Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1902-03-11
tions who assume that title to change

Third. National corporations should
have freedom from state supervision
and should be subject to taxation by
the state only to the amount of prop
erty actually in the state, and when
upon the same basis as an individual
Fourth. The national corporation
should be subject to national super
vision and examination and should re-
quire at least private publicity, would
probably also require degree of pub
lie publicity.
Fifth. It should be protected from
state attack to the same extent that
the national banks are, viz: it should
not be subject to attachment or other
provisional limitations which prevail
in any state against non-residents,
that is to say being a United States
corporation it should be a citizen of
the United States and citizen of each
state to the extent that it has all
rights of citizens as to attacks in the
courts.
Dicussing the practical advantages
of such measure, Mr.. Dill said in
conclusion:
Would corporations avail them
selves of the opportunity to organize
under national law? Yes, for their
tendencyto day is to assume national
character. This is shown by the des>
ignations Omitted States. American, =
Federal" National" and even "In-
Eerynational'' There is a tendency
TO publicity, at least to private pub
licity,' on the part Of the better class
of corporations, such, as the United
States Steel corporation, the National
Biscuit and others, as a matter of self
| preservation. The tendency in each
case is to publish more and more the
details in order that the good corpor-
ations and the sound organizations
may show themselves to be in a po-
siticn where the others dare not fol-
low them in making public state
ments. They proceed upon the theory
that the man six feet tall can wade
through a stream of such depth that
a man five feet high would be drown
ed in the crossing, and the great cor
poraticns are quite willing to drown
in the stream of publicity the other
! corporations who are following in
their wake and attempting to initiate
! their standing and position.
No great corporation can be put
upon the market without a financial
syndicate. No matter. how great or
how strong is that syndicate it must go
to the banks for money. The banks
will not perpetually advance funds
upon underwritings or other securi-
ties. So the syndicate ultimately gets
to the public. The bankers knowing
this would insist that the financiers
organize their company under that
law which would inspire the greatest
public confidence in order that the
public would ultimately invest.
''Then, too, the law should have
requirement that present combinations
might become national combinations
upon a theory similar to that by
which state banks are entitled to be-
come national banks. This would be
availed of by the sound corporations
for their own good, not only for pro-
lection against imitators and those
not able to follow them but also as a
protection against the diverse and in
consistent laws of theFvarious states.
The tendency of the states is to att
tract more and more foreign corpora
tions and therefore the great corpora
tions would avail themselves of the
plVllege Of becoming a United States
corporation, and thereby being a COR
pcration foreign to no state. thereby
securing to themselves the privileges
and immunities of citizens of every
state.
The point of the whole matter is
that they would secure to themselves
uniformity of legislation throughout
the length and breadth of the United
States. Texas and other states may
drive insurance companies out of their
territories. but they cannot drive ma
tional banks out because the national
banks derives its existence from
a power higher than that of a state
created organization. No corporation
engaged in Interstate commerce, no
corporation desiring to do business
throughout the length and breath of
the country could afford to be other
than a national organization.
| "It would not be long before the
investing public would draw the lines
sharply between state created organiza-
tons assuming to do business ma
tional in extent and truly national cor
porations. In word, the successful
contribution must be in its nature
national organization in order to even
pretend to carry out the economic