The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1906-08-31
and effective legislation.
How They Work Il.

and effective legislation.
How They Work 1t.
Recent Investigations have b ought to
light that nearly all crookedness revealed
in the management of our large corpor-
atoms has been due to the duplication OF
directorates. A group of men obtain con-
troll 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 d.
rector who attempts to do SO will fail, no
matter how much money he makes before
his failure is discovered. Many of the
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 a blow
may not be struck at the trusts by law
making 1t illegal for the same person
to act as director or officer of two cor
porations which deal with each other or
are engaged in the same general business.
still more far-reaching remedy was pro-
posed by the Democratic platform Of 1900,
namely, the requiring of corporations to
make out fundamental license before
engaging in interstate commerce This
remedy is simple, easily applied and COM
prehensive. The requiring of a license
would not embarrass legitimate corpor-
them-while 1t would confine the pred
Story corporations to the state of their
origin Just as licence to sell liquor
gives the. possessor of license right to
sell only in accordance with the laws of
the state in which he resides so the cor
poration license granted by a Federal
commission would not interfere with the
, right OF each state to regulate foreign
borders. If corporations were required
to take Federal license the Federal gov
eminent could then issue the license upon
the. terms and conditions which would
In A ON fnrc
from a human being in that 1t has no
natural rights and, as all of it's rights are
derived from the statutes, it can be linn
tied or restrained according as the pub
lie welfare may require. The control
which Congress has over interstate COM
merce is complete and If Congress can
prevent the transportation Of lottery
ticket through the mail, by the express
companies or by freight it can certainly
forbid the use of the mails, the railways
and telegraphs to any corporation which
is endeavoring to monopolize an article Of
commerce, and no party can long be
credited with sincerity If 1t condemns the
trusts with words only and then permits
, the trusts to employ all the intrumentali-
ing out its nefarious plans. 1t is far
easier to prevent monopoly than to
watch it and punish it and this prevention
can be accomplished in pratical way by
which cnotrols more than a certain pro-
portion of the total product-this proper
ton to be arbitrarily fixed at a point
which will give the free operation to COM
petition basis
The tariff question Is very closely allied
to the trust question and the reduction
of the tariff furnishes an easv means of
limiting the extortion which the trusts
can practice. While absolute free trade
would not necessarily make trust i'm
possible, still it is probable that very few
| manufacturing establishments would dare
| to enter into the trust IL the President
| were empowered to put on the free list
articles competing with those controlled
| by a trust.
While ! shall take occasion at an early
| date to consider the tariff question more
at length, 1 cannot permit this opportunity
to pass without expressing the opinion
| that the principle embodied in the pro-
| tective tariff has been the fruitful source
| Of a great deal of political corruption as
we'll as the support OF many or our most
Ubiquitous trusts; It is difficult TO con-
| take advantage of a high tariff schedule
when the schedule is framed on the the
DRY that industries need all the protection
given and 1t is not likely that the benefi-
ciaries of these schedules will consent to
their reduction so long as the public waits
for the tariff to be reformed by its
| friends
But one of the worst features Of tariff
levied not for revenue but for the avowed
purpose of protection, Is that 1t fosters
the idea that men should use their votes
The manufacturer has been assured that
It is legitimate for him to vote for Con-
gresSmen whatever their opinions on 9TH
err subjects may be- as they will legis-
late larger dividends into his pockets;
sheep growers have been encouraged to
believe that they should have no higher
aim In voting than to raise the price of
WOOL and laboring men have been urged
to make their wages their only concern.
For a generation, the fat has been fried
out of the manufacturers for the Repub-
lican campaign and then the manufac
turerS have been reimbursed by legiSla-
ton, with the public conscience educated
to believe this open purchase of legisla-
I ton was entirely proper. No wonder
money of their policy holders to carry
elections; no wonder that trusts have
fastened to purchase immunity from pun
ishment with liberal donations: How
can we draw a moral distinction between
the man who sells his vote for five dol
lare on election day and the manufacturer
who sells his political influence for fifty
or one hundred thousand dollars, payable
in dividends? How can we draw moral
line between the Senator or Congressman
elected by the trusts TO prevent hostile
legislation and the Senator or Congress
man kept in Congress by the manufac-
turers to secure friendly legislation?
Tariff Reform Easy.
The party which justifieS the one form
OF bribery cannot be relied on to con-
denim the other There never was time
when tariff reform could be more easily
entered upon, for the manufacturers by
selling abroad cheaper than at home. as
many of them DO. have not only shown
their ingratitude toward those who built
the tariff wall for them but they have de-
monstrated their ability to sell in compe-
tition with the world. The high tariff
has long been a burden to the consumers
in the United States and ii is growing
more and more menace to our foreign
commerce because 1t arouses resentment
and provikes retaliation.
The railroad question Is also inter-
woven with the trust question. Nearly
all the private monopolies have received
rebates or secured other advantages over
competitors. Absolute equality OF treat
ment at the hands of the railroads would
go far toward Gripping the trusts and I
rejoice that the President has had the
courage to press the question upon Con-
gress While the law as IL was finally dis
torted by the Senate Is not all that could
be wished, IL deserves fair trial. Rate
regulation was absolutely necessary and
1t furnishes some relief from the unbear-