New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-01-26

Says Haste and Graft Marx
Federal Appropriations.

Louisville. KY. Jan. 25-Stuyvesant Fish. OF
New-York president of the Illinois Central Rail
road was the principal speaker at dinner given
tonight by the Louisville Board Of Trade. II,
Bowen president Of the board, presided Mr.. Fish
responded 10 Economy" He said.
No one can examine the appropriations made by
Congress by the state eglS3teTeS aq y tRa
there Is in each conspicuous ana CROWNS lack 81
eance in administration, and what is now cor1nlonly
called graft which Is complna tleG2 OF oIlusL
and larceny but. what is economically worse, me
laws 50 framed as not 70 get the best use oHS
Of the paid BY the people Nhat We nae 70
ations TIA, our laws REQUIRE hat an , Fne9o
BY way Of illustration permit me n cite some
figures from the recent report of Postnast er Gen
eFal Cortelvou on the department which so far as
mira bly,. The Postmaster Generals report tor 1870
oit in the pTeoedinS vear n is77a ia5 Government
free matter carried in the mails constituted iuty
volved loss OF nearly S2oo0oclo.
E ae Fgs qf lei. costs an a9o 5as
iyelv estin5ate5 AZ more Than yl5 90 900 In ike
manner, in the carriage Of second class matter at
rates lower than other printed matter there was a
6 g loss which cannot be inquired be4w Sl@4
Of publication costs the government more than
Nor is it ayoidable that under such methods Of
carving on business there have come 70 the sur
ernment condition o; inefhctency and dishonesty
for halt. I am not one OF those who. here in the
South and 70 a Democratic audience. or elsewhere
tration for this On the contrary. Mr.. Roosevelt :
we'll known character. and the vigor with which he
has ever and again taken up matters Of this sort IS
RopefuI consideration which We have for tie
future in this regard
The trouble is NOT in the administration Of The
bad I need not repeat that the country is pros
porous and likely to continue so
While fully approaching these facts. Nc cannot
shut eyes To the trouble that has been going on
IN the centre If our financial system. I think thai
the root Of the evil lies in too few having IN
dertaken TO manage too many corporations. that
cd under corporate charters and in their hurry to
90 q vast business have in many cases done l. in.
Ny meaning can perhaps be best illustrated by
taking the case Of the three great life insurance
York Life and the Equitable year these
three companies had. shown in the Directory Of
Directories. % trustees, directors who lived in
NeW-York One of them was member of seven
ty-three boards another Of IS another of 81 an
other Of IS And, 70 up. these rinety-two gen
teme1 held 49 drectorships IN corpora tons which
sufficiently we'll known TO be recorded in the
Directory Of Directories
I submit that the intention Of the State in grant
ing corporate charters was that the directors OF
each corporation should meet frequently, have fun
and then exercise the best judgment Of the whole
body The practice has arisen, and is generally
followed. of assuming that the insertion In such
charters Of the word agents has given TO the
board created thereby the power 10 delegate 70
executive committees of their creation al the
powers which the law has vested in those boards
occasions when such boards may be in session.
To make matters worse. such boards meet At
rare intervals 70 Tatify and confirm the acts Of
their committees Herein lies the root Of the evil
and It Is my firm belief tha II this shall be brought
distinctly the attention Of the will be
corrected. except in where the original char
the creation 4 an executive committee having such
power