The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-07-31

under its seal. and turns the corporation
loose 70 stalk whsre II will throughout
the whole country. No further attention
IS given it. The entire transaction is
illogical, stupid, and dangerous.
should Oversee Them.
The right TO create carries with It the
right 10 visit, TO inspect. and 10 regulate.
Once created corporation should be
watched nnd governed within proper
limits. EXtoruoners with legal authoriza-
tons in their pockets 20 prey upon the
puolic will say, perhaps. that visitation
and regulation are restrictive and social
istic but 1 reply that honest business is
not afraid OF the sunlight or Of rules
that arc effective only against that which
IS crooked Yet with all our States
there are forty-eight now that Arizona
and New Mexico have been admitted
and under our peculiar form of govern
ment, il would be difficult-impossible II
may be-tO obtain uniform laws with re-
spcct to corporations.
"ConRquently. think that corpora
lions Engaged In interstate business
should be licensed by the national govern
ment. A factory makes matches in Ohio.
mill grinds oatmeal in Illinois. and a
refinery produces oil in New Jersey. Each
concern sells in all parts of the country.
I would bring them under the same laws
and see 70 It that they we're not capital
lied beyond the actual value Of their
property, and that they did not. In COM
b.nation with other corporation over
charge the public"
How" 1 asked, did you work up the
case against the oil monopolists?'
The government alleged that they
we're shipping oil from Chicago to St.
Louis Cor s cents per 100 pounds. The
cents Each car load OF oil shipped at
the cut rate was an offense against the
law. We traced and proved 1.4OO Of such
shipments. The case was so ponderous-
being in fact. LOO cases in one-that the
attorneys for the Standard felt sure It
would collapse under its own weight.
We had TO get all the papers IN each
shipment-the waybills, receipts &c
some 5000. as I remember-and then TO
identify the penmanship Of the clerks
who wrote them. I caused the papers
70 be sorted. according to their style Of
penmanship. and thus, when we put the
clerks on the witness stand. and there
were a great many Of them. we were
enabled 10 make our identifcations IN
bulk instead OF separately
Got Huge Fine Imposed.
Thus, by Systematic work. the case
went along without delay for matter OF
six weeks We proved that rebates had
been taken in the 100 instances. and
Judge lands then attempted 10 punish
the Standard with hi' famous fine of
500. 100000 While we lost the case I'm the
Court Of Appeals, the conviction OF the
Standard and the appalling size of the
fine stopped rebating in the United States.
Railways and shippers alike perceived
their particular acts Of lawbreaking was
extremely dangerous business and that
fines big enough TO ruin them financially
might again be assessed and finally col
lected."
1T IS an indicate subject" I said,
but you have hunted and punished a
NUMBER OF the So-Cdieu NAlte save ueal-
ers2'
Yes. Chicago Is typical. I venture to
say, Oethe other large cities in the coun-
try. Ny opinion was. and such is the
general belief, no doubt, that practically
all the women leading evil lives were
willing volunteers in the first place The
shocking fact brought out during my in
vestigations is that fully half of the in
mates OF disorderly houses were either