The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-03-29
THE GIST OF THE CONTROL.

The testimony OF Mr.. Joseph Geo
ghegan. while being too incomplete and
uncertain to be of much value In APP
portioning the control of the business
OF this city and State as among Nor
mons and Gentiles. serves to draw spe-
clf1c attention to one feature OF It.
That is, that whenever the head of
the Mormon church is In q business at
all, he Is at the head of the concern.
and this whether he owns much or lit
tie of the stock. His holdings are not
the essential feature that gives him
this control. His associates, Mormon
or Gentle. give 1t to him because II is
to their advantage as a corporation TO
do so. Why7
First. as president OF the church he
controls the States civil government.
If anything is wanted from the state
for his company. 1t is provided by the
Legislature, as when that body Specih-
cally enacted that the life of corpora
tions may be made O. hundred years,
just at the time when some of the HE
rarchic schemes were about TO ask
that long franchise life. He has con-
troll, also, of the county governments,
and the franchises here are such as he
asks. and the taxation of his corpora
tions must be made agreeable to him.
for what Assessor. Board of Equaliza-
ton, or Collector would offend THE
President" He also has control of
the city governments, the sole eXcep-
ton being this city. and here only since
the first Of January. 1906.
The stockholders In nll sorts of cor
porations realize the tremendous ad-
vantage OF having President Smith In
control for other reasons, also: he Is
In control of the Mormon labor sup
ply, and whatever he wants for his
corporations in this direction he can OBJ
tain, through his own counsel and that
OF his associates, and through the
preaching and counsel of his bishops
This control is especially effective IN
the sugar industry, In which he Is In
partnership with the great Havcmeyer
trust. The factories under his presi-
dency, or within the trust alliance,
don't want to pay for the beets what
those beets are worth, on the scale at
which the trust fixes the price of
sugar. Who but President Smith could
counsel the farmers with compelling
effect, TO raise and furnish the needed
beets at the old price (or even below
IT. which was paid for beets per ton,
when sugar was sold for 81 90 per hun
dred, now that the price of sugar Is
So per hundred3 Under any other
presidency for the sugar-trust allied
beet-sugar factories the farmers
would demand a rate for beets that
would be proportIonate to the price of
sugar. If 81 90 per ton could be paid
for beets whom sugar was S4 so per
hundred weight. the factories could
better afford to pay Sc per ton for beets
now, when the price of sugar has been
put up above Sc per hundred. Under
any other presidency, the farmers
would demand n say In fixing the price
of beets: they would also demand the
right OF consultation In drawing up
transportation, saccharlne strength,
Seeds etc. But under the presidency
for the company OF President Smith of
the Mormon church. they submit to the
dictation Of the company as to prices.
terms. transportation. seed, culture
everything. You zee. It is not alto
gether matter of business when deal
ing with him, but might easily be
turned into question of church follow
ship with any who should offend
1t is the same with the salt Indus
try, and as to any other business In
which the church president heads the
corporation. All The points in the In
dustry or 'he business may be made.
at the ultimate point OF friction, to
operate dsastrously as to the church
membership or standing of the one who
does not bend to the Will of the tenn
poral and the ecclesiastical president,
Joseph F. Smith.
1t is easily seen, therefore, that the
amount OF stock which the big hierar
chic chief may own In a concern cuts
no agure in the essential control: that
is given to him. or conceded to him, as
q matter of course, because of the
manifest end manifold advantages TO
accrue from It For this reason the
inquiry into the amount OF the hold
ings of the church OF it's president in
any business enterprise is OF little mo-
ment. The control follows with any
holdings ct all. for the abundant ad-
vantagcs that such control insures to
the corporation.