The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-02-01

: I
private capital. Those facilities will not
be adequate unless tile capital employed
/ Is assured Of Just treatment and an ade-
qnate return. In fixing the charges of our
| railroads. / believe that, considering the
interests of the public alone, it is better
| to allow too liberal rather than too seanty
| earnings. for otherwise. there is grave
danger that our railway development may
| not keep pace with the demand for trans
| portaton. But the fundamental idea that
| these railways are public highways must
be recognized, and they must be open to
the whole public upon equal terms and
/ upon reasonable terms.
Antitrust Law.
In reference to the Sherman antitrust
law, repeat the recommendations made
in my message at the opening of the pres
ent Congress. as we'll as in my message to
| the previous Congress. The attempt IN
| this law to provide in sweeping terms
| against all combinations of whatever
character. il technically in restraint of
trade as such restraint has been defined
! by the courts. must necessarily be either
! futile or misehievous, and sometimes both.
| The present law makes some combinations
| illegal. although they may be useful to
! the country. On the other hand, as to
! some huge combinations which are both
noxious and illegal. even If the action I'M
| the government is successful, the result
may be to work but minimum benefit
| to the public. Even though the eombina-
ton be broken up and a small measure of
! reform thereby produced. the real good
aimed at can not be obtained, for such
! real good can come only by a thorough
| and continuing supervision over the acts
of the combination in all its parts, so
as to prevent stock watering, improper
forms of competition, and, in short,
| Wrongdoing generally. The law should
| correct that portion of the Sherman act
/ which prohibits all combinations of the
/ character above described. whether they
| be reasonable or unreasonable; but this
/ should be done only as part of a general
! scheme to provide for this effective and
| thoroughgoing supervision by the national
/ government of all the operations of the
! big interstate business concerns. Judge
| Hough Of New York, in his recent de-
! cision in the Hartman case, states that
| the Congress possesses the power to limit
| the interstate operations of corporations
not complying with federal safeguards
/ against the recurrence of obnoxious prac-
! tees, and to license those which afford
| the public adequate security against meth
| DDS calculated to diminish solvency, and
| therefore efficiency and economy in in
| terstate transportation. The judge adds
F, that in these matters 1.-The power of Con-
| gress is ample, though yet not fruitful
| in results" 1t is very earnestly to be
/ desired that either along the lines the
| judge indicates, or in some other way
! equally efficaeious, the Congress may ex-
ercise the power which he holds 1t pos
sesses.
Unconnected Laws.
! Specifically it may seem that the laws.
| the passage of which l herein again adj
vocate-for | have repeatedly advocated
! them before-are not connected. But In
| reality they are connected. Each and
| every one of these laws, if enacted, would
| represent part of the campaign against
/ privilege, part of the campaign to make
/ the class of great property-holders realize
/ that property has its duties no less than
| its rights When the courts guarantee TO
the employer. as they should, the rights of
| the employer, and to property the rights
| of property they should no less emphatic
| ally make it evident that they will eX-
| act from property and from the employer
| the duties which should necessarily ae-
| company these rights; and hitherto our
laws have failed in precisely this point of
enforcing the performance of duty by the
man of property toward the man who
works for him, by the man of great
wealth, especially If he uses that wealth
| in corporate form, toward the investor,
! the worker and the general public.
| The permanent failure of the man of prop
| erty to fulfill his obligations would ulti-
! mately assure the wrestling from him of
| the privileges which he is entitled to enjoy
only IL he recognizes the obligations ac-
/ companying them. Those who assume or
share the responsibility for this failure
| are rendering but a poor service to the
cause which they believe they champion.
Stock Watering.
,,o+ 1,,,o,., ,,-l,a+I,ar II &c ,1,orcbla h7,t
! if possible, it is certainly desirable, that
| in connection with measures to restrain
stock watering and capitalization
there should be measures taken to pre-
| vent at least the grosser forms of gam
! bling in securities and commodities, such
as making large sales of what men do
| not possess and "cornering' the market.
| Legitimate purchases of commodities and
| of stocks and securities for investment
have no connection whatever with pur-
| chases of stocks or other securities or
| commodities on margin for speculative
! and gambling purposes. There is no
! moral difference between gambling al
cards or in lotteries or on the race track
and gambling in the stock market. One
method is just as pernieious to the body
! polite as the other in kind, and in de-
gree the evil worked is far greater. But
it is a far more difficult subject with
/ which to deal. The great bulk of the
| and Enclosure from Mr.. Heney sufficiently
! not only legitimate, but is necessary to
| the working of our modern industrial sys-
| tenn and extreme care would have to be
| taken not to interfere with this business
| in doing away with the "bucketshop' type
| of operation. We should study both the
successes and the failures of foreign legis
| lators who, notably in Germany, have
worked along this line, SO as not to do
anything harmful Moreover. there is a
special difficulty in dealing with this mat
ter by the federal government in federal
| republic like ours. But If it is possible
| to devise a way to deal with it the effort
! should be made, even if only in cautious
! and tentative way 1t would seem that
the federal government could at least act
! by forbidding the use of the mails, tele-
| graph and telephone wires for mere gam
bling in stocks and futures, just as it does
| in lottery transactions.
| I inclose herewith a statement issued by
| the chief of the bureau of corporations
(appendix u in answer to certain state
| ments (Which / also inclose) made by and
| on behalf of the agents of the Standard
! Oil corporation (appendix p and letter
of the attorney general (appendlx - con-
| tanning an answer to certain statements.
also inclosed made by the president of
! the Santa Fe Railway company appendix
A. The Standard Oil corporation and the
railway company have both been found
| guilty by the courts of criminal miscon-
| duct: both have been sentenced to pay
heavy fines; and each has issued and
| published broadcast these statements, as
| serting their innocence and denouncing as
| improper the action of the courts and
| juries in convicting them of guilt These