Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-05-26
CORPORATE INTERESTS
Party Leaders Watching
Philadelphia Gas Fight.
IMMEDIATE EFFECT
MAY BE STRONG ON RAILROAD
LEGISLATION.
The Public Mind Has Been So
Wrought Up That It May Swing
Too Far Away.


Too Far Away.
Some of the leaders In Congress are fol-
lowing the events in Philadelphia In rela-
ton to the action of the city council in
voting away the municipal gas plant for a
sum of money said to be but small part
of its real value. That municipal fight
against dishonest influences, while local
matter for the Quaker city to deal with, Is
in the opinion of these leaders, assuming
national Importance and they believe the
influence of that struggle to maintain the
rights of the municipality will be felt in
| coming national elections and in Congress
| next winter in a way that is likely to
swing the pendulum of public opinion far
| away from even fair consideration of cor
porate interests
The Immediate result Of the Philadelphia
gas fight that is feared is its effect upon
| railroad legislation and while the connec-
ton between the two may appear to be so
remote as not to be worth of consdera-
ton, there are reasons put forth for the
| other view of the situation. 1t is pointed
| out that never before in the history of this
country have there been such violent DEM
| onstrations against corporate influences
and never before such suspicion that these
influences are against the common veal.
Exposition of Corporate Corruption.
That view has been promoted by periodi-
Gals with enormous circulat ton, devoted al
most solely to so-called expositions of cor
| porate corruption. These expositions have
sometimes been made in extravagant. all
most hysterical. language. But they have
been read. and to large extent they have
| peen believed by people who exert a great
| innuence on government. both local and
national.
| In this onslaught against corporate In
HuenceS denialS and explanations on the
| part OF corporation manage have not re-
celVed as great weight as have the charges
| against them The thirst for informa ton
! IN relation to The corpora tons has gone so
| lar that people have read eagerly long his
| torres of some of these corpora lions COM
| piled with view of demonstrating their
corrupting nature. In the public mind 10 a
| large extent the corporations all look alike
| some writer's have made national names by
deVoting their attention solely to corpora tie
affairs IN showing how they tend to de-
base public affairs
In two great national struggles the demo-
| cratic campaign has been waged practically
| on this issue, and the strength of President
Roosevelt has been largely because of the
| prevalent belief that he has been wholly
above any corporate influence. Lawson has
| attacked some of the greatest and most
| conservative corporations of the country
| and right on sop of his charges regardins
corporate influences the Equitable Life In
surance scandal unfolded itself as IL to
verify his charges in relation to the use
that Is made of life insurance funds. And
now comes the attempt to sell the municipal
gas plant of Philadelphia for trife and to
ALLEVIATE municipal control for so long a
period that no voter of today can expect to
live to see that lease expire
To Foster Popular Hatred.
For these reasons some of the leaders say
that the Philadelphia scandal has come -up
at exactly the psychological moment to fos-
ter popular hatred for the corporations and
incidentally leaders in Congress see an in
creased pressure for drastic legislation to
regulate the railroads. What the railroad
men have said about conditions and reasons
why they alone should fix railroad rates so
long as they do not make them unreason-
able, Is discounted in the popular mind
Ihey are looked upon as the mouthpiece of
the corporations, speaking as paid attor-
neys The public know the cartoons of the
railroad magnates better than they know
their pictures.
Every newspaper in the country will print
all the news of the Philadelphia gas scandal
on its first page until the critical stage of
that fight has been passed, and that scan
dial will convince many readers of cor
porate and legislative dishonesty.
Ihere are men In Congress who favor ad-
ditionai legislation for the regulation of the
railroads. and for the strengthening of the
interstate commerce law. They have lis
tened to testimony of railroad men and of
critics of the railroads for two months and
have been carefully Weighing that testi-
mony.
What they fear now Is that the pendulum
OF public opinion will swing so far toward
suspicion of the corporations that there will
De popular pressure for severe legislation
beyond what they regarded as judicious for
the best interests of the country They
fear that Congress may come very near be-
ing stampeded.
influence on Next Election.
The influence of events occurring In Phil
adeiphia, these men fear, will reach out
into national politics and affect the next
popular election. The action of the city
council of Philadelphia has, In the view of
| these men, done much to injure public con-
Hoence IN representative government and
10 MAKE worthy of public discussion the
principle or the referendum advocated by
the popullsts in three campaigns.
Inc failure of the municipal representa-
yves OF Philadelphia to conduct themselves
III way TO inspire confidence on the part
| or the people of that city calls forth dis
cussion as to the ACCESSIBILITY of having
such legislative acts approved by the peo-
| PIE at the polls before they become effect
I'VE. lhat suggestion brings to prominent
view the entire principle of the initiative
ana the referendum which in the past has
| been regarded by the conservative people
as belonging to political Utopia and I'M
worthy OF the thought of practical men,
These leaders in Congress will watch de-
Velopments throughout the country with
interest. and will expect to see constantly
increasing pressure favoring drastic legis-
| lation against corporations of all kinds and
| against capital in general
They fear that socialism may be fostered
| by revelations of legislative and corporate
corruption such as are developing in the
stald city of Philadelphia. Already they see
the specter and they not sure whether
| 1t Will vanish or take material FORM The
trend OF events does not please them. They
declare that public sentiment is supreme In
| the course of governmental affairs and
| they fear that public sentiment may for a
time depart too widely from beaten paths
In an excessive desire to correct abuses
that are known to exist
WORK OF FOOTBALLS.