Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1908-12-11

ger TO the nation there Is nothing TO
ruptionist. the bride giver, he bride
taker, the man who employs his great
talent TO swindle his fellow citizens, on a
large scale, and, on the other hand. the
preacher of class hatred. the man who.
whether from ignorance or from willing
ness to sacrifice his country to his am
bition, persuades well meanin but wrong
headed men to try TO destroy the instru-
ments upon which our prosperity mainly
rests.
Let Each Beware.
Let each group of men beware OF and
guard against the shortcomings TO which
that group Is Itself most liable. Too often
we see the business community In a spirit
% unhealthy class Consciousness deplore
the effort TO hold to account under the
law the wealthy men who In their man
aBement or great corporations, whether
railroads, street railways. or other indus
trial enterprises, have behaved In a way
That revolts the conscience of the plain,
decent people. Such an attitude can not
DE condemned too severely, for men or
property should recognize that they Jeop-
ardlze the right OF property when they
rail- heartily to join In the EFFORT 10 do
away with the abuses of wealth. On the
otner hand, those who advocate proper
control on behalf of the public, through
the state, of these great corporations,
ana or the wealth engaged on a giant
scale in business operations, must ever
keep In MIND that unless they do scrupu-
Gus justice to the corporation, unless
they permit ample profit. and cordially
NtANONi dSC tdpdDle men vi DdoiliSSS ~
long as they act with honesty. they are
striking at the root of our national we'll
being; Tor in the long run, under the
mere pressure OF material distress, the
people as a whole would probably go back
to the reign OF an tricted indiyid-
uaIsm rather than submit to a control
by the state so drastic and so foolish.
conceived In a spirit of such unreason-
able and narrow hostility to wealth, as
TO prevent business operations from be-
Ing profitable, and therefore 10 bring
| ruin IInOn tho cpfira huEinp9E community.
citizens.
The opposition to government control
or these great corporations a X its
most effective effort in the shape OF an
appeal 70 the old doctrine or states
rights. OF course, there are many sincere
men who now believe In unrestricted lndl-
yidualism in business, just as there. were
formerly many sincere men who believed
IN slayery-that is. In the unrestricted
individual. These men do not by them
selves have great weight, however. The
effective fight against adequate govern
Vidual, and especially of corporate,
wealth engaged In Interstate business is
chiefly done under cover; and especially
under cover of an appeal to states rights.
1t is not at all i%nfrequent to read in the
same speech a denunciation Of predatory
wealth fostered by special privilege and
defiant of both the public welfare ana
law Of the land. and a denunciation of
Capitalization In the central government
OF the power 60 deal with this centralized
and organized wealth. OF course. the
policy set forth in such twin denuncia-
lions mounts to absolutely nothing, for
the first half is nullifed by the second
half.
Basis of Union.
The chief reason, among the many
sound and compelling reasons, that led
to the formation of the national govern
ment. was the absolute need that the
union, and not the several states, should
Hna l nit. 4 N 70 ret n 70 md fnPniOn nnnt-
merce; and the power to deal with inter-
state was granted absolutely
and plenarily to the central government
and was exercised completely as regards
the only instruments of interstate COM
merce known in those days-the water
ways, the highroads, as well as the part
nerShips of individuals who then con-
Quoted all OF what business there was.
Interstate commerce is now chiefly con-
Quoted by railroads; and the great cor
poration has supplanted the mass OF
small partnerships or individuals. The
propose to make the national govern
ment supreme over, and therefore to give
II complete control over. the railroads
and other instruments of interstate COM
merce Is merely a proposal to carry out
TO the letter one OF the prime purposes,
II not the prime purpose, for which the
constitution was founded 1t does not
represent Capitalization. 1t represents
merely the acknowledgment of the patent
fact that Capitalization has already come
If this irresponsible outside business
power is TO be cont.olled In the interest
of the general public 1t can only Se con-
trolled in one way; by giving adequate
power OF control to the one sovereignty
capable of exercising such power-the
national government. Forty or 30 sep
arate state governments can not exercise
that power over corporations doing bust
ness In most or all of them; first, be-
cause they absolutely lack the authority
to deal with interstate business In any
form. and second, because of the inev-
liable conflict OF authority sure to arise
In the effort to enforce different kinds of
state regulation. often Inconsistent with
one another and sometimes oppressive in
themselves. Such divided authority can
not regulate with wisdom and
only power which. without oppression,
can nevertheless thoroughly and ade-
Quately control and supervise the large
corporations.
To abandon the effort for national con-
troll means to abandon the effort for all
adequat control and yet to render likely
continual bursts of action by state legis-
latures. which can not achieve the pur-
pose sought for. but which can do a
great deal of damage to the corporation
without comforting any real benefit ON
the public.
Corporations See Mistake.
I believe that the more farsighted cor
porations are themselves coming to rec
ognize the unwisdom Of the violent hos
tillty they nave displayed during the last
few years TO regulation and control by
AAaS ~ - ~ $3.50 "a
engaged In Interstate business. The truth
Is that we who believe In this movement
OF asserting and exercising a genuine
control, in the public interest, over these
great corporations have TO contend
against two sets OF enemies. who, though
nominally opposed to one another, are
really allies In preventing a proper soiu-
ton of the problem. There are, first, the
big corporation men, and the extreme
indivtdualists among business men, who
genuinely believe in utterly unregulated
business-that Is, In the reign OF piu-
tocracy: and, second, the men who, being
blind to the economic movements of the
day, believe In a movement OF repression
rather than of regulation OF corporations,
and who denounCe both the power OF the
railroads and the exercise OF the federal
power which alone can really control the
railroads. Those who believe in efficient
national control. on the other hand. do
not I'm the least object to combinations:
do not In the least object to concentra-
ton in business administration. On the
contrary, they favor both, with the all
important proviso that there shall be
such publicity about their workings, and
such ACKNOWLEDGING control over them,
as to insure their being in the interest.
and not against the interest, Of the gem
erai public. We do not object to the
concentration of wealth and administra-
ion; but re do believe In the distribution
Of the wealth In profits to the real own
ers. and In securing to the public the full
benefit of the concentrated administra-
ton. We believe that with concentra-
ton In administration there can come
both the advantage OF a larger owner