Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1908-12-11

decent people. Such an attitude can not
D DT E0nGemned too severely. for men Of
ardlze the rights OF property when they
ran heartily to join in the effort to DO
other hand. those who advocate proper
control on behalf OF the pubic, through
and of the wealth engaged on a giant
scale in business operations, must ever
Keep In mind that unless they do scrupu-
l9us justice to the corporation, unless
they permit ample profit, and cordially
encourage capable men of business so
long as they act with honesty, they are
pelhg; for in the long run, under the
mere pressure of material distress. the
people as a whole would probably go back
TO tho reign of an unrestricted lndiyid-
uaIism rather than submit to a control
by the state SO drastic and SO foolish,
conceived in a spirit of such unTeason-
able and narrow hostility to wealth, as
10 prevent business, operations from be
ING proitable, and therefore to bring
rum upon the entire business community,
and ultimately upon the entire body or
The opposition to government control
OF the5S great corporations makes, Its
most eff"ctiy9 effort in the shape Of an
rights. or course, there are many sincere
men who now believe in unrestricted indi-
Formerly man. sincere men who believed
in slaVery-that is, In the unrestricted
Individual. These men do no; by them
selves have great weight, however. The
effective fight against adequate govern
ment control and supervision of indi"
Vluual, and especially of corporate,
wealth engaged in interstate business Is
chiefly done under cover; and especially
under cover of al appeal to states rights.
1t is not at all infrequent to read in the
wealth fostered by special privilege and
defiant of both the public welfare and
law Of the land. and a denunciation of
of the power to deal will this centralized
and organized wealth. OF course, The
lions amounts to absolutely nothing, for
the first half is nulli1ied by the second
half.
Basis Of Union.
The chief reason, among the many
sound and compelling reasons, that led
70 the forma tion of the national govern
union and NOT the several states, should
deal with interstate and foreign COM
merce; and the power to deal, with inter
state m was granted absolutely
and plenarily to the central government
and was exercised completely as regards
the only instruments of interstate COM
1nerce known in those dayS-the water
ways, the highroads, as well as the part
Quoted all of what business there was.
interstate m is now chiefly con-
Quoted by railroads; and the great cor
small partnerships or individuals. The
proposal to make the national govern
1t complete control over. the railroads
and other instruments of interstate com
t fa tbe Is ist merely dge a u pr tGs pl,m to carry nnrgos 9ut
If not the prime purpose, for which the
constitution was founded. 1t does not
represent Capitalization 1t represents
merely the acknowledgement of the patent
fact that GENERALIZATION has already come
If this irresponsible outside business
power is to be controlled in the Interest
Of the general public it can only be con-
power Of control to the one sovereignty
capable of exercising such power-the
arate state governments can not exercise
that power over corporations doing bust
cause they absolutely lack the authority
70 deal with Interstate business in any
form; and second, because OF the inev-
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 commerce with wisdom and
effect. The central goyernment is the
can nevertheless thoroughly and ade-
quately control and supervise the large
To abandon the effort for national con-
troll means to abandon the effort for all
continual bursts of action by state legis-
latures, which can not achieve the .pur-
pose sought for; but Wh tSd can 90 a
without comforting any real benefit on
the public.
Corporations See Mistake.
L DeIieNS lIul the more 1dISlSnlcd COR
pora tions are themselves coming to rec
ognize the unwisdom of the violent hos |
tility they have displayed during the last
the national government of combina tons
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
against two sets of enemies, who, though
opposed to one another, are
f f;on tyf a tbe nr IN pFeven TbeTe a a Proper irst so tbe
big. corporation men,, and the extreme
individualists among business men. who
tocracy; and, second, the men who. being
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 h believe in efficient
national control. on the other hand. do
do not In the least object to c~oncentra-
ton In business admipistration On the
important proviso that there shall be
such publicity about their workings. and
as to insure their being in the interest,
and not, against the interest, of the gen
e eoat RH1iii; M OF w S9 f0t ana SD' admln nj rae
ton; but we do believe in the distribution
of the wealth in profits to the real own
benefit of the concentrated administra-
ton. We believe that with concentra-
ton in administration there. can come
both the advantage of a larger owner
ship and of a more equitable distribution
of profits, and at the same time a better
service to the commonwealth. We be-
lieve that the administration should be
for the benefit of the many; and that
greed and raScality, practiced on a large
scale, should be punished as relentlessly |
as if practiced on q small scale.
the problem will be solved by any short
and easy method. The solution will come
only by pressing various concurrent rem
edies. Some of these remedies must lie
outside the domain of all government.
Some must lie outside the domain OF the
federal government. But there is legis-
lation which the federal government
vital in order to secure the attainment Of
our purpose. Many laws are needed.
There should be regulation by the ma
tional government of the great inter
state corporations, including a simple
method OF account keeping, publicity,
abolition of rebates and of special privi-
leges. There should be short time fran
chises for all corporations engaged in
public business: including the corpora
tons which get power from water rights.
There should be national as well as state
guardianship of mines and forests. The
labor legislation hereinafter referred 10
should cOncurrently be enacted into law.
Use the Power.
To accomplish this, means of course "a
certain increase in the use of-not the
eminent The power already exists: 1t
does not have to be created; the only
question is whether it shall be used or !
left idle-and meanwhile the corporations