Bisbee daily review., 1911-09-26
CORPORATION CONTROL
 AND GOV. HARMON
His Record on That Question Made Up Long
 Ago
STATE SHOULD CONTROL

COLUMBUS. Ohio, Sept. 25.-"we must make the state government more broadly useful. Its powers are ample and undoubted to grapple with many things which have been developed by new conditions, and give general con cern. For instance. it has absolute control of all corporations of it's own creation. and of the terms on which corporations of other states may do business here. Why, then. stand by and let the general government as- sume to regulate state corporations because they engage in interstate com merce2 Citizens engage in that com merce, too, and congress has the same right concerning their personal affairs as with those Of state corpora tions. no more and no less. If con gress gets general jurisdiction over us if we engage in commerce outside the state. we may as well turn over the capitol to a federal commission and go home"
 Harmon Makes Plea
 Goveror Judson Harmon, who was commissioned by the house of gover- nors to appear before the '. s. su-
  throw of the dictum that state legis- latures may not regulate interstate railroad rates, made the above plea for the sovereignty of the states in his first inaugural address, delivered in Columbus in January. 1909. AL though the subject of states rights was not of so much public concern then as now, the governor sighted a tendency on the part of the federal authorities to usurp the powers of the states. and he sounded an alarm. IL was Governor Harmon who made the suggestion that brought up a discus sion of the whole question of federal court aggression, and so led to the naming of the committee. The action of the conference. in naming Cover. nor Harmon chairman of the commit tee to present the states side of the question was wholly unexpected by the Ohio executive.
 In that same inaugural address, Gov. ernor Harmon said:
 Recent elections in many states, including our own, show that citizens generally are more closely watching public affairs at home, even when those of the nation compete for at- tention. Their devoton to our form of government is oyerbearing the pass ing inclination to call on Hercules for what they could and would do better themselves. They realize that it is not wise to urge or allow the federal government to break or even stretch the limit set to its activities. They see that with few, if any, exceptions, the partition of powers between state and nation has been approved by trial and that their home government more quickly and truly responds to their will. Uniformity of laws, when desir- able, can be had by concerted state action, but the popular instinct right ly clings to the individuality of the states. Our republic could not be what it is if the people of each state had not been left free to work out and conduct for themselves, in view of their origin and conditions, a com monwealth according to their own conceptions. Otherwise the nation would be a mere aggregation of in habitants, not a true union of states drawing it's life from their vitality and strong from their strength.
 What caused for a time the ob- scuring of these vital truths about state powers and duties was the un- satisfactory character Of our home governments. do not believe their shortcomings have been, on the whole, any greater than those of the national government They touch us much oftener and more closely, and we see them at shorter range. That is all. Certainly no state government ever used, or would have dared to use, the taxing power to swell private fortunes, or plunged into unparall- eled expenditures in the face of large and growing deficit, chiefly due to perverting taxation from it's pri- mary purpose of raising public reve- nue."
 State Rights Are Issue.
 The reason for the action of the governors in selecting a committee to make a stand for states rights was the general dissatisfaction in the west caused by Justice Sanborns Minnesota rate decision, which would prevent states establishing rail road tariffs for ther own internal commerce
 Ohioans regard Governor Harmon as one of the greatest lawyers of the country. and they predict he will make a gallant fight for the side he advocates. In the past he obtained a decision from the U. S. supreme court sustaining the Sherman anti trust law, and with the rule of req son left out.
 Ohio supporters of the governor point to this states right question as an example of the governors abiii- ty to work along lines that will do the most good to the greatest number of people. His revision of the tax laws of the state, whereby the taxes of the farmer and home owner have been reduced s7,3S5, ,S13.05 each year, with a corresponding shift to the cor porate property holders, is being cited as a work that will do more good to more people in Ohio than any single act in many decades.
 The taxable value of all Ono pub lie seriee corporations properties have, in the present year, been in- creased one billion dollars by men appointed to office by Governor liar mon. The properties Of steam rail roads and electric roads have been appraised for taxation in 1911 for S700, .000 This is an increase of