The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-01-09
NEW FRIEND OF TRUSTS,

Regardless of the opinion of Mar
tin A. Knapp, chairman of the inter
state commerce commission, to the
contrary the idea of publicity in con
nection with the trusts is as popular
as ever. Senator Hoar is one of those
who favor a Law such as has been re-
peatedly recommended by the presi-
dent and has introduced a bill which
seems to be we'll calculated to sub
serve the end aimed at. If enacted
into a law and then enforced it will
protect the majority of the stockhold-
ers and the public, as it will practi-
cally make the issuing of watered
stock an impossibility, all corpora
tions engaged in interstate commerce
being made subject to governmental
control and investigation of their af-
fairs, the same as national banks are
now, with the attendant publicity of
their condition. Mr.. Knapp holds that
publicity now demanded would re-
suit in harm to the stockholders with
out any resultant good to the pub
lie. How he arrives at this conclu-
sion does not seem qnite clear. By
compelling such institutions to take
the public into their confidence in
tending Investors would be enabled to
know exactly the conditions under
which their money would be invested
and by the exercise of common bust
ness judgment and sagacity could
readily ascertain to their own salts
faction whether the money would
make the returns promised, and the
amount of risk that would follow it's
investment.
OF course all will admit that some
of the stockholders of the combines,
trusts, mergers, or whatever onexmay
choose to call the new concerns would
be the losers under a law such as
Senator Hoar asks shall be enacted.
They would be the promoters, the
men who have grown suddenly and
enormously wealthy by financing the
mergers and combines, but it is for
the express purpose of holding them
in control that the demand for trust
legislation has become so great and
i%nsistent. While they derive the
special rights and privileges under
which they act from the public, yet
they dare not allow the public to OBJ
tain a glimpse at the inside of their
books, knowing that the knowledge
thus gained by the people would
speedily result in their own undoing
so far as the ability to successfully
carry on their gigantic schemes of
ACKNOWLEDGMENT are concerned. The
trusts fear publicity and for this rea-
son are marshaling their forces to
prevent any bill of the Hoar kind
from becoming a law.
MI. Knapp has laid himself open to
the suspicion that he has become a
friend of the trusts and is using his
official position to influence public
opinion in favor of the combinations
now at bar before the people OF the
nation. He talks like a trust pro-
moter and declares he can see no
possible danger in watered stock, ap-
parently forgetting that for every
over-issue of stock the public is
squeezed and money extorted for the
payment of dividends on capitaliza-
tons beyond all reason and honesty.
Before the days of combinations
watered stock simply meant a lessen
ing in dividends for those holding
the stock, but under the present ar
rangement this is not the case. Divi-
dends must be paid and are paid and
the money needed is wrung from the
public.