The Carlisle independent., 1907-12-05

the Country.
 1 Washington, Dec 3.-President Roose- l eelt in his annual message deals vigor- 1 ously with matters of national impor- l tance. Referring to the recent disturb ance in financial circles he points out 1 that the hoarding of money by the peo-
 pie, instead of keeping it in sound banks, 1 was the first cause of financial stringency 1 and grave error. He pays a tribute to l the general honesty of the men engaged
 In the banking business.
 After quotations from his last annual
 message which dealt with the necessity
 of governmental regulations, the presi- I dent asserts that his views have in no | way changed and declares it is the duty l of the national government to embody
 in action the principles he then expressed
 Disclaiming any idea of advocating cen 1 tralizatfon the president insists upon the
 necessity for federal control of the rail-
 roads of the country through the inter | state commerce commission, and also urges legislation looking to the proper
 control of the great business concerns en- l gagged in interstate business, this control
 to be exercised for their own benefit and
 prosperity less than for the protection
 of investors and of the general public. Wants Federal Control. Declaring that modern industrial con
 dftions are such that combination is not l only necessary but inevitable, the presi-
 dent refers to his message of a year ago
 concerning necessary changes in the
 antitrust laws. He goes on: T ask for
 full power to be given the federal
 government, because no single state | can by legislation effeetually cope with these powerful corporations en- | gagged in interstate commerce, and while l doing them full justice, exact from them
 In return full justice to others The con- ] d Of roflr rSr-{+ l tions of our immense interstate com l merce, are such as to make the central 1 government alone competent to exercise 1 full supervision and control.
 The antitrust law should be made both
 more efficient and more in harmony with
 actual conditions. It should be so amend 1 ed as to forbid only the kind of combina- | ton which does harm to the general pub- l lie, such amendment to be accompanied | by, or to be an incident of grant of su- l pervsory power to the government over 1 these big corporations engaged in inter- | state business. This should be accom- panied by provision for the compulsory publication of accounts and the subjec- l ton of books and papers to the inspec- l ton of the government officials. be-
 ginning has already been made for such supervision by the establishment of the 1 bureau of corporations.
 Among the points to be aimed at should be the prohibition of unhealthy competition, such as by rendering service i at an actual loss for the purpose of crush 1 ing out competition, the prevention of in- 1 ffation of capital, and the prohibition of i a corporation's making exclusive trade 1 with itself a condition of having any | trade with itself. Reasonable agreements 1 between. or combinations of, corporations i should be permitted provided they are l first submitted to and approved by some
 appropriate government body.
 Like National Bank Supervision.
 The congress has the power to charter i corporations to engage in interstate and i foreign commerce, and a general law can | be enacted under the provisions of which ] existing corporations could take out fed 1 eraI charters and new federal corpora l tions could be created. An essential pro- | vision of such law should be a method | of predetermining by some federal board 1 or commission whether the applicant for
 a federal charter was an association or | combination within the restrictions of the l federal law. The supervision established | might be analogous to that now exercised
 over national banks. At least, the anti trust act should be supplemented by spe- | cific prohibitions of the methods which eX- perence has shown have been Of most l service in enabling monopostic combina- l tions to crush out competition. The real | owners Of corporation should be com pelled to do business in their own name. 1 The right to hold stock in other corpora
 tions should hereafter be denied to inter- | state corporations. unless on approval by
 the proper government officials, and a
 prerequisite to such approval should be
 the listing with the government of all 1 owners and stockholders both by the | corporate owning such stock and by
 the corporation In which such stock is
 owned"
 After calling attention to the benefits 1 which the legislation he urges would confer upon the country, the president | says Those who fear. from any req son. the extension of federal activity will 1 do well to study the history not only of | the national banking act. but of the pure
 food law, and notably the meat inspec-
 ton law recently enacted The benefit to l interstate common carriers and business
 concerns from the Legislation l advocate
 would be equally marked.
 The Currency Question.
 On the question of the currency the
 president calls attention to his last an nuaI message wherein he pointed out
 that our present system is defective and
 showing the need of change. In that
 message he said
 National banks should be permitted to
 issue a specified proportion of their cap