The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1904-11-25

lions increase. and can the full
force Of popular jealousy against
/ corporations be organized into a
common movement
For one refuse 10 believe. on
existing evidence. that corporations
In general are so bad or 40 blind
that they Will provoke tho people
I Ia rise IN their might So far az
I / have observed. the man who owns
corporation stock. or holds cufpo-
ration office. Is after all not SO very
different. as n man and n citizen.
from those who do not We are
all trying 10 look out for our oWn
Z Interest What tho corporation
does may have quito different APP
psaranccs 10 equally honest men on
the inside and on the outside In
The long run. though. a. corpora
tons arc composed OF people. the
morals % corporations viii be the
morals % the whole people Of whom
tho corporhtnru are parts,
Yet MS n purely academic PROPOSE
ton there Ia no auffclcnt reason
Why there Is not winning fight
IN the slogan. The corporations are
setting too strong"
In the first place. such a claim
coaii not be Hilenced by anybodys
political economy. II does not deny
tho advantages Of corporations. II
simply asserts that they ought 20
he for the people t. use. and not 10
nae the people IL does not I'm.
peach the institution ~ property
II simply calls for a checking up q
items entered aa rights q property.
20 So whether they fairly belong
under that head
In the second place. the claim
would import no new dogma into
our politics On the contrary. all
our familiar democratic doctrines
vouid ~ into e ~ though theY
were made for each other Any
thing that IL Of. for and BY the few.
Americans have condemned IN al
vance "a uudemoerntic. This doom
hangs over corporations n Their are
placed under the presumption #
ruiit.
IN THE THIRD PLACE. TRUST
BUSTERS CAN BE ENffsTED
AMONG MEN WHO ARE INTER.
EsTEn ~ TRUSTS. II would bs
instructive % knoU how many capt.
taliHta believed that the Northern
Securities scheme went too far and
that the supreme court destaiuu
made legitimate business mora Sc
cure. Men on the inside kuou the
dangerous power % tho maehiu-
cry.
A campaign on the platform
The corporations are setting too
strong" need not run into irras
tlnnai OF dangerous policies fhsos
rpticaily. a popular agitation might
BE- organised. not 20 deny the value
81 corporations. but 20 show the
dangers % uneuHhed corporate p0N
-. to prove that present checks On
corporations are insufficient. and 70
appeal for a regime of Increased r.
aponaibilitY Of corporations 10 Tho
public There would be- plenty of
reasons both Tor and against such a
movement. II might fail 90 estAh-
llah rs ciaima However that might
be there would not be the slightest
logical flaw IN a case 90 submitted
70 the tribunal Of public opinion.
ALL IN ALL NOTHING WILD
OR EXTREME Is NECESSARILY
INVOLVED N THE PLATFORM
THE CORPORATIONS ARE GEf-
TING TOO STRONG THE MOST
CAUTIOUS AND LEVEL HEADED
MEN ~ OUR HISTORY MIGHT
HAVE ADOPTED 1T ~ OcCA=
SION REQUIRED Suppose another
anthracite coal strike should pro-
woke consumers beyond cnduruuee.
suppose the next step In railroad
combination should result ia gen
eraI Increase Of freight rates. sup
pose tho protected interests should
succeed IN raising The tariff on
goods already sold cheaper IN for
eiEn markets than AZ home: hardly
a corporai's guard would be left IA
tho country obstinate enough 20
deny that some corporations at
least we're too strong without sup.
posing that any Of these improba-
biiltics will occur. Il Is stu m
open question whether a majority
OF American voters may not be led
% the same conclusion. by prytng
n little further into the actual
workings % corporations
A. bottom the anti-corpofatiou
sentiment In this country has al
most precisely the same relation TO
our economic system that all aEita-
lions for constitutional government
have had 20 the political systems
which they tried 10 reform. Corpo-
ratlonB maintain the position that
their charters are restraint enough.
Their opponents deny n. and de-
mand further legal restriction The
Issue 81 fact Is an open one. and 80