The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1905-12-13

stock is not drifting about in the mar
ket are in a different position. They
have to earn profits on actual capital.
not on secondary or fictitious values.
They can cease to pay dividends with
out losing prestige or credit if the ext
gencies of their business require the
employment of their earnings in some
other way. Their business is under the
direct personal control and guidance of
the men who built it up.
''You will see by this that the great
combinations or trusts cannot perma-
nently endure the strain of competition
and individual enterprise.
"The time is coming when these over
grown combinations will have to stand
the strain Of real test No country
in the world has ever been fortunate
enough to have seven bumper crops in
succession. Nothing like our national
good fortune has ever been seen before,
but lean years must come, and when
they do come the big industrial corpora
tons will have to face a situation Gre
ated by the purchase Of plants at many
times their real value. In that day
they will feel the pressure of individual
enterprise.
Personally believe in federal con-
troll Of all corporations engaged IN bust
nesses that are subject to federal regu-
lation as being engaged in@interstate
commerce. There should be a national
corporation law applicable to such cor
porations."
isn't it a fact, Mr.. Untermyer, that
the growth of corporate power has
greatly corrupted your profession"
mo, l should not say that. The cor
poration has not corrupted the lawyer,
but it has made his duties in some re-
spects less dignified. Formerly the pas
sion of the lawyer was for advocacy.
He was a free advocate. Now he Is
getting to be more of a highly paid le-
gal clerk, a sort of aid to the financier.
'"This evolution in the method and
scale of doing business in the United
States, originally inspired by and work
ed out through lawyers, has had its
serious effect upon the position OF
bankers as financiers. The recent eX-
pOsures of the affairs of the insurance
companies of New York and their con-
nection with the flotatiOn Of corporate
securities are very significant. There
are probably not a dozen controlling
financiers i'll the country. Those VINO
have really controlled have for years
relied to some extent upon the moneys
furnished by the insurance companies.
This has been a prolific source of their
power. That is why it has been SO
easy to issue and place bonds on such
an immense scale.
'If it had not been for these expo
sures I believe that the insurance COM
panies would have practically displaced
the bankers from such operations with
in ten years. The insurance compa-
MES must inevitably have dealt direct
" with the corporations in buying Sc
curities. leaving the bankers out en-
tirely.
"When the Rothschilds or any other
bankers wished to float bonds or stocks
they put an advertisement in the news
papers and sell direct to all who wish
to buy. 1t is a very simple and sensl-
BILE method. l am confident that we
will in time see it adopted here. 1t IS
the method known as public issue ana
is required by the London Stock EX-
change as a condition of testing the Sc
curities. The entire machinery OF the
English companies acts are adapted to
that method. These public issues are
carefully safeguarded. We would do
well to adopt the system here 1t IS
great protection to the investing pub
lie"