Daily new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1897-1906, 1902-08-26


and lis actions may be taken in On
tirely different communication
munities which may object very much
IL the methods of Incorporation In the
state named | do not think you can
get action by any state, action by all
The states, that will give us satisfac.
tory control of the trusts or big cor.
Iorations. and the result is at pres
nj that we have a great, powerful
artificial creation which has no ere
ator to which it is responsible.
of course. it is a mere truism that
,he corporation is the creature of the
state; that the state is sovereign.
AT present If we pass laws nobody
can tell whether they will amount to
snything. Now that has two bad eff
fects. In the first place the corpora
on becomes Indifferent to the law.
making body, and in the next place
gentlemen. the law-making body gets
into that most pernicious custom OF
passing a law, not with reference to
what will be done under it, but with
reference to Its effect on the opinions
of the voters. That is bad thing
When any body of lawmakers passes
Il law not solely with reference to
whether that law will do good or ILL.,
but with the knowledge that not
much will come of it and yet that
perhaps, the people, as whole, will
likely think it was good, it does not
sBeak well for the lawmakers and
il does not speak very well for the
people either What | hope to see is
power given to the national legisla-
ture which shall make the control
real. 1t would be an excellent thing
if we could have all the states act
on somewhat similar lines, so that it
would be unnecessary for the national
government to act, but all of you know
perfectly well the states will not act
on somewhat similar lines.
Likes Massachusetts Laws.
Nothing has been done in the di.
rection of intelligent dealing by the
great corporations. Here in Massa.
chusetts you have what | regard as
n the whole, excellent corporation
Jaws. | think that most of our diff.
culties-here again remember I am
not promising the millennium is
not in my power to promise it-would
De in fair way of solution if We had
the power to put on the national stat
ute books and did put on them, laws
foT the nation much like those you
nave, here. on the subject of corpor
atoms in Massachusetts.
so you can see, gentlemen, l am
rot advocating anything very revolu
tionary. | am advocating action tc
prevent anything revolutionary. Now
# we can get adequate control by the
nation of these corporations, then we
can pass legislation which will give
rs the power of regulation and super
vision over them. If the nation has
that power, mind you, I should advo
cate as strenuously as / knew how
that power should be exercised with
extreme caution and self restraint
No good will come from plunging in
without having looked carefully ahead
"The first thing we want is pub
licity, and | do not mean publicity as
q favor by some corporations. | mean
it as right from all corporations af
fected by the law. | want publicity
as to the essential facts in which the
public has an interest. l want the
knowledge given to the accredited
representatives of the people of facts
on which those representatives can
if they see fit, base their actions
later. The publicity itself would
cure many evils. Some OF
these things, / have said, can be done
row. A good deal is being done now
AS far as the antitrust laws go they
will be enforced No suit will be
undertaken for the sake of seemine
TIC undertake il. Every suit this Is
undertaken will be begun because this
great lawyer and upright man, whom
we are so fortunate as to have as at
torney general, Mr.. Knox, believes
shat there Is violation of the Law
which we can get at and when the suit
is undertaken it wont be compromised
excepting on the basis that the gov
eminent wins.
"Of course, gentlemen, no laws
amount to anything unless they are
administered honestly and fearlessly
Then | believe, / am not going to say
am sure of it, but believe it is pos
sible to frame national legislation
Which shall give us more power than
we have now, at any rate over corpor
stions doing an interstate business
cannot guarantee that because in
ire past it has more than once hap
pened that we have got laws on the
statute books which those who made
them intended to mean one thing and
wien they came up to decision it was
found that the intention had not beer
successfully put into effect. But
believe that additional legislation can
Re had. | think we have got to make
UP our minds to the fact that no mat
ter what our reverence to the past
may be, our duty to the present and
tc the future will force us to see that
more power is conferred upon the
national administration.
when the pbwer has been con
fe1red it will rest with the national
government to exercise it. All present
We are going to do the best we car
with strawless bricks, but. remember
they are bound to be strawless Fin
ally, men and women of New England
men and women of a state that rep
resents SO much, that has always rep
resented so much, that is highest and
hest in the spirit of true Americanism
1 ask you to remember that after all