Durango semi-weekly herald., 1907-05-30

yanced legislation that has yet been
enacted in the direction of corpora
ton. control, and the fact that 1t has
been almost unanimously indorsed by
the legislature OF the state in which
nearly all the great corporations OF
the country have their headquarters
and which is the seat of the money
power" OF which we are all so much
afraid, Is even more remarkable. No
one would be surprised to have such
a bill passed by Nebraska or Missis.
sippi or Oregon, but 1t is not the sort
OF legislation one would expect from
the legislature OF New York.
Governor Hughes is a bold, brave,
Independent and forceful man. No
other kind of governor could have
accomplished this extraordinary feat
He is also corporation lawyer. Ever
since he has been in practice his clients
have been corporations, which indi
Gates that a lawyer may learn some
thing on both sides OF an important
question by such associations, and 1t
ought to make people careful about
condemning lawyers because they ac-
cept retainers from railways and other
corporations. You never knew a cor
poration to hire poor lawyer If 1t
had the money to pay for good one,
and the fact that an honest lawyer
has accepted fees from such sources
does not necessarily make him the
enemy of the people.
The passage of the public utilities
law by an almost unanimous vote Of
both parties in the New York legis-
lature indicates very clearly that the
corporations are accepting government
control as inevitable. The provisions
Of the bill were examined with the
greatest care and anxiety by the at
torneys OF the great corporations, who
made several important suggestions
that were accepted by Governor
Hughes. They also pointed out GER
tain defects and impracticable proyi-
Sions in the bill as he originally drew
II. Beyond that there was very lit
tie criticism or opposition. There was
no lobby at Albany against the bill,
which is almost as remarkable as the
passage cf the bill itself. because here.
toiore every corporation of import
ance in the state kept man on guard
to lock after its interests, to prevent
and promote legislation. This time
however, the lobbyists kept away and
indeed 1t has been a hard winter for
agents" In Albany.
The only inference to be drawn
from these facts Is that the railway
magnates and the heads of the boards
Of directors of great corporations have
come to the point of view taken by
the president in speech he made al
a Gridiron dinner last winter. That
speech was the subject of much mis-
representation and sensational com
ment, and he was accused of "in
sulting' Pierpont Morgan and II. II
Rogers of the Standard Oil company
although neither OF those gentlemen
or any of the other guests perceived
the insult until 1t was explained to
them afterward by people who wert
not present What the president sait
was that the railways of the country
ought to be glad that the rate bill had
been passed because 1t is moderate
and conservative legislation, whereas
II it had been defeated more radi
cal measure would certainly sooner
or later have become a law. That view
seems to have been accepted by the
corporations of New York In connec
tion with the bill just passed
The public utilities law is also not
able as being the most advanced stel
that has ever been taken in this coun
try in the direction of state socialism
and 1t will doubtless prove TO be an
effective obstacle to municipal owner
ship. 1t has made government owner
ship useless in this state as a political
Issue, because il goes so far as to
give state commission practical con
troll of every kind of corporation that
does public business, such as railway S
steamships, street cars, express com
cab and carriage companies, bridges
ferries, electric light and power com
panies, gas companies, excepting only
telegraph and telephone companies
and why they were left out | can
not ascertain.
In the recent campaign for mayor
Of New York city municipal ownership
was the popular issue, and It received
surprising support, probably from vet
ers who did net comprehend what they
were voting for, but who were de
termined to express as forcibly as
possible their dissatisfaction with the
management OF the public utilities In
their city. The principle OF municipal
ownership came very near being adopt
ed. The representative OF municipal
ownership came very near being elect
ed. A good many people think he was
elected and counted out. The votes
tor municipal ownership were cast
without considering the amount of
money that would be necessary to
acquire the public utilities complained
of or the taxes that would be neces-
sary &c cover the expense. The the
ory was attractive. The protest was
emphatic; and ! have no doubt that
the enactment of this new law is the
direct result of that campaign and a
concession TO public opinion as ex-