The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1907-10-02
Argues For Better Superyis-
ion and Control
OF ALL CORPORATIONS
Believes There Should Be National Leg
islation to Control All Industrial
Corporations Doing Interstate
Business.

ST. Louis, Oct. 2.-The old stern wheel.
er mississippi" with the blue flag of
the president OF the United States at
the peak, slipped under the Eads bridge
before nine this morning, nearly an hour
before the time scheduled for It's ar
rival. A cloud Of gaily decorated steam
ers and launches was awaiting the com
ing, and whistles and bells gave the pres
ident a noisy welcome. He came on deck
and acknowledged the reception by wav-
ing his hand. At $3.50 the president
came down the gang plank, escorted by
the secret service men, and the secre-
taries. ''By George, this Is just splen.
did" said the president, as he surveyed
the crowd and the decorations. On the
wharf the president was met by the
members of the reception committee,
representing the business organizations.
The president with the members of
his party entered carriages and were
driven around the town and then to the
Auditorium, where he made speech.
just as the parade started, the rain
begain to fall, but standing in car
riage, and waving his hand, his hat in
the other hand, the president greeted
thousands along the line of march with
out apparent annoyance The seat in
his carriage was a pol of water, his
being the only carriage not covered.
The president spoke Of his trip down
the Mississippi, its value as a waterway,
the value of the Panama canai, and OF
the needs of better navy
'FThe national convention which form
ed the constitution, and in which al
most all the most eminent of the first
generation of American statesmen sat,
embodied the theory of the instrument
in resolution to the effect that the
National Government should have power
in cases where the separate states were
incompetent TO act with full efficiency,
and where the harmony of the United
States would be interrupted by the ex-
ercise of such individual legislation.
The interstate railroad situation IS ex-
actly case in point. There win, of
course, be local matters affecting rail-
roads which can best be dealt with
by local authority, but as national COM
mercial agents the big interstate rail-
read ought to be completely subject
to national authority. Only thus can
we secure their complete subiection to,
and control by, single sovereign, rep
resenting the whole people and capable
both Of protecting the public and Of
seeing that the railroads neither inhict
nor endure injustice.
Personally, / firmly believe that there
should be national legislation TO control
all industrial corporations doing an in
terstate business, including the control
Of the output of their securities, but as
to these the necessity for federal control
is less urgent and immediate than is the
case with the railroads Many of the
abuses connected with these corpora
tions will probably tend to disappear
now that the government-tho publie-is
gradually getting the upper hand as re-
CARDS putting stop to the rebates and
special privileges which some of these
corporations have enjoyed at the hands
of the common carriers. But ultimately
it will be found that the complete rem
edy for these abuses lies in direct and
affirmative action by the national gov
ernment That there is constitutional
power for the national regulation of
these corporations / have myself no
question Twoaor three generations ago
there was just as much hostility to ma
tional control of banks as there Is now
to national control.of railroads or of in
dustrial corporations doing an interstate
business. That hostility now seems to
us ludicrous in its lack Of warrant; in
like manner, gentlemen, our descendants
viii regard with wonder the present op
position to giving the national govern
ment adequate power to control those
great corporations, which it alone can
fully, and vet wisely, safely, and Justly
control. Remember also that to regulate
the formation Of these corporations Of
fers one of the most direct and efficient
methods Of regulating their activities
| am not pleading for an extension of
constitutional power am pleading that
constitutional power which already ex.
lists shall be Applied to new conditions
which did not exist when the constitu-
tion went into being ask that the
national powers already conferred upon
the national government by the consti-
tuition shall be so used ais to bring ma
tional commerce and industry effectively
under the authority of the federal gov
ernment and thereby avert industrial
chaos. My plea is not to bring about
condition Of Capitalization. It is that
the government shall recognize condi-
tion OF Capitalization in field where
it already exists. When the national
banking law was passed, it represented
in reality not Capitalization, but recog-
milton Of the fact that the country had
so far advanced that the currency was
already matter of national concern and
must be dealt with by the central au-
thority at Washington. So it is with
interstate industrialism and especially
with the matter of interstate railroad
operation today. Capitalization has al
ready taken place in the world Of com.
merce and industry All | ask Is that
the national government look this fact
in the face. accept it as fact, and fit
itself accordingly for policy OF super
vision and control over this centralized
commerce and industry
No Cocktails.
The American cocktail was missing
from the menu Of the luncheon served to
the president. but there was champagne