The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-24
RECONSTRUCTION
 OF CORPORATIONS Judge 6rosscup Talks Before
 Civic Federation REMEDIES FOR THE TRUSTS Many Speakers Take Up Trust Prob lens at Chicago Conference and Samuel Gompers Also Lends | a Hand.
REMEDIES FOR THE TRUSTS

Chicago, October 2s.-The second day of
 the convention of the National Civic Fed
 eration was devoted to the consideration of the corporation, its construction and
 regulation.
 The chief speakers on the programme
 and the subjects they discussed were as
 follows:
 J. w. Jenks, Cornell university. "The
 Trust Situation" Edgar A. Bancroft Chi
 islation" Isaac N. seligman. New York,
 The Trust Problem,' Irving Fisher, New
 Haven, "Over-Capitalizaton."
 In the afternoon the principal speakers were Judge Grosscup Of Chicago, who discussed "The Construction of a Corpor
 ation;" Samuel Gompers, Frank B. Kel- logg of St. Paul and E. E. Prussing of
 Chicago.
 Judge Grosscup's Address.
 Judge Peter S. Grosscup of the United States circuit court spoke on the sub ject. What Should Be the Structure of the New Corporation" He said in part: '.The detailed form that the work
 
 would be best performed, perhaps, by
 national commission; and such q commission would have for precedent the
 work done by Germany 30 years ago-a
 corporate reform that has almost dis
 armed German socialism except as an az itation against the unjust land laws of that country" He said he would not go t,,t< aataiIo buf Uo,tld copfna hin, eaif to those fundamental principles that in their nature must lie at the foundation of the new corporate structure.
 "In this country, the corporation is a creature of the executive department of the several states, and issues out of such department almost as matter of course Neither the object for which the corpora ton Is formed, nor the amount of it's cap itaIization. nor the character of the se- curities issued, commands any preliml- nary attention other than such as s merely perfunctory. Put your nickel in the slot and take out charter Is the invitation that the states extend: and in line before the slot machine. entitled. too. to an equal place In the line. are the cor porate projects conceived to defraud, as well as those that have an honest pur- pose Neither Is detained by so much as an inquiry For indifference such that I would substitute at the very threshold of the corporations application for cx- istance an honest, careful inquiry by some tribunal of government--a tribunal that will act only after 1t has heard-a hearing fin which the public is represented by a district attorney, on whom is thus de- volved the duty, not merely of pursuing the horse after it Is stolen, but of seeing to it that the door is locked before the horse is stolen. And what honest project I ask. can object to such an inquiry? License of Corporations. ''The corporation as at present organ ized by the states. has. license to issue all the securities 1t chooses, and all the kinds of securities it chooses-securities whose place in the corporate geologic strst- ifleation no ordinary mind can locate; and out of this have come the many instances of capitalizations that serve no purpose other than to exploit with one hand the consuming public. while batting with the other that portion of the public that with hard earned savings is looking for some opportunity to help itself along in the race of life. No honest project needs license like that Let the initial securities issued be related in fair business way to the actual values put in.
 incorporated enterprise. just as private enterprise. should he given room 10 grow. A dollar turned into two. ten, twenty. if ----~-----~~----->---~>- ~s-------~~-->-- CONTINUED ONfAGE 2.)