Omaha daily bee., 1905-10-26
SHAW ON MERCHANT MARINE
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were heartily applsuded He said that most
OF us were not engaged In philanthropic OF
missionary EFFORT, but to reap the rewards
OF our toll. Society in its primal elements
was but an organization to promote private
affairs. and that the principal aim Of gov
eminent was not so much to protect people
as to insure them in their possession OF
their personal rights. II Is the duty OF
every man to live as well as he can, and
the speaker digressed to take a shot at the
men and women who neglect their homes
TO travel on reform missions. 1t is the
right and duty Of business man to carry
on his business, to make as much money
as he can without doing injury to his
neighbors. He declared that he did not
believe a millionaire was a hostile element
In a community necessarily, nor a person
to be always used as a horrible example
for the youth OF the country. The fact
that man possessed a million does not
necessarily mean that he has lived a life
OF crime. and he believed that a man could
accumulate any number OF millions honestly
because, we have such instruments ready
at hand to make 1t possible in this day and
age.
Mr.. Sherman took the position that there
was nothing hurtful in a corporation in
Itself. There were good and bad corpora
lions, just as there are good and bad men.
He deplored the sectional animosity that
the west displayed toward the east be-
cause OF the disclosures OF corporation ras.
cality in Wall street, New York, and
La Sale street, Chicago. Tie said that
the west had sold the east about as many
shares, of mining stock as the east had
disposed of wAtered stock In corporations.
The only difference was that the eastern
people didn't holler when they got hit.
They kept quiet. 1t hurt just as bad as
you felt, but It was internal" he said Just
because one man in a community is horse
thief is no reason for calling every resi-
dent thief, and just because there was
one lawless corporation in a town gave no
cause for calling them all law breakers.
DO Not Destroy Corporations.
The speaker insisted that we ought not
to destroy the corporation. Simply reduce
It. to a law-obeying basis. Railroads are
necessary agencies. Every shipper is en-
titled to an equal opportunity. The roads
ought to be open to every man on equal
terms. He did not believe much in legis-
latlve control. state legislatures, he said,
we're the weakest branch of government
and the least to be trusted-and he had
been ten years a member of one. Control
by them was ineffective. They responded
to ground swells, but their energies were
spasn1odic. Courts were created to settle
all differences, and they can settle this
question. Carriers must submit the ques-
ton of reasonable rates and rebates to
shippers He was against government
ownership.
He said that his way would be not to de-
stroy these monopolies, but to treat them
as monopolies,. They are the development
Of. competition, Of the operation OF the
laws OF nature. and can't be crushed out,
as mafiy demand.
81 think they viii become more and more
monopolies. / believe that the railroads
viii get still closer together and control
be more and more centralized. l look upon
this as Inevitable, and ! think they should
be so treated. Let the government treat
them as monopolies. There is no socialism
there. Regulative monopoly must be the
method OF the future, Compel them to
furnish service at reasonable rates or fix
a maximum of charges just as you do
for your municipal monopolies This is not
socialism. but one of the purposes of gov
ernment."
This afternoon Chancellor Andrews spoke
on what better knowledge Of agriculture
and It's application had done for Nebraska.
WattIes on Loans.
@. w. wattles OF Omaha spoke on safe
Loans" His address was delivered at the
morning session. He said in part:
The greatest problem which any banker
has to solve is how to make safe loans,
Show me bank where the loans are clean
Al I Wi a
institution. The losses on bad loans during
the last business depression will teach a
valuable lesson TO the bankers of the flu
ture Perhaps the greatest losses came TO
the city banks through loans secured d.
.rectly or indirectly on city real estate.
excessive loans to new and untried bust
ness ventures, which did not have sufficient
business banks granted TO Customers what
was known as lines OF credits" which
means that banks agreed 70. loan certain
invest in their business as capital. and
which they would not be called upon to pay
source of loss is still praeticed by some
banks, but must be discarded by the banker
of the future, who must loan his dePositors
only, and never to borrower who must go
out of business TO pay IL back. There are
are doing too much business on their capital
invested, and what they need Is more paid
up capital stock, not more borrowed money
No Guessing Now.
But how is the banker TO know the hnan-
cial conditions OF his customers? He may
have been able to guess fairly accurately
In the past, but we have passed the age
of guesswoTk, and he must In the future
act only on knowledge. A business man
who will not disclose TO his banker an
accurate statement in writing OF his imam
cial condition will not be able TO borrow
OF the successful banker OF the future.
An honest man Is never offended when
requested to show his books to the banker
and TO furnish him with all necessary in
formation from which he can act with
knowledge A business man has no right
to expect his bank TO take a business
chance. banker has no right. legal or
moral, TO knowingly take chances with his
depOsitors' funds. The banker OF the
future will require borrowers TO maintain
balances which will justify their loans. He
will require collateral in all cases where
the condition OF the borrower does not
warrant credit without. or where the bor-
rover Is acting trustee or custodian
for others and borrows for the benefit OF
his clients or customers. Among The latter
may be classed banks and bankers who
borrow for the temporary demands OF their
depositors. He will assist the borrower
and the borrower will assist himself by Sc
curing such changes In the laws OF the
state as will make II possible TO PLEDGE
grain and other farm products as security
for loans, for all our people mus. loon learn
that the better the security and the more
stringent the collection laws. the lower the