Omaha daily bee., 1905-12-18

iii pdlN as IOllOWS.
The general legal work of the bureau was
the cUmpietion of the examination OF the
subjects having to do with the powers and
dutles OF the commissioner and the inter-
pletatlon OF the organic act particularly as
to the provisions regarding the compulsory
attendance Of witnesses and production of
| evidence. A number of legal questions in
directly anecung the WORK Of the bureau
! nave been considered and further eXanlina-
ton made OF the state ana territorial stat
utes relating to industrial corporations and
thelr organization. The digest OF all anti
trust legislation has been completed and is
now practically ready for publication.
Special Investigations.
!. Beef Industry-The published portion
OF this report dealt chiefly with the question
OF prices and the margin OF profit in the
pachnS business. In the course OF this in
Nesugation the bureau mad also obtained
much information bearing upon the ques-
| uon OF combination as between the large
packing companies At the time OF the pub
lication of the report the Department of
Justice had under advisement proceedings
against certain packing companies and their
ohlcers for violation of the federal anti
trust law. 1t was obvious, therefore, that
the publication of the information possessed
| by the bureau on the subject was mex
| pedient at that time, and accordingly, by
| the direction of the president all the in
! formation possessed by the bureau on the
| subject of such combination was withheld
| from publication. Although this fact was
| set forth In the published report the failure
! to treat therein Of the question OF Combina-
| tion was the subject of criticism A fur
1 ther ground of criticism was the failure OF
| the report to treat of Determinations by
means OF private car companies. At the
! time OF making the report, the extent and
4 nature of governmental control over such
! companies was the subject OF pending htt-
cation, and ii would have been improper
! to anticipate the decision by assuming in
! advance any jurisdiction over them.
| Other criticisms were directed at the ac-
curacy of the figures and conclusions relat-
/ ing to prices and profits, but only a few
tended TO disprove any SPECIFIC, statement in
| the report, and those particular criticisms
were based upon figures secured by esti-
! mates, or taken from a very few Isolated
! Instances. and hence did not disprovc the
| results stated in the report, which were
! based on general averages obtained from
| figures covering the entire industry and the
! slaughter of several millions of animals.
| In no case was any information thus given
! that would be OF real assistance in correct
| ing figures had they been found Inaccurate.
| The investigation developed the line of
| division between the work OF the Depart
! ment of Justice and the bureau. The bu-
| reau, in obtaining facts upon wS.ch the
| president may make recommendation to
! congress- necessarily will obtain facts which
| might require prosecutions under the anti
| trust law. AS stated in my former report.
| such facts must be reported to the presi-
! dent for such action as he may deem neces-
! sary to take. He may find II necessary to
! report them to the attorney general. The
1 Department OF Justice and the bureau otten
| deal with the same questions, but for dtf-
| ferent purposes and in different ways. The
! Department of Justice has to do with pros
ecutions for violation of law-this bureau
obtains facts for -:gressional considera-
tion; the lines of work may at times cross
J and overlap, but they do not conflict. If
prosecutions are pending or intended the
/ bureau would OF course not take such ac-
| ton would interfere herewith In this
particular investigation cases were pending
in the courts under the direction of the De-
partment of Justice: hence ii was not
proper that the bureau should use it's pow
ers in such manner as would embarrass the
Department of Justice in its action relating
I to combination OF other violation of law.
The House of Representatives passed
/ two other resolutions directing inquiries
into the oil and steel industries. On both
| of these subjects the Bureau had already
/ made extensive inquiries, and was ready
to take up Immediately, in addition to the
general work, the special lines indicated
by the resolutions. A special report on
the oil industry will shortly be made to
the president.
| Investigations OF the sugar, tobacco. coal,
and lumber industries are in progress
! The compilation of state insurance laws
has been finished, and some special phases
Of the question of federal supervision have
been examined. but in view of the decisions
ranted in trying to assume jurisdiction over
insurance companies for the purpose of in
Vestigation. The fact that state supervision
has failed to prevent great abuses in the
management of some companies does not OF
itself justify federal action. II must .be
shown. first, that insurance is subject tC
federal regulation under the commerce
clause of the constitution, second that fed.
eral supervision would be of such a charac,
ter as to correct existing abuses and pre-
vent future ones, and, third, that such su!
pervision would result not only in grea ter
security to policyholders, but would relieve
them, through their companies of the grca
and unnecessary expense of duplicated in.
spections and Investigations by different
states. Seemingly the most effective way Il
settle the question is for congress 10 SC
leG!slate upon the subject as to afford an
opportunity TO present TO the supreme court
the question whether insurance as now con,
Quoted is interstate commerce, and hence
I subject to federal regulation.
As 10 Publicity.
! Upon only one point can it he said thai
public opinion was fairly clear and unan.
: lmous, and that point was the desire for
, ''puhlicity'-in other words, the desire 10,
] information. 1t WAS not clearly lmderstooc
TO what use thus Information should be-
put, nor, indeed, what subjects II should
cover; but the demand for accurate infor.
nation was fundamentally sound. The
accordance with this demand. Its field NAV
be divided into subjects relating to law or
the one hand, and subjects relating tC
economical industrial facts on the other
Ii must examine and compare the statue,
under which the corporations are doina
business with industrial and statstica
facts.
A statute is the formal expression nj
pubic opinion. Hence statutes designed tC
; improve Industrial conditions will not h,
nased upon sound economic principles un
less public opinion which they express /,
: the result OF an accurate knowledge of in
dustv!al methods.
Not only is legislation dependent unor
public opinion, but likewise moral standard.
in business and the rules OF daily CONNER
cial intercourse, which can not be enforced
, by statute, arc created and sustained h,
public opinion. Current events have strik
ingly demonstrated the tremendous reform
p ative force of public opinion without the in
, terVention OF law Existing bushes
methods will be changed in aCcordanc,
[ with public opinion. Heretofore the wild,
scope cf corporate operations and the baf
: fling diversities Of federal and state la
have made an intelligent public opinion i'm
possible. The average man can easil,
. judge of an isolated commercial transactioI
between himself and his neighbor, hut h,
utterly lacks the statistical and legal in
formation necessary 10 view justly tb,
operations OF the great corpora tfons dofD,
business throughout the country
The bureau, therefore, has endeavore,
not only To obtain accurate. reliable in
formation, and facts sufficient in number n
be representative, but also to draw ConcIu
sions that shall represent permanent ten
! denotes rather than individual Instances
To this end IL has, with a force of CAREFUL,
r trained employees, taken up given industrie
dealing In Important staples, and collecte,
statistics and facts relating thereto. ha
tain what might be called reliable genera
Z averages, and has endeaVOred 10 deduc
from them conclusions as TO permanent cor
poTate methods and tendencies
? IL Is strongly felt that preventive rathe
than remedial means must be used in deal
ing with the entire problem. The govern
Q ment must deal beforehand with causes
c not merely afteTward with their effects
=, In order TO ascertain proper methods OF pre
I OF Industrial evils. The work OF the bureai
q I has brought out, to extent uOt raacha