The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-12-28
NATIONAL INCORPORATION.

The dispatches Indicate that Presi
dent Taft has come to n definite con.
clusion with respect to National lcgis
lation on trusts and corporations. We
are glad to see that this conclusion nc.
cords with the conclusion arrived at by
The Tribune some time ago; namely
that the true way to control corpora.
hons doing m interstate business is
to have them chartered by National
authority. So chartered, the Nation
has authority over them completely to
| legislate without resistance, and the
National officials havo firm basis up
on which TO proceed in the enforcement
of the Just requirements laid down in
the laws,
A number Of futile efforts have been
made by Congress to legislate upon cor
poratlons and combines as in the en-
actment of employers liability laws, in
the supervision of corporate action, in
the forbidding of mergers, and in gen.
eral in leglslating upon the duties and
obligations of corporations that are
chartered by the different states. Biti
cation founded upon these statutes COM
monty fails, the question being as to
whether the action was based in fact
on interstate commerce or not, whether
the case was in consequence of actual
interstate commerce, since the State
charters give no presumption of this
1t was on this ground that the first EN-.
ployers liability law was declared in
valid by the Supreme Court It could
not be shown in the case before the
court that the employee was actually
injured in interstate transportation.
And in general that question is always
raised, and if any effective point can be
made upon it, the attorney for the de-
fense always makes the most of 1t,
But II the corporations doing an in
terstate commerce business were re-
quired to take out National incorpora.
tion, their very charter would forbid
them denying that ii was interstate com
merce business that was involved in
the case on trial.
1t is further TO be observed that n
good many of the most astute officials
and managers of railroads and other
corporations-thi also being especially
true of presidents Of life insurance
companies-are coming decidedly to the
opinion that national incorporation
would be to their advantage. They
would have one general law under
which they would operate in all places,
not being required TO conform to the
Of forty.six different
statutory complications. 1t is no won
der that transportation and other cor
porations are coming to that opinion
1t is no wonder that President Taft has
come to the same conclusion. 1t is the
only logical basis upon which Congress
can legislate on interstate concerns of
any kind or the corporations engaged
in interstate commerce can proceed, The
present situation is utterly illogical. a md
when it is considered that the Federal
constitution is absolutely unrestricted
and unbounded in giving Congress con-
troll over interstate commerce, it is
easy to sec that National incorporation
of all concerns doing an interstate busi-
ness is bound to come. And in reply |
to those who oppose this on the ground |
that it is not a good time for it, we
may say that if the matter were left |
TO them, an opportune time would never
be found.