Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1906-09-06

vate monopoly iC indefensble ami in
tolerable, and our plan of attack must
contemplate the complete overthrow
of the monopoly principle in indus
try.
I'VE need not quarrel over rene
dies. We must show ourselves willing
to support any remedy which prom
ises substantial advantage to the
people in their warfare against mo-
nopoly. Something is to be expected
from the enforcement of the criminal
clause of the Sherman antitrust law,
but this law must be enforced not
against a few trusts, as at present,
but against all trusts and the aim
must be to imprison the guilty, not
merely to recover a fine.
But it is not fficient to enforce
existing laws. If ten corporations con-
spring together in restraint Of trade
are threatened with punishment, all
they have to do now is to dissolve
their separate corporations and turn
their property over to a new corpora
ton. The new corporation can do the
same thing that the separate corpora
tions attempted and yet not violate
legislation and the republican party
not only fails to enact such legisla.
ton, but fails even to promise it. The
democratic party must be prepared to
propose new and efficient legislation.
Recent Investigations have brought
to light that nearly all crookedness
revealed in the management of our
large corporations has been due to
the duplication of directorates. A
group of men organized or obtained
control of several corporations doing
business with each other and then
proceeded to swindle the stockholders
of the various corporations for which
they acted. No man can serve two
masters and the director who at.
tempts to do so will fail, no matter
how much money he makes before his
failure is discovered. Many trusts
control prices by the same methods;
the same group of men secure control
of several competing corporations and
the management is thus consolidated.
1t is worth while to consider whether
blow may not be struck at the trusts
by law making it illegal for the
same person to act as director or Off.
Ger of two corporations which deal
with each other or are engaged in the
same general business.
"A still more far reaching remedy
was proposed by the democratic plat.
form of 1900, namely, the requiring of
corporations TO take out a federal
license before engaging in interstate
commerce. This remedy is simple
easily applied and comprehensive
The requiring of a license would not
embarrass legitimate corporations-it
would scarcely inconvenience them
while it would confine the predatory
corporations to the state of their
origin.
Il cannot permit this opportunity to
pass without expressing the opinion
that the principle embodied in the
protective tariff has been the fruit.
fui source of great deal of political
corruption as well as the support of
many of our most iniquitous trusts. 1t
is difficult to condemn the manufac-
turers for uniting to take advantage
of high tariff schedule when the
schedule is framed on the theory that
the industries need all the protection ]
given, and it is not likely that the
beneficiaries of these schedules will
consent to their reduction so long as
the public waits for the tariff to be
revised by its friends.
Rate regulation was absolutely
necessary and it furnishes some relief
from the unbearable conditions which
previously existed; but we must not
forget that the vesting of this enor-
nous power in the hands of a COM
mission appointed by the president
introduces new danger. If an ap-
pointive board has the power to fix
rates and if it can by the exercise of
that power increase or decrease by
hundreds of millions of dollars the an
nual revenues of the railroads, will
not the railroads feel that they have a
large pecuniary interest in the cleo
ton of president friendly to the
railroads?
Experience has demonstrated that
municipal corruption is largely trace
able to the fact that franchise corpor-
ations desire to control the city coun-
ellis and thus increase their dividends.
IL the railroad managers adopt the
same policy the sentiment in favor
OF the ownership of the railroads by
the government is likely to increase
as rapidly throughout the country as
the sentiment in favor of municipal
ownership has increased in the cities
Il have already reached the conclu-
sion that railroads partake so much
OF the nature of monopoly that they
must ultimately become public prop
erty and be managed by public offic-
ialS in the interest of the whole com
munity, in accordance with the we'll
defined theory that public owner.
ship is necessary where competition
is impossible. / do not know that the
country Is ready for this change. |
do know that majority of my own
party favor it, but / believe that in
creasing numbers of the members of
all Darties see in nublic ownershin tho