Evening star., 1903-08-15
PUBLICITY OPPOSED
ANALYSIS OF THE FACTS OF THE
i SITUATION.
Another Effort to Be Made to Obtain
Subsidies for Shipbuilding-Rail-
roads Making Improvements.
Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.

Die ioi lic Impression III tHc Stoth Aot'
because he favored the bill creating the
bureau of corporations. The theory ad-
vanced by the Presidents opponents is
that the fall of prices in securities is the
protest Of capital against the application
of the policy Of publicity to the manage
ment of Industrial companies. Fair-mind-
ed men, however. declare that such an idea
Is preposterous.
1t is argued with much force that II cap
ital is timid. If the rates for time money
are high If a check has been put on the
promotion OF new enterprises. and II prices
for securities are falling. it is not the con-
sequence Of the threatened application OK
publicity to industrial corporations. but tho
result of conditions which would nave
been obviated If such policy or puphclty
had long ago been enforced fuphcity
would have prevented gross over-capitai-
ization Of companies. would have prevent
ed payment OF dividends that were not
fairly the product of surplus earnings, anu
would have stopped other grave ABUSES
which have at length caused the severe
reaction In the stock market. renectins tne
fear that has spread that such eAceSses
were dangerous to the business aa s,.aduum the
1t is not publicity which has caused the
liquidation and decline in the STOCK mar he'
II is the lack of publicity.
1t Is true that certain corporations are
muCn opposed TO PiihCApiC VA PN"A. 49, ,
but it Is not likely that these corporations
will go out Of business or that the capitai
of the men who control them VIII De VIII
drawn from the field Of enterprise on ac-
count of the establishment of the bureau
of corporations through the efforts or Pres
ident Roosevelt.
Where There Has Been Publicity.
Publicity has not resulted In any WITH
drawal of capital from the field OF raj
do bav baaD Sllt)-
jected to a degree of publicity for several
wears. and what is proposed to be applied
to the Industrial corporations is no more
than what is now applied to the railroad
corporations. Capital has not been with
drawn from the field Of banking; on the
contrary, there has been an enormous IN
crease in banking capital during the past
seven years. Nevertheless. the banks are
subject to degree of publicity IN the Snape
of governmental investigation and supervi-
sion such as is not supposed to extend 10
the industrial corporations. The stock ex-
change has for years ms sted upon certain
degree of publicity in the corporations
which have sought to have their securities
placed upon its list. and yet its require
ments have not resulted in any decline IN
business enterprise. and instead OF any
pressure to remove the restrictions which
it imposes the prevailing sentiment Is that
1t should increase them
The establishment of the principle of
publicity, instead Oh DelHB d CduSo VI
aster. is in direct line with the advanced
movement of American enterprise instead
of making capital more tlmd II W.A make
it more courageous. A prominent broker
further illustrates the matter. He says:
This is a market on which John d. Rookie
feller could not borrow on Standard On
No bank would be justified in loaning him
on such an unlisted outside industr al AS
for his selling it or liquidatng it, that is
out of the question" This means that an
outside security. not listed on the stock eX-
change and not conforming to its require
ments of publicity, and making no state
ment whatever of its financial condition
suffers in a market like this as compared
with the securities of such corporations as
have compiled with the requ rements of the
stock exchange and which do make fire.
ouent reports of their earnings and imam
cial operations. Instead of injuring a cor
poration. therefore. publicity strengthens it.
shipbuilding Depressed.
The shipbulding industry in this country
is in a more depressed condition than it
has been in the last hundred years. and
there 10 a very loud cry for protective
legislation A statement just issued by
the committee on mercantile marine of the
board of trade and transportation says that
the United States of 1910, with 7,OO0,OOO in
habitants, owned more registered tonnage
for oversee trade than the United States
of 1903 with population Of SlOO,On. The
ODV, and showed an actual decrease of 5000
tons from the year before.
The opinion prevails here that the action
of the British government In granting
subsidy of $l3 100000 to the Cunard Steam
ship Company can be Interpreted only as
an attempt on its part to prevent the
United States from re-establishing her
American mercantile marine a powerful
competitor of that Of England In view
of that subsidy 1t is asked what the gov
ernment of the United States can do as an
offset. American commerce, the labor in
the mines. the forests. the shops and in
the shipyards, interested in this ques-
ton and American farmers whose prod
ucts supply two-thirds of the commerce,
are equally concerned.
A high authority says it takes labor and
capital to build and operate ships in the
foreign carrying trade, and capital and
abor have all these years been more profit
ably occupied in other ways than they
could be in shipping in competition with
foreign capital and labor under existing
conditions That is really the whole case
The opportunities of employing capital in
internal industries and transportation have
been such as to afford a higher return than
European capital could obtain at home.
Much of the latter has come over here to
share in the opportunities and that which
has not come has had to be content with
smaller profits. and. among other things.
has engaged in building and operatin ships
for a return which American capital would
not accept because 1t can do better. The
higher return for It's efforts in the way of
wages than foreign labor could get at
home and some oflthe latter could be en-
listed in shipbuilding and ship-operating
when the former could not be so enlisted
on the terms Ithat would be necessary to
compete with fhe foreigners.
More Profit in Other Enterprises.
1t has cost more to build American ships
than British Of German ships. and it has
cost more to operate them under the con-
,ditions of the competition. and consequently
American has not kept pace with foreign
shipping. 1t has been said that the United
States pays to foreign vessels for convey
ing her freights and passengers upward of
$1OO, 600, 600 year, but this IS an exaggera-
ton The CAPITAL and labor which would
be necessary TO provide for earning that
freight money are occupied in a way to
earn a good deal more. and they naturally
do not desert emplOyments that they find
profitable to take up one that would not
be profitable. If they were enabled to
make the change by some device of tax
ing other industries or some new burden
upon trade that would make shipping prof
table the country would gain nothing
economically by the transfer Of capital and
labor from one occupation to another. In
fact. 1t would operate as check upon