Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1906-12-04

Their remedial legislation is needed.
Yet, In my Judgment 1t will In the end
be advisable In connection with the
packing house Inspection law TO pro-
vide for putting a date on the label
and for charging the cost Of inspection
to the packers. All these laws have
already justified their enactment. The
Interstate commerce law, for instance.
has rather amusingly falsified the pre-
dictions both of those who asserted
that it would ruin the railroads and Of
those who asserted that it did not go
far enough and would accomplish
nothing. During the last five months
the railroads have shown Increased
earnings and some Of them unusual
dividends. while during the same pc
Rod the mere taking effect of the law
has produced an unprecedented, a
hitherto unheard of, number Of volun-
tary reductions in freights and fares
by the railroads. Since the founding
Of the commission there has never been 4
a time of equal length IN which any
thing like SO many reduced tariffs have
been put into effect. On Aug. %, for
instance. two days before the new law
went into effect. the commission re-
ceived notices Of over 5000 separate
tariffs which represented reductions
from previous rates. IS ls.{. :lsssi
1t must not be supposed, however,
that with the passage Of these laws 1t :
will be possible to stop progress along
the line of increasing the power of the
national government over the use Of
capital in interstate commerce. For
example, there will ultimately be need
of enlarging the powers of the Inter
state commerce commission along sew
eral different lines, SO as to give 1t a
larger and more efficient control over
the railroads. NJ
Legis.5s,on the Proper Antidots.
It cannot too often be repeated that
experience has conclusively shown the
impossibility Of securing By the actions
Of nearly half a hundred different state
legislatures anything but ineffective
chaos In the way Of dealing with the
great corporations which do not op-
crate exclusively within the limits Of
any one state. In some method, Wheth-
er by q national license law or In other
fashion, we must exercise, and that at
an early date. a far more complete
control than at present over these
great corpo tons a control that win,
among other things, prevent the evils
Of excessive overcapit and
that will compel the disclosure by each
big corporation Of Its stockholders and
OF its properties and business, whether
owned directly or through subsidiary
or affiliated corporal ions. This will
tend to put stop to the securing Of
linordinate profits by favored individu-
ais at the expense whether OF the gen
eral public the stockholders or the
/ Fageworkers. Our effort should be not
So much to prevent aconsoli dation Us
such, but so to supervise and control
It as to see that 1t results In no harm
TO the people. The reactionarY. or
ultra conservative apologists for the
misuse of wealth assail the effort tO
secure such control as step toward
socialism. AS d matter 81 fact, it ID
these reactionaries and ultra conserva.
tiyes who are themselves most potent
In increasin soeia listic feeling. One
of the most efficient methods of avert
Ing the consequences Of il dangerous
agitation which Is; so per cent wrong
Is to remedy the 20 per cent OF evil
as to which the agitation is well found
ed. The best way to aYert the very
undesirable move for the governmental
ownership Of railways IS to secure BY.
/ the government on behalf Of the peo-
pie as q whole, such adequate control
and regulation Of the great interstate
common carriers as will do away with
the evils which give rise to the agita-
ton against them. SO the proper an
tidote to the dangerous and wicked
agitation against the men OF wealth as
such Is to secure by proper legislati
and executive action the aboliti ion OF the
grave abuses which actually do obtain
| In connection with the business use Of
wealth under our present system, or.
rather, no system, Of failure to exer-9
else any adequate control at all. Some
persons speak as Ii the exercise OF such
governmental control would do away
with the freedom of Individual initia-
tive and dwarf individual effort. This
is not a fact. 1t would be a verftabie
calamity to fail to put d premium upon
individual initiative, Individual capaci-
1 ty and effort. upon the energy. char
acter and foresight which 1t Is SO inn.
| portant 70 encourage II the Ind vidual.
But, as q matter lof .fac t. the deadenfng
! and degrading effect OF pure socialism,
and especially fof It's extreme FORM.
communism, and the destruction Of In
diyfdual character which they would
bring about are in part achieved BY
the wholly unregulated competition
4 which results In a single individual or
corporation rising at the expense Of all
others until his OF Its rise effectually
/ checks all competition and reduces
former competitors to a position Of ut
ter inferiority and subordi nation.
In enacting and enforcing such leg
islation Us this congress already has to