The gold leaf., 1909-01-28

thing for the public and has a duty
to do for her own interest. We should
require every foreign corporation TO
obtain license to do business in this
State, and should provide that such
license be revoked when it is engaged
in violating our law or is attempting
under the power of monopoly to ex-
act from the industrial life OF the
State unreasonable profits with which
to paw dividends upon fictitious val
ues or watered stock. Such licenses
should also be revokable when any
such corporation maintains an es-
tablished office in this State for the
transaction OF its regular business or
the collection OF its revenues, enrich
ing itself from our people under our
laws and by our comfy and yet fails
to submit to the Jurisdiction of our
courts. as all our domestic companies
are required to do. -.
/ am aware, of course, the criti-
cism which may be expected from
such foreign corporations as desire to
be let alone in their wrong doing, and
of the opposition which they will offer
to our efforts to compel them to con-
form to the rule OF justice and equity.
The State, however, owes her people
the high duty which brave citizen
ship should require to be performed.
No corporation lacking confidence
in our courts should desire to enter
our midst to gather wealth from
| fields it did not cultivate, and no cor
poration having contempt for our
sOvereingtv should be permitted to
reap golden harvest where it did not
| SOW. We have reached that stage OF
industrial and material strength
where. if every foreign corporation
should unite in withdrawingfrOm our
State the domestic corporations Obe-
dient to the public will, respecting
the peoples law, will take the places,
perform the functions and render
the services now by such foreign cor
poratiOns performed and rendered.
Our State has always dealt and will
continue to deal kindly with corpora
| tiOns. Their Importance, usefulness
and necessity in developing our nat
ural resources are recognized. They
have universal praise for their part
in the upbuilding of our State, in the
increase OF wealth, in the employment
of our people, and for the spirit of
progress which they exhibit and in
spire. They have rights which are
and will be respected and encouraged.
Unjust burdens and wrongful re-
straints have not and will not be
placed upon them. They have spe-
cial privileges which individuals, how
ever enterprising, cannot have
privileges which justify special bur
| dens and require more careful super
vison by public authority than indi-
| viduals. Creatures OF the law, they
owe air obedience to its mandates
stricter il possible than individuals
who create the law Without soul,
conscience or physical body. exempt
from remorse, from fear of future
punishment and from jail, it is nat
ural that they should more easily
than individuals yield to temptation
to violate the laws in their effort to
make money-the great purpose OF
their existence. Yet owing to the
l
them, doubt not that nine-tenths OF
our corporations comply with the
law and do absolutely honest business
and are therefore entirely free from
public complaint.
These corporations, like individ-
uals, suffer the injury inflicted by men
and corporations that violate che
law. The law abiding corporations
have the desire to enforce the law
against it's law-defying fellows, for no
one can have u greater business in
terest to prevent corporations from
violating the law than the corpora.
tions that live within their bounds
The State believes in Justice even
handed and universal and it strives
toward the attainment of universal
right, regarding not whether a cor.
rupt man or a corrupt corporation
impedes it's progress. AS it discrimi
mates between the man who Obeys the
law and the man who violates it, sc
should it discriminate between the
corporation that obeys the law anC
the one that violates it. The Legis
lature prescribes the law as rule O
conduct commanding what is right
and prohibiting what is wrong anC
in my opinion only the man or the
corporation that fears the right OF
follows the wrongn need dread the wis
dom of the people or the action o
. their Legislatures. The man who b,
foul means willfully and needlessl,
takes the life OF a rival under our Law
, forfeits his own. The corporate mo
. nopoly that by foul means willfull,
. and needlessly destroys his rival b,
: wrong doing for the purpose ofexact
, ing unjust profits from the public
, | should forfeit its existence. All th
: power OF the State in all it's depart
!, ments should be exerted to destro,
1 every unnaturalm monopoly, and ever,
individual trust that commits it
wrongs upon the people and their in
dustries. And the fixed policy of reg
9 ulating the unnatural monopolies
: the public service corporation
e should be maintained.
al GOOD ROADS DDRAINAGE.
Il 1t would be difficult to ooverestimat
the value of good roads. While VAR
Gus counties are doing much in thi
direction. many counties are doin,
very little. We are yet but on th
u u Threshold of the good roads move
ment and the next generation wi
, witness wonderful progress. We c
!. this day should in every practical wa
- encourage it. Whether it is feasibl
; to adopt a general plan of State al
! to or cooperation with counties Ill
} derpresent conditions of our revenue
/ is extremely doubtful The State ca
enact an improved up-to-date la
I which shall apply to every count
that hereafter adopts the taxatio
| plan of building good roads and TIM