The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1907-07-06
LIMITED PROFIT LAW.

The industrial development of the world, from
individuaism to trusts and monopolies. furnishes
some facts which an unprecedented mind must rec
ognze whether he be honestly trying to better his
own condition or is just going from place to place
ignorantly condemning the industrial advance
ment and doing little for himself and less for hui
manity The trusts are a natural outgrowth of
combination The principle is as old as man, and
has been used for centuries in limited degree. In
early days, when pioneer needed a heavy lop
raised to complete his cabin, and he couldn't do the
work alone, he got some one to help him So in the
business and manufacturing world when man
with clear insight into the needs of the world saw
his trade growing faster than his ability to
for it, he hunted up some one who indus
trious as himself courageous and enterprising, and
a partnership was formed From the partnership
grew the stock company and the monopolies and
trusts.
Now if it was good thing for pioneers to join
forces in moving a log we cannot see that Coop
Grafton carried to it's present development is not
good thing. The economy of doing business on
a large scale is so apparent that it requires
gument to show it. AT the same time the abuses
of their power furnish in the trust an intolerabe
hardship upon the people, and it is the abuses to
which the people call the attention of the federal
government and demand a remedy. 1t is preposter-
to think that the natural resources of the coun
try could have been developed without co-opera-
tion A man alone is limited as to physical
strength; two or three men can join forces and ac-
complsh what they could not do separately 1t j.
the same in all human activities. In spite of the
popular prejudice against trusts, they are not like
y to be superseded until some other economic prin-
ciple is developed take their place 1t is not pro
posed that the large enterprises will be permitted
to absorb completely the business and manufactur-
ing industries of the country.
Legislation has been enacted, and more effec-
tive legislation will be enacted within the next few
years to prevent abuses of the power which comes
to these enormous capitalistic institutions Profits
will be limited, we believe; the government, rep
resenting all the people, will absorb what excess
profits there may be beyond a legitimate per cent.
Tbs may seem preposterous or socialistic but it IS
not more so than laws establishing legal interest
rates money, and nearly every state has such
law. Why therefore, should not legal rate of IN
tcrcst ce established in other things?
1t would, of course, be difficult to figure the NET
profits of big industrial or railroad corporation if
it made special efforts to conceal them, but with
levelheaded honesty at the head of the government
and curbing Of The desires of the trusts to prey
upon society for POO or 1000 per cent profit,
great deal Of tie discomfort and radicalism will
disappear.
Advocates Of Unlimited profits, those who, with
great show of business acumen, pirate Of Individual
effort and aptitude for business, naturally would
put forward to defeat limited-proft law, argu-
ments showing that capital would not invest in
enterprises where sheer force of business ablity
could not command richer emoluments, and thar
development would thus be hindered and progress
stopped. Ii, however, capital should put forward
such arguments, the proof that capital in the form
of trusts, feeces the people would be positive II
answer we need but to point to the great irriga-
ton works of the west and to the Panama canal
as evidences that the government would be able to
take of the progress which is necessary to keep
the nation from decaying