Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1903-01-01
OF CORPORATIONS
BISHOP POTTER, OF NEW YORK,
ON THEIR EVILS.
The Evil Of a Corporation Is Not In It's
Mechanism, but In It's Temper and It,
Morals. The Remedy Lies With the
People, Not in Changing Men.

Bishop Henry G. Potter, of New York,
has caused to be republished in book
form number OF his lectures. These
are grouped under the title "The citi-
Eel in relation to the industrial situa.
tion." In one Of these addresses Bishop
Potter said:
"You may constitute social order in
which there shall be no rough angles, no
ungarded pitfalls, 10 summons to priva-
ton or hardship; but when you have per
fected it, where will you find the men to
administer it? These are not made that
way: and the automatic order remains
yet to be discovered.
In another lecture the bishop said:
"The evil OF the corporation is not in
its mechanism or in its bulk. but in its
temper and in its moiais.
Corporations indeed have no souls,
but those who compose them have con-
sciences and these they must bring to
the standard OF divine rightec usness,
to be touched by its quickening hand, to
be illumned by its spirit, and then to
bear witness, in kings palaces. at board
meetings, at directors meetings, not
fearing the face of man, because they
have heard the voice of God"
1t is true that however carefully the
people safeguard their social order it is
important that men be found to admins
ter and these should be honest and con-
scientious men. But it has been true in
the past, and will doubtless be true in
the future. that however carefully these
men may have been chosen even honest
and conscientious men are susceptible to
Establishments and where some would
not yield to dishonest appeals they sue
cumb TO hatte:y or give their consent to
unjust policies on the plea that those
policies are essential to the Cuisines
interests" OF the country.
| If the evil Of the corporation IS, as
Bishop Potter says it is, in its temper and
and its bulk, then the people have it in
their power to modify the temper and to
| improve the morals. Tie reform is no!
to be accomplished entirely by placing
better men in charge of the corporations,
although to be sure improvement in every
individual welding Il large influence
would be advantageous to public inter
ests. But 1.-THE people sit ,almly by while
their representatives. vote from the peo'
ple's pockets enormous subsidies to these
corporations and give them in their tariff
laws and in their currency and banking
/ statutes undue advantages, 1T is not in
the least surprising that the "morals"
of these corporations are affected in the
presence Of the opportunity to profit at
the expense of the great mass OF the
people. When these corporations have
enjoyed these privileges year after year
until their officers and promoters have
grown enormously rich from public fav-
ors, it is not strange that their temper
should be affected so as to make them
promptly resent any suggestion that the
advantages they enjoy be interfered with
or that they he required to deal justly
with the people whom they are expected
to serve.
equal rights to all and special priv.
eges to none" would 60 farther towald
the removal OF the evil Of corpora
TOMS than any phianthropic effort
to improve the temper and morals Of the
soulless "person" created by law, or to
quicken the conscience of the trust mag.
mates.