Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1905-12-05

/ Yet, while not merely admitting,
but insisting upon this. It Is also true
that where there is no governmental
restraint or supervision some Of the
exceptional men use their energies
not in ways that, are for the common
good, but in ways which tell against
this common good.
Corporations.
The fortunes amassed through cor
pOrate organization are now SO large
and vest such power in thOss that
WELD them, as to make II matter Of
necessity to give to the sovereign
that is, to the government. which
represents the people as whole
some effective power of supervision
over their corporate nse. In order to
insure healthy social and Industrial
life every big corporation should be
held responsible by. and be account
able to some sovereign strong enough
to control its conduct. | am in no
sense hostile to corporations. This is
an age Of combination. and any effort
to prevent all combination will b. not
only useless, but in the end vicious.
because Of the contempt for law
which the failure to enforce law In
evitably produces. We should, more
over. recognize in cordial and ample
fashion the immense good effected by
corporate agencies In a country such
as ours, and the wealth of intellect,
energy, and fidelity devoted to- their
service, and therefore NORMALLY ~ the
service of the public, by their officers
and directors. The. corporation has
come to 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 1t does good. But
each shold be shraply checked where
1t acts against law and justice.
So long as the finances OF the ma
tion are kept upon an honest basis
no other question Of internal economy
with which the congress has the power
to deal begins to approach in impor-
tance the matter of endeav0ring to
secure proper Industrial conditions
under which the Northumberland es-
pecially the great doing
an interstate business are to act. The
makers of our national constitution
provided especially that the regula.
tion of interstate commerce should
come within the sphere of the general
government. The arguments In favor
Of their taking this stand were even
then overwhelming. But they are far
stronger today, in view Of the enor-
nous development Of great business
agencies usually corporate In form.
Experience has shown cOnclusively
that 1t is useless to try to get any
adequate regulation and supervision
OF these great corporations by state
action. Such regulation and super.
vision can only be effectively exer-
cised by a sovereign whose jurisdic-
tion Is cOaxtensive with the field Of
work of the corporations--that Is, by
the national government. ] believe
that this regulation and supervision
can be obtained by the enactment Of
law by the congress. II this proves
impossible. II will certainly be neces-
sary ultimately to confer in fullest
form. such power upon the national
government by a prOpe. amendment.
OF the constitution. II would obviously
be unwise to endeavor to secure such
an amendment until II is certain that
the result can not be obtained under
the constitution as II now Is. The
laws of the congress and Of the sew
eral states hitherto, as passed upon
by the courts, have resulted more Of
ten 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 po-
siticn of subjects without a sovereign,
neither any state government nor the
national government having effective
control over them Cur steady aim
should be by legislation, cautiously
and carefully undertaken. but resolute-.
" persevered in, 10 assert the sover-
eiortv uf the national government by
affirmative action.
This Is only In form an innovation.
In substance Il is merely arestoration:
for from The earliest time such lagis-
lation Of industrial activities has been
recorDized In the action of the law
making bodies; and all that ] propose
Is to meet the changed conditions In
such manner as will prevent the com.
monwealth abdicating the power II
has always possessed rot only In this
country but also in England before