The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1908-12-08

LCSS Az tiiNSl Va sR4l VI lAtiu. 81, w
cause they absolutely lack the author
ity TO deal with interstate business Ill
any form and. second, because of the
inevitable conflict of authority sure to
arise in the effort to enforce different
kinds of state regulation often incon-
sistent with one another and some
times oppressive in themselves. Such
divided authority cannot regulate COM
merce with wisdom and effect. Tie
central government is the only power
which without oppression can never
theless thoroughly and adequately
control and supervise the large cor
porauons. To abandon the effort for
national control means to abandon the
effort for all adequate control and
yet TO render likely continual bursts of
action by state legislatures, which
cannot achieve the purpose sought for,
but which can do great deal of dam
age to the corporation without confer
ring any real benefit on the public.
| believe that the more farsighted
corporations are themselves coming to
recognize the unwisdom of the violent
hostility they have displayed during
the last few years to regulation and
control by the national government of
combinations engaged in Interstate
business. The truth is that we who
believe In this movement of asserting
and exercising genuine control in the
public interest over these great corpo-
rations have to contend against two
sets of enemies, who, though nominal
ly opposed to one another, are really
allies in preventing a proper solution
OF the problem. There are, first, the
big corporation men and the extreme
individualists among business men
who genuinely believe in utterly I'M
regulated business-that is, in the reign
OF plutocracy-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 de-
nounce both the power of the railroads
and the exercise of the federal power
which alone can really control the rail-
roads. Those who believe in efficient
national control. on the other hand. do
not in the least object to com binations,
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 thoroughgoing control over
them as to insure their being In the
interest and not against the interest of
the general public We do not object
to the concentration of wealth and ad.
but we do believe in the
distribution of the wealth in profits to
The real owners and in securing to the
public the full benefit of the concen-
trated administration We believe that
with concentration in administration
there can come both the advantage of
larger ownership and of a more
equitable distribution of profits and at
the same time a better service to the
We believe that the
should be for the benefit
Of the many and that greed and rascal
ty practiced on Il large scale should
be punished as relentlessly as if prac-
ticed on small scale.
We do not for moment believe that
the problem will be solved by any
short and easy method The solution
will come only by pressing various con-
current remedies Some of these rene.
dies must lie outside the domain of
Ill government. Some must be out
side the domain of the federal
government But there is legisla-
ion which the federal government
lione can enact and which Is abso-
utely vital in order to secure the at
alnment of our purpose. Many laws
Ire needed. There should be regula-
ion by the national government of the :,
great interstate corporations, including
simple method of account keeping,
publicity. supervision of the issue Of I
'ecurities, abolition of rebates and OF |
special privileges There should be |
'hort time franchises for all corpora |
ions engaged in public business, in.
'luding the corporations which get
power from water rights. There should !
De national as well as state guardian |
'hip of mines and forests. The labor /
egislation hereinafter referred to I
should concurrently be enacted into /
aw.
To accomplish this means. of course. 7
certain increase In the use of, not
he creation Of, power by the central I
government. The power already ex- |
SITS. 1t does not have to be created. |
he only question Is whether IL shall I
'e used or left idle. and meanwhile
he corporations over which the pow
r ought to be exercised will not re- |
main idle. Let those who object to
his increase In the use of the only I
power available the national power.
'e frank and admit openly that they
propose to abandon any effort to con. /
rol the great business corporations
md to exercise supervision over the
.ccumulation and distribution of /
wealth. for such supervision and con.
rol can only come through. this par
ocular Kind Of increase OF power. We I
10 more believe In that empiricism
which demands absolutely unrestraip
ID individualism than we do in that |
'mpiricism which camors for dead /
ming socialism. which would destroy |
n tvN.e H..