Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-11-04

luuS uOWu I'LL TIE cdVoSuIOppcIS Ou d
trict will look as If the bubonic plagu
with friends.
welfare of the individual that it over
shadows any other national question
now before us. 1--WE have in bust.
ness" says Mr.. Perkins, "a situation
comparable with that which preceded
the civil war, situation alive with
peril to the progress of the nation, and
pregnant with disastrous consequences
unless a satisfactory solution be OBJ
tanned" Continuing in q discussion
of the corporation, the causes that led
to it's formation and the remedy that
should be applied to handling the bust
ness problem Mr.. Perkins says:
1t does not take the seventh son OF
a seventh son to foresee the outcome
Of the campaign which is being di-
rected against legitimate business op-
erations-a campaign based In large
part upon ignorance of the history OF
our development and of the forces
which have shaped it, and to a lesser
degree upon misconceptiOn of the OPP
Grafton of these forces, and finally
upon the failure of our governmental
representatives to know and to deal
adequately with modern conditions, or
their refusal, when informed, boldly to
advocate measures which would meet
them. r f" se5 7
This is no longer an age of independ-
ent and competitive individualism;
1t is an age of cooperative individual
ism; and by the latter mean the con-
centration of individualistic efforts.
Time has passed the field of human
endeavor where every man fought for
himself and cared not whit as to the
effect of his operations upon or the
ultimate fate of his neighbor. The
acts Of the modern man influence the
four corners of our nation, as the rip
pies from thrown stone wash the
shores of quiet lake. ..- e..
What has brought about this chang
ed condition? 1t is the great agents
of modern life-steam and electricity.
They have created intercommunica-
tion-enabled minds to exchange in
Simultaneous thought. They have dis;
placed the OK team, with it's small
radius of operation, with the fast rail-
road and steamship, which grid the
world, the slow mail by the lightning
like wireless or telephone. They have
annihilated distance. A mighty aid in
this great transformation has been
education. - ~
From these conditions have sprung
the modern corporation. It is truly
the child of steam and electricity. We
know the power, the dangers OF these
great agents But have their power
and the danger inseparable from their
use deferred us in employing them?
Have we not utilized them and there
by brought to humanity greater bless
ings and greater happiness than it has
ever enjoyed? ts ".E&*l&
We have secured these results
through their regulation and control.
In doing so we have probed the Sc
crets of nature, though with respect
to electricity we still are ignorant OF
what it Is. ,.ses s..E. w..s- .i& "
The corporation, on the other hand,
is not mysterious. 1t is a creature
fashioned by man, every part OF which
is visible to the eye. 1t has been
tremer dous factor in our life, a tremen-
dous factor for good, though there
have been glaring abuses which prop
erly have BEEN condemned.
1t has been claimed that these
abuses were the direct consequence OF
the gianthood some of these enter
prises have attained. Nothing could
be more fallacious Size is nothing to
the American, with his native eager
ness to increase his responsibilities
and his ability to handle them.
Attempt to sweep the country back
into the old era of competition, the d.
rect consequence of the vigorous en-
forcement of the Sherman law, and
there will return the evils Of deceit
and fraud in business, violent fluctua-
ton in prices, the deliberate driving to
the wall of weak concerns, and the
eventual creation Of monopolies by
survivors. t
Competition is directly responsible
for the sweat shop, for child labor,
for unemployment, for low wages,
and for panic and failure. It ex-
emplifies the principle that might Is
right. 1t has no mercy. 1t is an in
exorable machine which crushes those
not strong enough to dominate it..
Now let us see the effects Of CO.
operation. In modern life competition
is artificial, cooperation is natural.
.COU1pStltlOu pIOuuCSS ul1lllOAdAiCo ohu
paupers, cooperation greater equality
in the distribution of wealth.
Competition precipitates business
chaos, cooperation promotes business
stability. Cooperation has decreased
the cost of articles and increased the
wages and assured the more steady
employment of labor. 1t has reduced
failures and increased trade, domestic
and foreign. 1t has lessened waste
by utilizing by-products small inde1
pendent manufacturers could not
handle.
Under such circumstances congress
should recognize the new force that-is
directing our material life and IN a
large, sagacious way provide for Its
control.
There is no doubt as to the feasibil-
ity of federal regulation. For half a
,o,+,,rx, tho oovarnmant has regulated