The Washington times., 1905-05-17
Injustice OF Corporations.

AT the opening Of the tenth annual
meeting of the National Association
Of Manufacturers at Atlanta, yester-
day. Mr. Ludwig Nissen, Of New
York. spoke on governmental regula-
ton Of public franchises AS quoted
in the press accounts. he said:
The gross injustice of the public sery-
ice corporations is unquestonably the
cause for the now general demand OF
the unthinking public for q system OF
municipal or State ownership of all pub
lie utilities This system, II long enough
continued. must and will inevitably lead.
first to municipal. then 10 State. and
finally 10 national ownership OF public
utilities.
If these principles should ever be put
into general practice in this country, the
result would be the destruction of our
liberty and our progress. NJ would go
from wealth to poverty, from progress
TO lethargy. and from liberty to slavery,
because we should live in state of
socialism, which aims at equality with
tie lowest instead Of teaching 10 aspire
TO the highest
As remedy for these, conditions. I
would offer the following hints for your
careful consideration:
First. All public service corporations
should be under strict surveillance OF the
authority that creates them They should
more than the capital actually paid in.
Second. Whenever 3 charter or fran
clise is granted 10 public service cor
poraIi0n it should be granted only on
condition that service rendered by such
corporation shall be adequate TO the
public needs Such charter or franchise
should be forfeited TO the authority that
grants it unless the conditions of service
shall be strictly adhered 10.
Undoubtedly the gross injustice of
our public service corporations is the
cause Of all this stirring in the dry
bones of Individual and public lazi-
ness. Certainly, if our carriers and in
dustrial trusts had even approximated
fairness and impersonal impartiality
in their dealings with the public
there would have been no discussion
of the rate-making problem and kin
ared topics. Surely, outside Of a few
doctrinaires. the people at large do
not desire to wrench and twist our
sgstem Of government and enter 100
seepIy into state Of socialism. I'M
less they are driven TO such a course
as the lesser of two evils-those we
now have and those We can foresee
in bureaucracy.
Mr.. Nissen, without specifying in
what the gross Injustice OF our car
riers and trusts consists. points to
some of the grayest charges against
them, and outlines a workable method
Of correction. A schedule of abuses
may be suggested as embracing:
IL Over pitaliZation,
~ The farming of special privi-
leges TO subsidiary corporations. priv
ate car lines, and other devices for
extortion.
81 Inadequate specification of du-
ties assumed by corporations in re-
turn for powers conveyed by the
people.
IA The Ubiquitous use Of knowl-
edge coming to corporate officials for
private ends.
(5) The mean spite Of petty Off
Gals, which Furnishes individuals and
communities for opposition by with
holding facilities.
The list If made complete would be
much too long TO print. but the above
heads are sufficiently broad to en-
brace a large percentage of our causes
of complaint. The first. second. and
third OF these heads are very well
understood, but of thefourth and fifth
it may be desirable to say word or
two.
That directors of corporations and
their servants use the knowledge
which properly comes TO them in their
official capacity for the purpose OF
advancing the private fortunes OF
themselves and their friends, to the
exfant not only of injuring their