The news-democrat. (Providence, R.I.) 1906-1909, 1906-12-04

disposal should be under conditions which
would inure TO the benefit OF the public
as q whole.
Corporations.
Tho present congress has taken long
strides in the direction OF securing proper
supervision and control by the national
government over corporations engaged in
interstate business-and tho enormous
majority OF corporations OF any size ara
engaged I'm interstate business. The pas
sage OF the railway rate bill and only tn
less degree the passage OF the pure food
fiI. and the provision for increasing and
rondt :ing more effective national control
over the beef.packing industry mark an
important advance I'm the proper direction.
In the short session It will perhaps be
difficult 10 do much further along thi.
line; and IL may he best to wait until the
laws have been In operation for a number
OF months before endeavoring TO Increase
their scope, because only operation will
show with exactness their merits and
their shortcomings and thus give oppor-
tunity To define what further remedial
legisls ton is needed. Yet I'm nv Judgment
1t will In the end be advisable in connec-
ton with the packing house inspection
law 10 provide for putting a date on the
label and for charging the cost OF inspec-
ton 10 the packers. All these laws have
already justified their enactment. The In
tCrstate commerce law, for instance. has
both Of those who asserted that IL would
ruin the railroads aud of those who as
serted that IL did not go far enough AMI
would accomplish nothing During the
last five months the railroads have shown
increased earnings and some OF them un-
usual dividends; while during the same
period the mere taking effect OF the law
has produced an unprecedented. hither-
to unheard OF. number OF voluntary reduc-
tions In freights and fares by tho rail-
roaos. Since the founding OF the commits
sion there has never been a time Of equal
length In which anything like so many
reduced tariffs have been put into effect.
On Aug. q. for instance. two days before
the new law went into effect the commits
sion received notices OF over 500 separate
tariffs which represented reductions from
previous rates
1t must not be supposed, however, that
with the passage OF these laws II will be
possible to stop progress along the line
OF increasing the power of the national
government over the use OF capital IN in
te'state commerce. For example there
will ultimately be need OF enarging the
powers Of the interstate commerce COM
mission along several different lines,
as to give II a larger and more efficient
control over the railroads.
IL can not too often be repeated that cx-
perieIce has conclusivoly shown the i'm
pc ssibility OF securing by the actions of
nearly half hundred different state leg
isletures anything but ineffective chaos
in the way of dealing with the great COR
porstions which do not operate exclusive
ly within tho limits OF any ono state. In
some method, whether by a national IL
censc law or in other fashion, we must
exercise. and that at an early date, far
more complete control than at present
over these great corporations--a control
that will among other things prevent the
evils OF excessive overcapitalization, and
that Will compel the disclosure by each
big corporation OF its stockholders and OF
lbs properties and business, whether own
ell directly or thru subsidiary or affiliated
corporations.
This will tend to put a stop to the Sc
cui! !nE OF inordinate profits by favored
Individuals at the expense whether OF the b
general public. the stockholders. or the
wagtworkers. Our effert should be not
So much to prevent consolidation as such,
but so to supervise and control II as 10
Sc, that Il results in no harm TO the peo-
pie. The reactlonary or ultraconservative
apologies for the misuse OF wealth assail
the effort 10 secure such control as a step
toward Socialism. AS a matter OF fact II
Is these reactionaries and ultraconserya-
tiveS who are themselves most potent in
increasing Socialistic feeling. One OF the
most efficient methods OF ayertng tho
consequences OF a dangerous agitation.
which is 50 per cent. wrong, Is To remedy
the 20 per cent. OF the evil as TO which
the agitation is well founded. The best
way to avert the very undesirable move
for the governmental ownership OF rail-
ways Is TO secure by the government on
behalf of the people as a whole such ade-
quatc control and regulation OF the great
interstate common carriers as Will do away
with the evils which give rise to the agi-
tation against them
So the proper antidote TO the dangerous
ard wicked agitation against the men or
wealth as such Is to secure by proper
legislation and executive action the abo-
lition of the grave abuses which actually
do obtain in connection with the business
use OF wealth under our present system
o. ra ather no system--of failure to exercise
any adequate control at all. Some per-
Sons speak as IL the exercise OF such gov
ernmental control would do away with
the freedom OF individual Initiative and
dwarf individual effort. This Is not
fact. IL would be a vepitable calamity
to fail to put n premium upon individual
initiative. Individual capacity and effort;
upon the energy. character. and foresight
which IL is so important to encourage IA
the individual But as a matter OF fact
the deadening and degrading effect OF
pure Socialism. and especially OF its eN-
treme form OF communism. and the de-
struction OF individual character which
they would bring about. are IN part
achieved by the wholly unregulated COM
petition which results In a single individ-
ual or corporation rising at the expense
OF all others until his or It's rise efectual-
ly checks all competition and reduces for
mer competitors TO a position of utter IN
feriCrity and subordlnation.
In enacting and enforcing such legisla-
tion as this congress already has To its
credit, we arc working on a coherent plan'
with the steady endesvor 10 secure the
needed reform by the joint action OF the
moderate men. the plain men who do not
wish anything hysterical or dangerous
but who do intend to deal In resolute COM
nonsense fashion with the real and eeeat
evils of the present system. The reae-
tionsries and the violent extremists show
symptoms Of joining hands against us.
Both assert, for instance that IL logical,
we should go TO government ownership
of railroads and the like, the reaction
aries. because on such an issue they think
the people would stand with them, while
the extremists care rather To preach dis
content and agitation than to achieve
solii results
As a matter OF fact, our position Is as
remote from that OF the Bourbon reac-
tioLary as from that OF the impractica-