The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1908-12-10

4 N0NA |uDlOlOEs. III DOfll VI QdtN
ger TO the nation there Is nothing u
choose between on the one hand the cor
r~uptionist, the bride giver, the brib'
talent to swindle his fellow citizens on
large scale, and, on the other hand, tn,
preacher Of class hatred, the man who
ness 10 sacrifice his, country to his am
bition, persuades well meaning but wrong
headed men TO try TO destroy the tnstru'
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 otter
we see the business community In a spirit
Or unhealthy class consciousness deplore
the effort to hold to account under the
agement of great corporations, whethei
railroads., street railways. or other indus
trlal enterprises, have behaved in a way
decent people. Such an attitude can not
be condemned too severely. for men OF
property should recognize that they Jeop-
fail heartily to join In the effort to do
away with the abuses Of wealth. On the
oIner hand, those who advocate proper
the state, of these great corporations,
ana or the wealth engaged on a giant
scale In business operations, must ever
Keep In mine that unless they do scrupu-
lous justice to the corporation, unless
Ihey permit ample profit, and cordially
enGourage capable men OF business so
IonS as they act with honesty, they are
striking at the root of our national we'll
being; for In the long run, under the
mere pressure of material distress, the
people as a whole would probably go back
TO the reign of al unrestricted individ-
uallsm rather than submit to q control
by the state SO drastic and so foolish,
conceived in a spirit OF such unreason-
able and narrow hostility to wealth, as
10 prevent business operations from be-
| ruin nDOn fha entire hIlainaaR community
ultimately upo the entire body Of
of these great corporations makes Its
most effective effort in the shape Of an
appeal to the old doctrine OF states
msn VI Soursel there are many sincere
yidualism in business, just as there were
formerly many sincere men who believed
Hight rh st~iao of an ,nd, y; N the ow Inre sndfbea
individual. These men do not by them
selves have great weight. however. The
eTsStiy eon itga against sSd a,n =sds99TIste goy IndI-
yiduai, and especially of corporate,
wealth engaged in Interstate business is
under cover of an appeal to states rights.
1t Is not at all tnfrequent to read in the
same speech a denunciation of predatory
Sedarnht 1 of Snf6 9 1Se Special DShiic p ws 4 ana
law of the land. and a denunciation of
Capitalization in the central government
S Snd 5he orSn 70 deal with this Centralized zsd
policy set forth In such twin
tons amounts 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
union, and not the several states, should
deal with interstate and foreign COM
merce; and the power to deal with inter
and plenarily to the central government
and was exercised completely as regards
the only instruments of interstate COM
ways, the highroads, as well as the part
ncrships OF individuals who then con-
Quoted all of what business there was.
Quoted by railroads; and the great cor
pora ton has s%upplanted the mass Of
small partnerships or individuals. The
ment supreme over. and therefore to give
1t complete control over, the railroads
and other instruments OF Interstate COM
To @et the i letter. @gre oSe a of Pr tSs prim no GSnry S9t
II not the prime purpose, for which the
constitution was founded. 1t does not
represent Capitalization It represents |
merely the acknowledgment of the patent
In business.
II this irresponsible outside business
power is to be controlled in the interest !
OF the general public II can only be con- |
trolled in one way; by giving adequate
capable of exercising such power-the
government. Forty or so sep
arate state governments can not exercise
that power over corporations doing busi-
they absolutely lack the authority
to deal with interstate business in any
Liable eonai sfeo of su PSSSnse s or the fe i ariSs
In the effort to enforce different kinds of
state regulation, often inconsistent with
f6er anStner and sometimes oppressive in
regulate with wisdom and
effect. The central government is the
can nevertheless thoroughly and ade2
quately control and supervise the large
corporations.
To abandon the effort for national con-
adequate .contro and yet to render likely
bursts OF action by state legis-
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.
l believe that, the more farsighted cor
the unwisdom of the violent hos
Lility they have displayed during the last
few years to regulation and control by
in interstate business. The truth
Is that we who believe In this movement
of asserting and exercising a genuine
in the public interest, over these
great corporations have TO contend
against two sets of enemies, who, though
1ominally opposed to one another, are
really allies in preventing a proper solu-
ion Of the problem. There are, first, the
Big corporation men, n the extreme
among business men, who
genuinely believe In utterly unregilated
Dusiness-that is, in the reign OF plu-
and, second, the men who, being
to the economic movements of the
lay, believe In a movement of repression
'ather h a OF regulation OF corporations,
md who denounce both. the power of the
and the exercise OF the federal
power which alone can really control the
Those who believe In efficient
rational control, on the other hand, do
Tot in the least object to combinations:
10 not in the least object TO concentra,
in business administration. ON the
contrary, they favor both, with the an
proviso that there shall be
iuch publicity about their workings, and 1
Iuch thoroughgoing control over them.
Is to insure their being in the interest,
md not against the interest, of the gen
raj public. We do not object to the
concentration OF wealth and administra-
but we do believe in the distribution d
If the wealth in profits to the real own
and In securing to the public the full