Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1905-12-05
Urges Federal Supervision Of Trusts as Only
Way to Effectively Control Their
Immense Power
faVors an Administrative Body With. Power to
Revise Evil Charges Of Carriers.
Not Hostile to Railroads
Discusses Problems Of Labor and Capital, Say
ing: Taken as a Whole We Must
Go Up Or Down Together
Advocates Arbitration Treaties, Opposes Glass
Spirit, Wants Revision Of Revenues
and Discusses Other Questions

where there is no governmental re-
straint or supervision some Of the ex-
ceptional men use their energies not
in ways that are for the common good.
but in ways which tell against this
common good. The fortunes amassed
now so large and vest such power in
those that WELD them as to make it a
matter Of necessity to give to the SOW
ereign - that is, to the government,
which represents the people as whole
some effective power Of supervision
over their corporate use. In order to
insure healthy social and Industrial
life, every big corporation should be
held responsible by and be accountable
to some sovereign strong enough to
hostile to corporations. This is an age
Of combination, and any effort to pre-
vent all combination will be not only
useless, but in the end vicious, because
Of the contempt for law which the
failure to enforce law inevitably pro-
duces. We should, moreover, recognize
In cordial and ample fashion the i'm
mense good effected by corporate agen-
cies in country such as ours and the
wealth of intellect, energy and fidelity
devoted to their service, and therefore
normally to the service Of the public,
by their officers and directors. The cor
poration has come to stay, just as the
trades 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 and
Justice. ,.....- .......
So long as the finances of the nation
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 importance the
matter Of endeavoring to secure proper
Industrial conditions under which the
individuals, and especially the great
corporations, doing an interstate bust
ness are to act. The makers Of our
national constitution provided especial
y that the regulation Of interstate COM
merce should come within the sphere of
the general government. The argu-
ments In favor of their taking this
stand were even then overwhelming,
but they are far stronger today, in view
OF the enormous development of great
business agencies, usually corporate In
form. Experience has shown conclu-
sively that it is useless to try to get
any adequate, regulation and super
vision Of these great corporations by
state action. Such regulation and SUI
pervision can only be effectively exer-
cised by q sovereign whose jurisdiction
b coextensive with the field of work Of
the corporations-that is. by the nation
a government. believe that this reg
ulation and supervision can be obtain
ed by the enactment Of law by the con-
gress. II this proves impossible, 1t will
certainly be necessary ultimately to
confer in fullest form such power upon
the national government by a proper
amendment Of the constitution. 1t
would obviously be unwise to endeavor
to secure such an amendment until it
ls certain that the result cannot be OBJ
tanned under the constitution as 1t now
ls. The laws Of the congress and Of
the several states hitherto, az passed
upon by the courts, have resulted more
often In showing that the states have
no power In the matter than that the
national government has power; 30
- n ~ - - IS