The Hattiesburg news., 1909-12-09
THURSDAY. DECEMBER ., 1909.
Circulation Double That Of Any
Other South Mississippi Paper
"REFLECTlOES."

Under the above caption, the Nash
Vile American, which, whether drunk
or sober, always looks through cor
poration goggles, says:
"A million-dollar corporation has
been chartered in New York to build
and sell flying machines.
Suppose, for example, the capital
lists who put their money into this
corporation make a failure and lose
their holdings. will anybody care?
Will it not be said they were fools to
embark in SO hazardous a venture?
But suppose these venturesome spir-
its make a success through the man.
ufacture and sale Of the aeroplanes,
earn millions Of dollars with their one
million, what will the public say? Will
they not become envious and denun-
ciatory Of those who succeed; espec-
tally II they should succeed in accu-
mulating large fortunes?
Understand now, these capitalists
are taking all the risk. They stand
to win or lose. They are following
the same beaten path followed by
men who ventured their money in tel
egraphs, telephones, railroads and
hundreds of other enterprises in the
early days and were laughed at for
having more money than discretion.
Nov, some of these men who took
chances before succeeded and some Of
them failed. No one took thought of
the failures, but millions were con
cerned about those who, by venturing
their money became millionaires.
These latter come in for much criti-
cism, denunciation, vilification-rob
bers of the people they are called, plu-
tocrats who are grinding down the
common people.
But who should say that those
who venture should not profit? If a
man invest his means in an expert
ment, and wins out, is he not entitled
to the fruits of his courage and his
genius?
Somebody in the Standard Oil fell
upon the idea of the tank car and the
tank steamer for the carriage of oil.
A great saving followed which put
more money into the hands of the
men who held Standard Oil shares.
Weren't they entitled to the potts
due to their skill and foresight? They
thought of useful thing; no one else
did. Because they thought it out,
adopted it, and profited by it they are
entitled to the benefits. Are they
not?"
Now that is one way of stating the
case: the corporation way. And the
whole fabric Oh argument is based on
a false premise: 1t Is not the success
of those who risk their money and
make Millions that the people COM
plain Of. 1t is the abuse of the priv
ileges granted them by the state, or
government, and their greed for more
gold, that brings down upon their un-
holy heads the wrath of the people.
Nobody was ever heard to object
to railroad because of its prosperity
Every man who has any common
sense at all knows that it is safer to
ride on a prosperous road, able to
keep its roadbed in order, than it is
to ride on bankrupt road. But the
people do complain, and have a right
to complain, at the greed of nearly all
railroad companies in "robbing the
people" by excessive freight charges
to pile up large dividends on watered
stock. If these corporations would
exercise their right of eminent do
main, and other special and exclusive
privileges, fairly, With less avarice
and greed ana wanton disregard for
the rights Of the individual, there
would be no necessity for them to
carry on their expense account large
eu1ns psid to newspapers subsidiie6
= lesead them IN their shameful ~