The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1906-12-07

ably rs great additional loss.
Many Of these strikes and loclloAts
would not have occurred had the psr-
ties to the dispute been required 70
appear before an unprejudiccd body
representing the nation and, face h
face, state the reasons for their con
tention. The exercise of judicial
spirit by dislnterested body repre-.
senting tive federal government such
rs would be provided by a commission
on Cancellation and arbitration. would
! tend to create an atmosphere Of friend
lincss and conclliuton between con-
tending parties.
| Control Of Corporations.
| 1t cannot too often be repeated that
experience has conclusively shown the
impossibility Of securing by the actions
Of nearly half Il hundred different state
legislatures anything but ineffective
chaos In the way Of dealing with the
great corporations which do not opcr-
ate exclusively within the limits Of
! any one state. In some method, Whcth-
er by national license law or in other
! fashion, we must exercise, and that ut
an early date. far more complete
control than at present over these great
! cOrpOratiOns--a control that will, among
other things. prevent the evils Of cX-
ccsSlvc overcapitnliZation and that will
: compel the disclosure by each big cor.
porAtion of It's stockholders and Of it's
properties and business, whether own
ell directly or through subsidiary or
! affiliated corporations. This will tend
to put q stop to the securing Of inor-
dinate profits by favored individuals at
! the expense whether Of the general
J public the stockholders or the wage
workers. Our effort should be not so
much to prevent consolidation rs such,
| but so to supervise and control it rs
to see that it results in no harm to the
people.
| Combination Of capital, like combina-
ton Of labor, Is a necessary element Of
our present. industrial system. 1t Is
! not possible completely to prevent 1t,
and If it were possible such complete
prevention would do damage to the
body polite. What we need is not
vainly to try to prevent all combina-
ton, but to secure such rigorous and
adequate control and supervision of
! the combinations as to prevent their
! injurlng the public or existing in such
form as inevitably to threaten injury,
| for the mere fact that a combination
has secured practically complete con-
! troll of a necessary Of life would under
any circumstances show that such
: combination was to be presumed to be
adverse to the public interest. 1t is
! unfortunate that our present laws
should forbid all combinations instead
OF sharply discriminating between
those combinations which do good and
! those combinations which do evil. Re-
bates, for instance. are us often due to
the pressure Of big shippers (aS was
! shown in the investigation Of the
| Standard Oil company and as has been
| shown since by the investigation Of
! the tobacco and sugar trusts as to the
initiative OF big railroads. Often rail
roads would like to combine for the
purpose OF preventing big shipper
from maintaining improper advantages
at the expense OF small shippers and
of the general public. Such combna-
! ton, instead Of being forbidden by law,
should be favored. In other words It
should lie permitted to railroads to
make agreements, provided these agree
mcnts were sanctioned by the inter-
state commerce commission and were
published. With these two conditions
complied with it is impossible to see
! what harm such combination could
do to the public Mt large.
Inheritance and Income Tax.
The national government has long
derived its chief revenue from tariff
OH imports and from an internal or cx-
! every reason why, when next our sys.
tenn OF taxation Is revised. the national
government should impose a graduated
inheritance tax and, If possible. n grad
uatcd income tax.
I am we'll aware that such subject
as this needs long and careful study In
order that the people may become fa-
miliar with what Is proposed to be
done. may clearly see the necessity Of
proceeding with wisdom and self re-
stralnt and may make up their minds
| just how far they are willing to go in
the matter. while only trained legisla-
tors can work out the project in neces
snry detail. But feel that in the near
future our national Legislators should
enact law providing for graduated
inheritance tax by which steadily in
creasing rate of duty should be put
upon all moneys or other valuables
coming by gift, bcqucst or devise to
any individual or corporation. There
can be no question Of the ethical pro-
priety Of the government thus deter
, mining the conditions upon which any