The Pensacola journal., 1907-04-28

Who would annihilate the railways
and go back to the stage coach? Or
the packinghOuse and go back to the
butcher shop? Would Mr.. Bryan? If
not, how far back would he go? And
why not all of the way if part of the
way? Is not regulation and cure of
their evils better than annihilaUiOn of
these and all like industrial Organiza-
ions? -are the questions propounded by
Senator Beveridge in The Reader for
May This is the line that separates
Mr.. Bryan's economic policy from the
economic policy in which l believe.
Mr.. Bryan says: "Annihilate these Or
CARNATIONS" | say: "Annihilate their
evils, but preserve the industries and
their efficient machinery. That this
is fair statement of Mr.. Bryan'S posi-
ton, | cite his really great Madison
Square Garden speech:
Il desire to see the trusts ey
terminated, root and branch
All of lis do want TO stop the evil
practices of these industries-and. We
are stepping them.
First. the rebate. All business de
pends upon transportation. Some great
OIltDDtIS ScCuI6u lIOili IllC dalN dN
crct low rates. applicable alone TO
them. This rebate amounted to TAX
ing money out of the pocket of every
ether shipper ard putting that moLcy
in the favored shippers pocket 1t was
both conspiracy and theft. The
wholesale argument'-that man
who buys or ships a million pounds of
anything ought to get a better price
or rate than the man who ships
pounds indefensible Then applied 10
transportation. Highways should be
open on equal terms to all.
But this evil is ended. We have
made this moral crime legal crime.
with fine and the penitenJiary as pun
ishment. And Theodore Roosevelt is
executing this law. The next evil is
"overca apitaliZatiOn." Some ''Overcap-
italiZation' is justified, but most of it
is villianous, affirms Senator Bever
idge. Two classes of people are in
jured by this: first, the purchasing
public, who must pay price for the
product that will Justify a dividend
upon this enormous overcapitaliZation
and, second, the hundreds of thou
sands of purchasers of stock who have
invested their hard-earned money in a
great deal of water"
DuJ no" dl W T. SSOl4S " SCOp SIl1O
overcapitalization? Mr. Bryan cannot
stop it; for the Calhoun theory of
states rights" stands in the way
and Mr.. Bryan is Calhoun
states rights" man. For these cor
porations are formed under the author
ity of sovereign states that permit
just this thing. Indeed, states are bid
ding against one another for the priVi-
lege Of permitting financial highway
men TO hold up the entire American
people. Witness New Jersey, Della
ware, Nevada and other equally dis
gusting examples. Of course, nothing
can effectually stop this but the ma
ton
All corporations that do business,
not with New jersey or Delaware
alone, but with the whole American
people, should be controlled by laws
passed, not by the legislature of New
Jersey or Delaware. but by the con-
gress of the whole American people, is
the contention of Senator Beveridge in
the May Reader. But we will have to
come to this gradually, because we
are so many states deriv-
ing such great revenue from coTpOr-
ate taxation that their senators and
will not let such a law
pass; indeed, the corporations that
prey would be able to excite the people
themselves against this "centraliZatiOn
of power" But such law car be
passed as TO all railroads doing inter
state businesS-and pract. cally all rail
roads do interstate business. Suppose
We start by making railroads that do a
business incorporate under
laws. They would thus
have to obey the will of the whole peo-
pie. instead of evadinS the law in this
state. cOrrupting the legislature in that
state etc, and thus becoming law un-
TO themselves If the national fran
chise idea is feasible as to other cor