The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1905-12-05
RECOMMENDATION ON CORPORATIONS
Bell YES That They Gan Be Regulated and Controlled
By Enactment of Proper Laws By Congress-
Touched Upon Insurance, Federal Election
Laws and Land Frauds.


life, every big corporation should be
held responsible by, and be accountable
to, some sovereign strong enough to
control it's conduct. I am in no sense
hostile to corporations This is an age
of combination, and any effort to pre-
vent all combination will be not only
useless, but N the end vicious, be-
cause Of the contempt for law which
the failure to enforce law inevitably
produces. We should, moreover, re-
cognize in cordial and ample fashion
the immense good effected by corpor-
ate agencies 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 di-
rectors 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 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 northumberland especially
the great corporations-doi an inter-
state business are to act. The makers
| of our national constitution provided
state commerce should come within the
sphere of the general government. The
arguments in favor of their making
this stand were even then overwhelm-
ing. But they are far stronger today
| in view of the enormous development
! of great business agencies, usually cor
porate in form. Experience has shown
conclusively that it is useless to try to
get any adequate regulation and SUI
pervision of these great corporations by
state action. Sucn regulation and su-
pervision can only be effectively exer-
| is coeXtensive with the field work of
| the corporations-tha is, by the ma
| tional government 1 believe that this
regulation and supervision can be OBJ
| tanned by the enactment of law by the
congress. If this proves impossible, it
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 en-
deavor to secure such an amendment
until it is certain that the result can
as it now is. The laws of the congress
and Of the several states hitherto, as
passed upon by the courts, have re-
suited more often in showing that the
states have no power in the matter
than that the national government mas
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 subjects without a sover-
eign, neither any state government nor
the national government having effect
i've control over them. Our steady aim
! should be by legislations, cautiously
and carefully undertaken, but resolute-
| ly preserved in, to assert the sover-
eighty of the national government by
| affirmative action.
! This is only in form an innovation. In
substance it is merely a restoration
for from the earliest time such reg
ulation of industrial activities has been
recognized in the action of the law
making bodies; and all that I propose
is to meet the changed conditions in
such manner as 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 separate
nation.
1t has been a misfortune that the ma
tional laws on this subject nave hither-
to been of a negative or prohibitive
hather than an affirmative kind, ana
still more that they have in part sought
to prohibit what could not be effect
lively prohibited, and have in part in
their prohibitions COMPOUNDED what
should be allowed and what should not
be allowed. 1t is generally useless to