The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-12-08
A Record Breaker as to
Length and Subjects Discussed
A REMARKABLE PUBLIC DOCUMENT

stay. Just as the trade union has come
to stay. Each can do and has done
great good. Each should be favored
so long as it does good. But each
should be sharply checked where it
acts against law n Justice.
So long as the finance of the Nation
are kept upon an honest basis no other
question of internal with
which the Congress has the power to
deal begins to approach in importance
the matter of e~ndeavoring TO secure
proper industrial conditions under
which the individuals-and especially
the great corporations-doing IN in
terstate business are to act. The max
ers of our National Constitution pro-
vided especially that the regulation of
interstate should come with
in the sphere of the Government. The
arguments in favor Of their taking
this stand were even then OvarWnel-
ming. But they are far stronger TO-
day. in view Of the enormous deVel-
oDment of great business agencies.
usually corporate in form. Experience
has shown conclusively that it is use
less to try to get any adequate regula-
ton and supervision of these great cor
DoratiCns by State action. Such regu-
latiOn and supervision can only be eff
fectiveiy exercised by a sovereign
whose jurisdiction is cOextenSive with
the field of work Of the corporations
that is. by the National Government.
[ believe that this regulation and SUI
pervision can be obtained by the enact
ment of law by the Congress. If this
proves impossible. it will certainly be
necessary ultimately to confer in full
est form such power upon the National
Government by a proper amendment
of the Constitution. 1t would obvious
" be unWiSe to endeavOr to secure SUCH
an amendment until it is certain that
the result can not be- obtained under
the Constitution as it now is. The laws
of the Congress and of the several
States hitherto. as passed upon bv the
courts, have resulted more often in
showing that the States have no power
in the matter than that the National
Government has power: so that there
at present exists a very unfortunate
condition of things. under which these
great corporations doing an interstate
business occupy the position of sub
! iects without a sovereign. neither any
! State government nor the National
Government having effective control
over them. Our steady aim should be
by legislation. cautiously and carefully
undertaken. but resOiutely D~ersevered
IN, to assert the sovereignty of the Ma
tiOnal Government by affirmative &C
ton.
This is only in form an innovation.
III TItJ9ldilC| / - II1C1 ely ii CSIO4 otIci
for from the earliest time such regula-
ton of in8ustrial activities has been
recognized in the action of the law
making bodies: and all that I propose
is to meet tn" changed conditions in
such mannp a will prevent the Com
! monwealth abdicating the power it
has always possessed, not only in this
country but also in England before
and since this country became a sep
arate Nation,
1t has bcen a misfortune hat the
national laws on this subject have
hitherto been of a negative or prohi-
bitive rather thar an affirmative kind,
and still more that hey have in part
sought to prohibit what could not be
effectively prohibited. and have in
part in their prohibitions COMPOUNDED
what should be allowed and what
should not be allowed. 1t is generally
useless to try to prohibit all restraint
on competition. whether this restraint
be reasonable or unreasonable: Nand
where it is not useless it is generally
hurtful. Events have shown that it is
not possible adequately to secure the
enforcement of any law Of this kind
by in~ceSsant appeal to the courts. The
Department of Justice has for the last
four years devoted more attention to
the enforcement of the antitrust legis-
wv iiAi ~ GILL; XII u
has been ACCOMPLISHED: particularly
marked has been the moral effect of
the prosecutions: but it is increasingly
evident hat there will be a very. in
sufficient beneficial result in the way
of economic change. The successful
prosecution of one device to evade the
law Immediately develops another de-
vice to accomplish the same
What is needed is not sweeping prohi-
bltion of every ARRANGEMENT. good or
bad. which NAV tend to restrict COM
petition, but such adequate supervision
and regulation as will prevent INV re-
striction of competition from being to
the detriment of the puhiic-as we'll as
such supervision and regulation as will
prevent other abuses in no way con-
nected with restriction of ~onpetition.
Of these abuses. perhaps the chief. al
though by no means the only one. is
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS itself the
result Of dishonest OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
of the myriad evils ii brings in its train.
for such decentralization often means
an imitation that invites business panic:
it always conceals the true relation of
the profit earned to the capital actual
~ invested. and it creates a burden of
interest payments which is a. fertile
cause of improper reduction i'm or limi-
tation of Lee it damages the small
investor. diseourages thrift. and en-
courages gambling and sDeculation:
While perhaps worst Of all is the trick
mess and dishonesty which it implies
for harm to morals is worse than any
possible harm to material interests, |
and the debauchery of politics and
business by great dishonest corporal
lions is far worse han any actual ma
terial evil they do the public. Until
the National Government obtains. in
some manner which the wisdom Of
the may suggest. proper conf
troll over the big corporations engaged
in interstate commensurate Is. over
the great majority of the big corpora
tions-it will be impossible to deal adj
euuately with these evils.
/ am well aware of the difficulties of
the legislation that I am suggesting. |
and OF the need or temperate and cau-I