The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-12-31
KNAPP ON PUBLICITY.
He Discusses the Proposed Remedy
for Trusts.

for Trusts.
Washington, Dec S0.-The various
sections of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science held
largely attended meetings to-day, at
which papers of technical nature
were read.
Chairman Knapp of the Interstate
Commerce Commission, in his paper
entitled capitalization and Publicity"
discussed the proposition that all cor
porations under congressional control
be required to make full disclosure of
their genesis and operations so that it
may be seen how the amount of money
originally paid in, or the value OF the
assets at any time owned, compares
with the par value of all bonds and
stocks issued. Mr.. Knapp said he VEN
tured to doubt the soundness of the
argument that publicity would pre-
vent stock watering. He held ii I'M
proved that the excessive issue of cor
poration securities was a source of
such danger as to excite public alarm,
and said he was yet to be convinced
that enforced publicity would not be
harmful exercise of public authority.
He said, in part:
THE justification for this proposal
must be found, if found at all, in the
theory that the state is charged with
the duty of safeguarding the invest
ment of capital in corporate securities.
To my mind this is a most serious
proposition, and think we should
long hesitate before embarking upon
such paternal venture. Leaving out
the speculator, and taking into ac-
count only those seeking honest in
vestment, ten times more money, to
say the least has been sunk in farm
mortgages, suburban lots, patent
rights, buying and selling grain. cot
ton and other commodities, where no
corporate shares were dealt in or even
existed, than was ever lost on account
of the fictitious or excessive issue of
corporate securities.
II cannot but regard corporate pub
licity of the kind and to the extent
advocated by many as a certain and
serious hindrance to effective compe-
tition. Just as the Sherman antitrust
law, which is based upon an economic
fallacy has indirectly aided the very
results it was designed to prevent, so
the compulsory disclosure of all cor
porate transactions would undermine
the competition 1t was intended to sup
port. Bearing in mind how rapidly
all kinds of business are assuming the
corporate form, that the competition
of individuals is fast disappearing,
and that competition in the future will
be mainly between corporations, it
seems plain to me that the enforce
ment of corporate publicity would be
an added incentive to industrial COM
bination''
In paper on the necessity of organ
ization among employers, David M
Parry declared that as yet organized
capital has no perfect definition, but it's
meaning is slowly beginning to take
form. Organized capital. he said.
should mean a combination of the in
terests of men who share practically
the same views as to the administra-
ton of their businesses. He contin-
ued:
When capital is thoroughly organ
lied, then will come the almost COM
plete disappearance of the strike and
the boycott, for they are but syste-
matte manifestations of social disease
growing out of imperfect organization.
When organized employers and en-
ployes can sit down together, then may
be taken up trade disputes and other
matters affecting their mutual inter-
ests, and these maybe disposed of in
an intelligent, orderly and scientific
manner. AS there is9no national fed
Grafton of employers at present, ne
cessity demands theimmediate crea-
ton of one" - @il 4a