The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1907-07-16
a NEW CHAPTER.

and important chapter in the fight
that is on will have been written, The
President has realized that the various
of trusts have not attain
ed the results desired. In the main the
situation is practically as it was In the
case of the Northern Securities Com
pany, an attempt to make two railroad
systems compete when they preferred
to cooperate as a more economical
plan. may have secured a formal re-
gard for the law in the matter, but ac-
tually has not prevented the operation
of the roads as had been planned. In
the case of the absorption of the troll
ley lines of Massachusetts by the New
York, New Haven and Hartford Rail-
road Company the attitude of. the leg
islature Of that State compelled for
NAL obedience of the law, but the hold
Ing and operation of the trolley lines
continues under a new form of organ
ization.
The fact Is people cannot legislate
against inevitable economic progress
made necessary by increasing popula-
ton and industrial demand, the wider
area of operation and larger bulk of
capital required There are economic
forces at work in the larger interests
Of human welfare and the best that
legislatures can do IS to enact laws in
keeping with these forces and in the di-
rection to which they are leading, but
always with a moral purpose, to main
tain justice and a balance between the
conflicting parties sure to exist in a
transitional period such as the present.
The economic change is from compe-
titior to cooperation. Great industrial
concerns have early seen the advantage
of the cooperative principle. To legis-
lare in such way as to compel COM
petition is futile, 1t is like an attempt
to turn history backward In a way
the trust, so-called, in which competing
capitals are merged for the purpose of
ldoing the larger work that progress
demands, is a pioneer In teac hing the
public the balm of cooperation. 1t is
the function of legislation to be alert
in protecting the public interests and
rights whenever a great corporation
uses It's power, which in fact the State
| in the greater measure confers, in such
way as to threaten or subvert the
ger eral welfare. The interest, too, Of
stockholders is to be guarded against
the designs of men who come to have
authoritative position but are moved
ma'ni.r by selfish personal interests
rather than the welfare of stockhold-
ers or the public.
As rapidly as consolidation takes place
AMI the larger a corporation becomes
tho more certain is 1t that the State
m1st take a hand in control in order
that iSsistent economic forces may have
intelligent guidance and safe and sane
progress may be assured.
Possibly President Roosevelt realizes
how much an instrument he may be in
the power of the inevitable forces that
are making for human good. He has
tried prosecutions without any particu-
lar signal success. He is trying in
some instances control with no promise
Of any greater success. Even the pres
ont case with the Standard OIL Com
pany is a mere formallty and an expen-
sve one. Is the question asked; "Who
pays the flnes?" The. answer any child
lin the primary school can give. The
public pays the fines as the public al
ways has. AS prices on everything are
advancing there Is nothing to prevent
oil lining the procession. If the pro-
lposed receivership idea is tried with this
Tobacco Trust slated as the first SUBJ
lject another step viii be taken that
will result in failure. but at the same
time a step that will reveal some sue
cess that can be made out of failure
| If It is the plan to have the courts
resolve gradually the trust into it's orig
Iinal competing parts an impossible task
will be undertaken.
When the public shall have learned
well its lesson upder the trusts as
teachers and President Roosevelt al
disclplinarian 1t will be seen that co.
operation is good for the public to use
In its own behalf through a wise use
Of the powers it already possesses
Atoms with political democracy is com,
ing industrial democracy more rapidly
than one is aware Of, although Chan,
coiOi Lay VI SYRACUSE university ia
sis,s that autocracy is before uA Oul
Socialist writers tell us that the his
torlc progress Of the ages has had IN
dustrial democracy Is view as the goa
and that no one social order is perma
nent but must give way to another
that comes nearer the securing of justice
and makes easier the living of a true
neral life However sound this inter