The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-12-18
rHr rrNANcrAL PANIC.

|
 coptributed to produce it. While some
 attribute 1t to one cause. and others
 to another. 1t is quite manifest that
 no one cause brought 1t about, but that
 it is the result of several causes opsr-
 ating together. or rather cumulattvely. 1 It is not strange that a widespread
 panic occurring at a period of general
 and unprecedented prosperity in all
 sections of the country. and when
 there was more money per capita in
 cireulation< <than, perhaps. st any pre-
 vious time in the history of the United
 States. should present an anomaly in- !, yiting inquiry as to it's cause or
 causes--and 1t is natural there should
 be many theories on the subject and
 that these theories should differ.
 We venture to suggest some observ- ations in which we shall endeaver to
 point out what appear to us to be some of the causes leading to the ex- isting unfortunate situation.
 In the first place the Republican party has been in complete control of the government for many years. its control extending to the legislative, executive and judicial departments. That party has always favored capital and corporate interests, and so long as they made their usual and recurr- ing contributions to It's campaign funds, State and national. that party looked with entire complaisance upon their exploiting abuses and expressions and these powerful financial organi- zations felt secure in retaining a free hand so long as they responded to campaign demands--they regard these responses as the payment of . con- sideration for immunity from govern mental interference, and 1t was, in fact, nothing less.
 While the Democratic party was al- ways opposed to corporate abuses, and the unrestricted power of capital, and through it's national platforms and leaders condemned tn em, these things were looked upon with indifference by corporate and capitalistic interests and they went on in the pursuit of their unlawful schemes and practices for robbing and expressing the public. feeling that the Republican party was too strongly intrenched in power fer the partnership between them and it to be dissolved.
 This situation continued until in the course of time a Republican President became inoculated with the Democratic doctrine pertaining to this subject and it happened to be 8 Republican Pres ident of such strong personal force and influence as to be able to compel his party against it's will to take no- tice and to some extent to act. The Republican Congress was forced to enact the amended interstate commerce bill, some prosecutions were instituted under the dormant sherman antitrust statute, and the President sent his commissioner of corporations upon an Investigating expedition. From these prosecutions and the report of Mir. Garfield the outrageous and unlawful abuses on the part of corporations by which both the public and stock holders were being fleeced were exposed. The captains of industry became alarmed, the public became alarmed. and for eign investors in American securities became alarmed-and to add to the frenzy of the latter came the twenty nine million dollar fine against the Standard Oil Company which was re- garded very differently by such foreign country-for in England. and for the most part in continental Europe, when statute Is enacted the universal ex- pectation is that it will be enforced and. so when the judgment of a court is rendered there is no other expecta- tion but that it will be enforced-while in this country there are many in- stances where statutes are enacted and judgments rendered without any such expectation but merely to subserve political or other ulterior ends.
 Foreign investors naturally conclud- ed that they could no longer hold in safety securities issued by corpora tions, which had become the subjects of adverse Legislation and judicial pro- ceedings and whose unlawful diver sion of corporate funds for private ends had been so exposed by the gov ernment itself and the result was that this class of investors set about at once to get rid of their American hold ings with the inevitable result of a depreciated and demoralized market.
 About this time and following the action of the Federal authorities, as by President Roosevelt, the | wave of demagoguery and radicalism began to sweep over some of the States | not only in unfriendly but | oppressive State legislation against the | railroad companies
 With both the Federal and State | in hot pursuit of the rail- roads it was but natural that con- ddancA ahould hecome i'm na irad in raiI