Bisbee daily review., 1905-12-29
GARFlEID'S REPORT ON CORPORATIONS.

The report of Commissioner Gar
 field of the Bureau of Corporations
 shows afresh that, new as that bu
 reau is, it would become the. long arm
 of the government for the control of corporations. The purpose of the
 bureau was publicity, but the public
 ity which it secured in the beef cases
 has led directly to the criminal courts
 in which arena the beef packers are
 being joined by several eminent rail
 road men, charged with giving re-
 bates to packers. That fact lends |
 special significance to the statement In MT Garfieid's report that his bu-
 reau is also conducting investigations
 into the management of the steel, su-
 gar, tobacco, coal and lumber indus
 tries That is phase of the bureaus
 work which probably was nocScontem-
 plated when Congress authorized it
 but ii is in progress. and it is not likely to be checked. tl
 less drastic activity has been in sestigation by the bureau on comp { laiDis made of expressions by cor if porations. h many cases the, com
 plainants have reported that the in I vestigation in ftself had led to a rem. S edy of the evil complained of. That Is the eenehcient effect of publicity. in . mind when the bureau of corpora- f nons was under .prel;minary. discus h sion. But its powers have already been shown to be much more exten- -siye than that. and they will be ex. { tended rather than restricted. This l report is an argument for complete I control of all corporations by the Fed h eral government, along lines already \ familiar. il It also argues quite slSlIfuliy for lt Federal control of insurance compa- 4 nies, but recognizes the barriers set [, up by the Supreme Court of the In fl ited States in it's decisions to the n effect that insurance is not interstate " commerce. The report urges Congress fc to enact some law which will bring D before the Supreme Court again the question whether insurance is inter state commerce. The government has . never been a party to any of the ' suits in which that question has been . raised, and the impression seems to ., prevail among men in the administra, ton that the existing decisions would not control in a suit brought for the of a law passed by Congress. Whether the new reform CTS would pack or threaten the Su- preme Court, as Grant did. is not yet :, revealed. Nor is it sure that the pres ent Senate would allow that to be :. done ''
 Perhaps that was the motive be hind the recent suggestion of Secre- tary Metcalf. that Congress require = full reports from all insurance com 7, panies before they be allowed to do business in the District of Columbia, Il the territories or the insuiar posses sions, over which the control of Con V gress is absolute. This suggestion, re- II by Mir Garfeld's argument, is enough to indicate that the admin istration will not rest merely with the control of railroad rates, but will at least make a determined effort to fecast the insurance business on na. !" tional rather than state lines. The de- q sire of the insurance ring to exchange ~ state supervision for central govern U ment control is based on the belief V that before long they would control the Federal government-nOt it con Y trol them