
for there being no talk of danger from
them Is that they are on the whole
faithfully administered for the beneft
OF all, under wise laws. which require
frequent and full publication of their
CONDITION, and which prescribe certain
needful regulations with which they
have to comply. while at the same time
giving full scope for the best enterprise
OF their managers within these limits.
Treatment Of Corporations.
Nov. of course. savings banks are
as highly specialized corporations as
railroads, and we cannot force too far
the analogy with other corporations:
but there are certain conditions which
l think we can lay down as indespens-
able 10 the proper treatment Of all
corporations which from their size
have become important factors in the
social development OF the community.
Before speaking, however. of what
can be done by way of remedy, let me
say a word or two as to certain pro-
posed remedies which in my judgment
would be ineffective or mischievous.
The first thing to remember is that IL
We are 10 accomplish any good at all
Ii must be by resolutely keeping in
mind the intention to do away with
evil in the conduct of big corporations,
while steadfactiy refusing to assent to
indiscriminate assault upon all forms
of corporation capital as such. The
line of demarkation We draw must al
ways be, not that il is big. but that il
behaves badly. Demagogic denuncia-
ton of wealth Is never wholesome and
generally dangerous, and not few of
the proposed methods OF curbing the
trusts are dangerous chiefly because
all insincere advocacy of the impossible
Is dangerous. II Is an unhealthy thing
for a community when the appeal is
made TO follow a course which those
who make the appeal either do not or
or ought to know cannot be followed,
and which IL followed would result in
disaster to everybody.
Period Of Prosperity.
Loose talk about destroying n1onop-
oily out of hand, without hint as TO how
the monopoly should even be defined.
offers a case in point. Nor can we
afford 10 tolerate any proposal which
will strike at the so-called trusts only
by striking al the general well-being.
We are now enjoying a period OF great
prosperity. This prosperity Is gener-
ally diffused throughout ali sections
and through all classes. Doubtless
there are some individuals who do not
get some of it, and there are others
who get too much. But this IS simply
another way of saying that the Wis
dom of mankind Is finite; that even
the best human system cannot work
perfectly.
The men who propose to get rid Of
the evil OF trusts by measures which
will do away with this general we'll
being advocate a policy which would
not only be a damage 10 the commun-
ity as whole. but which would de-
feat its own professed object. II we
are forced TO the alternative of choos-
ing a system under which most of us
prosper somewhat, though few OF us
prosper too much, or else a system I'M
der which no one prospers enough,
why of course we will choose the for
mer.
Trusts and Tariff.
"A remedy much advocated at the
moment is TO take off the tariff from
all articles which are made by trusts.
to do this IL win be necessary TO define
trusts. The language commonly used
by the advocates of this method inn
plies that they mean all articles made
by large corporations, and that the
changes in tariff are 10 be made with
intent toward these large cor
porations. or course, If the tariff is
to be changed in order to punish them
il should be changed so as 10 punish
those that do i'll, not merely those that
are prosperous. IL would neither be
just nor expedient to punish the big
as big corporations; what
we wish to do is to protect the people
from any evil that may grow out of
their existence or NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..
Some of these corporations do well and
others do IN. II In any case the tariff
is found to foster monopoly which
does i'll, why OF course no pFotectiOnist
would object TO a modification of the
tariff sufficient to remedy the evil. But
in very few cases does the sO-called
trust really monopoIize the market.
Take a very big corporation which
say something over half the
product of a given industry. Surely in
the schedules affecting
such a big corporation it would be
to consider the interests OF
its smaller competitors which control
the remaining and which, being weaker,
WQUi4 &k3OSA LdllA Ac-
signed TO punish all the producers: for
of course the tariff must be made light
or heavy for big and little producers
alike. Moreover, such a corporation
employs very many thou
sands OF woriCmen and the minute we
proceeded from denunciation TO action
IL would be necessary to consider the
interests of these werkmen. Further
more. the products of many trusts are
ana would be entirely un-
affected by any change In the tariff, or
at most very slightly so.
Standard Oil Monopoly.
The Standard Oil company offers a
case in point; and the corporations
which control the anthracite coal out
put offer another-for there Is no duty
whatever on anthracite coal. am not
L = L..