The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-08-17
GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF COR.
PORATIONS.


special commissioner who devised the
currency for the philippines, and nov
treasurer of the Morton Trust Compa-
ny, in New York, man of clear epd
strong economic perception, does moi
like the growing popularity of the plan
to put the corporations under govern
rnent control and regulation. The
power of Congress over interstate com
Inerce, says the Literary Digest, has in
creased enormously under successive
Supreme Court decisions in recent
years and the radical element in both
parties would like to see it continue to
increase until the trusts" are prac-
ticalIy under federal supervision. Mr..
Conant views such an event with
alarm, and believes that it might easily
turn out to be a great evil for the
whole country Enormous power would
be trusted 20 a few officials, and If they
should be tempted to use their power
wrongly or rashly, they might arrest
the wheels of industry. spread terror
and paralysis through the world OF
trade, and, above all, stife and pervert
that fine spirit of foresight initiative.
and intelligent daring which are the
distinguishing traits of the American
man of business, and have made posi-
BILE the imperial progress of our coun-
try during more than a century of in
dustriaI freedom Says Mr.. Conant
lin The International Quarterly, New
York;:
'aThe concentration at Washington of
all power over corporations, including
the granting of franchises by law, their
regulation by executive boards and
their Interpretation by federal courts,
would make possible a Capitalization
of the power of corrupt influences such
as has never before been possible in the
history of the world. It would surpass
in some ways the concentrated power
of corruption which was practised at
Rome when Jugurtha was able to de- |
clare it a city where everything, even
national honor, was sold. and where |
republican government finally persisted /
because Of the enormous brides which |
were offered to the voters by the gem |
erals and spectators who had appro- |
priated the spoils of the world. The I
advocates of sweeping changes in the
control of corporations should at least
measure the possibilities of danger in
transferring to the federal capital the
great forces of corruption which make
our city governments in many cases
the plague spots of our political sys-
tenn, and which make state legislatures
too often the tools of those who seek
to buy great franchises.
public opinion, if concentrated upon
Washington, instead of diffused ever
forty-five state capitols, would I'M
doabtedly break out at times in resent
ment against some glaring abuse; pu:
would 1t be able to follow all the sinu-
GUS pa hs of corrupt influences through |
corcnlittee-rooms and executive Offices ?
Men ii public office are only human.
IF the prospect OF few thousa 1ds go
ing to favored contractors was suffi-
cient recently to seduce the virtue of
severai of the underpaid heads of bu-
reaus in the Post-office Department and
to permit them, though complacent
collision. to carry on frauds FOR years
without discovery, what would be the
influence upon bureau of corp ,rations
of projects involving millions-where
the change of a comma or phrase,
ing decision, might enrich corrupt
or weak official with hardly the possi-
bility of detection?
Every financier knows how impor-
tant are what seem to be most trifing
things in determining the value Of a
franchise or in getting ahead of "a eOrn-
petitor. If a comfortable fortune were
the compensation sometimes attaIna-
bic for merely delaying or Fastening
a decision, who shall say that federal
officials at Washington with salaries
ranging from $4,000 up to $4,000 Tor the
most exacting and responsible duties, {
would always be impervious to such
temptation? They would hold III their
hands a power of extortion such as has
never been surpassed. How serious an
obstacle may be interposed to corpor- y
ate plans even by delay is shown by ,
the long litigation over the United
States Steel bonds which We're issued
in exchange for preferred stock. 1t was
a commendable act on the part of Mr..
Morgan to determine to resist the buc- {
Gamers who undertook to check the
plans of the corporation by strike ,
suits; but in making the decision to
fight rather than to pay he probably
the corporation. by the de-
cline in the value of the bonds between
the date when their issue was first pro-
posed and the date when the decision !
of the courts finally permitted them
to be put upon the market. to a loss
of many Millions
Moreover, the power thus placed In
the hands of an Administration might
be used to create political machine
such as has never been known even in ,
this country. To quote:
when to the risk of individual cor ,
rnption at Washington came to be add
ed that of political corruption, the
dangers lurking in concentrated fed
eral control of corporations would be