El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-08-19
German Governments Control
Of Many Public Industries
Xv.-THE GERMAN ADVANCE.

I Inc German nOIlOn OF the pTOpTleIy
| of state ownership and control Of in
dustrial enterprises is not confined to
railways and other public utilities. In
! deed there Is no Limitation, either in
law or public opinion, upon how far the
state may properly enter into the con-
| troll and operation of industrial and
business enterprises. The syndicates
and cartells which represent the organi-
zatiOn of German industry and business
have direct relations with the govern
ment. 1t is the theory of the Prussian
government that the state should take
part as stakeholder in every industrial
combination which undertakes to reg
ulate prices or production in any indus
try The argument is that the state as
a stakeholder can influence the affairs
of a syndicate or cartel in behalf of
the people as a whole. This doctrine
is supported by public opinion. and
there is no political opposition to il.
Suppose ii should be suggested in
congress that. in order to regulate the
steel trust, the secretary OF the treas
ury should be directed 10 buy up in the
market a sufficient amount of steel cor
pOration stock TO entitle the govern
ment to be represented in the director
ate of the trust Can anyone imagine
such a proposition being made with Sc
Tious intent? Yet that is exactly the
Prussian practice.
Coal and Ircn Syndfcates.
The most powerful syndicates in Ger
many are the coal and iron syndicates
which work together by means of a con-
Tentional agreement The Syndicates
are not capitalized, Of course, and each
company comprised in the syndicate has
a representative on the board of control
The Prussian government four years
ago determined TO get a seat in the coal
a
solve attempted to buy a controlling in
terest in the Hibernia Coal company
which mines something less than 10 per
cent of the coal in the Rhine Westpha-
liam territory. The Bank of Dresden.
actng under private arrangement
with the Prussian treasury, bought a
majority of the shares of this company
in the open market. Before Prussia
could make its control effective, the
faet that IT had acquired majority of
the stock leaked out, and the coal OBJ
orators who had formerly controlled the
company voted a new issue of stock to
themselves and thus by a trick of high
finance retained the control Of the cor
poretion.
The Prussian government instituted
legal proceedings and asked that the
new stock be declared Illegal, but the
courts decided against the government.
while defeated in this effort to obtain
vote IN the affairs of the coal svndf-
cate, the policy of the Prussian govern
ment is unchanged and the mass of the
people support the cabinet in it's efforts
now being made to buy for the state an
interest not only in the coal. but in the
steel and other important syndicates.
The Potash Business
Prussia owns an important share IN
the potash syndicate, one of the nosl
powerful industrial organizations OIL
the world, bnt the state is forced 1o
fight for its life in this concer,, since
each new mine opened and admitted
INTO the syndicate reduces the proper
tonate share held by the state 1t was
10 combat this movement. of the finan- !
clers against the state that a law was
recently passed giving tho government
the right to buy at fair yaluation anv
new mine or mineral products discover
ed, whether on privatelysowned land or
not
Prussia, which carries the business Of
public ownership farther than any other
German state, is enga ged in the lumber
business, cutting and selling the timber
from the crown forests. It leases farms
10 tenants upon the crown land; it op-
crates a few iron and coal mines; it has
extensive potash and salt mines; it has
porcelain factories and retail stores for /
uASpOSihS OF their products, 1t has q /
banking system conducted frankly for !
the business of making a Profit for the +
state. and it is engaged in many other
minor enterprises of an industrial char !
acter.
Municipal Ownership.
German cities follow the example of |
the German states, and as q matter of
course. own the street railways and .
other forms of municipal public utiIi /
tles' The municipality also is a partner /
In many private businesses; sometimes
hotel. a bakery, a restaurant |
OF a brewery Just at this time there is
a great deal of political agitation in 1
Germany, and especially in Prussia. but 4
II Is a remarkable fact that in all of the
loud chorus of opposition to the govern
ment there is no adverse criticism Of
the paternalistic policy Of the state with
re gard TO public ownership and control
Of industrial enterprises
mOrrOw-MonarchiaI Socialism.