The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1907-05-31

analogous to and as complete as tnaa
the Government exercises over the
national banks. 1t must possess the
power to exercise supervision over
the future issuance of stocks and
bonds, either through a national in
corporation (Which / should much
prefer or in some similar fashion
such supervision to include the frank
publicity of everything which would
be investors and the public at large
have a right to know. The Federal
Government will thus be able to pre-
vent all apitalizatiOn in the fu.
ture; to prevent any man hereafter
from plundering others by loading
railway properties with obligations
and pocketing the money instead of
spending it in improvements and in
legitimate corporate purposes; and
any man acting in such fashion should
be held to criminal accountability
1t should be declared contrary to pub
lie policy henceforta to allow rail-
roads to devote their capital to any
thing but the trans spoTtation business,
| certainly not to the hazards of specu-
| fation. For the very reason tnat we
| desire to favor the honest railroad
manager, we should seek to discour-
age the activities of the man whose
only concern with railroads is to ma
| HlpubdI0 Ul0lr SlOCkS. lI0 OuSlIltSS Ol
railroad organization and manage
ment should be kept entirely distinct
| from investment or brokerage busi-
ness, especially of the speculative
type, and the credit and property of
| the corporation should be devoted to
4 the extension and betterment of it's
railroads, and to the development of
the country naturally tributary to the
lines These principles are fu1da-
mental Railroads should not be pro-
hibited from acquiring connecting
| lines, by acquiring stocks, bonds. or
other securities of such lines; but 1T
| is already well settled as contrary to
public policy to allow railroads to
| acquire control over parallel and COM
peting lines of transportation. Sub
| ject to first giving to the Government
the power of supervision and control
| which have advocated, the law should
be amended so tnat railroads may be
permitted and encouraged to make
| traffic agreements when these are in
the interest of the general public as
well as of the railroad corporations
| making them. These agreements
should of course be made public in
the minutest detail, and should be
subject to securing the previous as
sent of the Interstate Commerce Com
mission.
The movement to regulate railways
by law has come to stay. The people
of this country have made up their
minds-and wisely made up their
minds-to exercise a closer control
over all kinds of public-service cor
Dorations, Including railways. Every
honestly managed railway will gain
| and not lose by the policy. The men
more anxious to manipulate stocks
than to make the management of
their roads efficient and honest are
the only ones who have cause to op
pose it.
We who believe in steady and
healthy progress stand unalterably for
the new era of the widest publicity.
and of fair dealing on the part of
railroads with stockholders, passen-
gers, and shippers We ask the con-
sent of no man in carrying out this
policy; but we gladly welcome the
aid of every man in perfecting the
law in its details. and in securing its
enactment and the faithful observ-
alce of its wise provisions. We seek
nothing revolutionary. We ask for
such laws as in their essence now OBJ
tain in the staid old commonwealth
of Massachusetts,; such laws as now
obtain in England. The purpose of
those of us who so resolutely believe
in the new policy, in its thorough car
rying out and in it's progressive de-
velopment, is in no sense punitive or
vindictive. We would be the first to
protest against any form of confisca-
ton of property, and whether we pro-
tested or not, l may add that the Su-
preme Court could be trusted in any
event to see tnat there should be no
thing done under the g7liSe of regulat-
ing roads to destroy property without
just compensation or without due pro-
cess of law. AS a matter of course,
we shall punish any criminal whom
we can convict under the law; but
we have no intention of confounding
the innocent many and the guilty few
by any illjudged and sweeping scheme
of vengeance. Our aim is primarily
to prevent these abuses in the future.
Wherever evil doors can be, they snail
be. brought to justice; and no crimi-
nal, high or low, whom we can reach
will receive immunity But the rights
of innocent investors should not be
ieopardized by legislation or execu-
tive action; We sanction no legislation
which would fau heavily on them.
instead of on the original wrongdoers
or be7eficiaries of the wrong.
There must be no such rigid laws
as will prevent the development of
the country, and such development
can only be had il investors are off
cred an ample reward for the risk
they take We would be the first to
oppose any unreasonable restrictions
being placed upon the issuance of
stocks and bonds. for such would sim
ply hamper the growth of the United
States; for railroad must ultimately
stand ON its credit. But this does
not prevent our demanding that there
be lodged in the Government power
to exercise a Jealous care against the
Imitation of securities and all the
evils that come in its train. The man
who builds a great railway and those
who invest in it render a great public
service; for adequate transportation
facilities are a vital necessity 70 the
country We favor full and ample
return To such men; but we do not
favor q policy of exploiting the many
for the benefit of the few. We favor
the railway man who operates his rail
way upon a astraigh ghtfOrward and open
business basis, from the standpoint OF
permanent investment, and who has
an Interest In itz future; We are