The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1903-01-08
IS A 7RUST-BUILDER
Publicity Said to Be Fostering Force
in Trust Promotion
IT PUTS A cHEK ON COMPETITION
Chairman Knapp, of the Inter State
Commerce Commission, Says Pub
licity Encourages Combination.

Washington. Special.-The various
sections of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science held
largely attended meetings at which
papers of technical nature were
read.
Chairman Knapp, of the Interstate
Commerce Commission. in his paper
entitled capitalization and Publicity"
discusses 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 ventured to doubt
the soundness of the argument that
publicity would prevent stock watering.
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 hesi-
tate before embarking upon paternal
venture. Leaving out the speculator,
seeking honest investment, ten times
more money, to say the least, has been
sunk in farm mortgages, suburban lots,
patent rights, buying and selling
grain, cotton, and other commodities,
where no corporate shares were dealt
in or even existed, than was ever lost
on account OF the fictitious Or excess
sive issue Of corporation securities. |
cannot but regard corporate publicity
of the kind and to the extent advocated
by many as a certain and serious him
drance to effective competition. 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 compul-
sorry disclosure OF all corporate tfrans-
actions would undermine the competl-
tion 1t was intended to support. Bear
ing in mind how rapidly all kinds OF
business are assuming the corporate
form, that the competition OF individu-
ais is fast disappearing and that COM
petition in the future Will be mainly
between corporations, it seems plain
to me that the enforcement of corpo-
rate publicity would be an added in
centive to industrial combination
In q paper on the necessity OF organ
ization among employers, David M:
Parry declared that as yet organized
capital has no perfect definition, but
its meaning Is slowly beginning to
take form. Organized capital, he said,
should mean a combination OF the In
terests of the men who share practical
ly the same views as to the administra-
ton OF their businesses. He contln-
ued: When capital is Thoroughly Or
ganized, then will come the almost
complete 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-
pIoyes can sit down together then may
be taken up trade disputes and other
matters affecting their mutual inter
ests. and these may be disposed OF IN
any intelligent. orderly and scientinc
manner As there is no national feder-
alton of employers at present, neces-
sity demands the immediate creation
of one"