The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-09-19

loIh laws EONtIHluB fOIpOIhllOubt
rather than federal corporation con.
troll, were advocated by Edgar H. Far
rar of New Orleans, La, president Of
the American Bar Association, in an
address to the delegates to the annual
/ convention of that body which opened |
in this city today. Mr. Farrar de-
nounced in vigorous terms the prop
osition for the recall of judges by pop !
ular vote and the idea of federal
commission to fix the prices of mer-
chandise. He favored the limiting OF
the capital stock of national banks ,
and the prohibiting of consolidation
of such banks or their control by any
corporation.
Regarding the proposed recall of
judges, Mr.. Farrar said:
IF the judiciary of this country !
were in any material part corrupt, or
if there were in our system of law
no effective means to remove corrupt |
or ignorant judges, or if the means
provided had been appealed to in vain
and could not be made operative, then
there might be some excuse for a
revolutionary measure of this charac-
ter. But none of these things is true.
The constitutions of the states provide
the most ample machinery for the le-
moval of judges, either by address
out of office or by impeachment.
THE proposed measure is an at
tempt to destroy the independence Of
: the judiciary, without which true lib
erty-the liberty which is regulated
by law, enforced with reason and de-
liberation, cannot exist, and to sub
stitute the opinions and passions of
the mob.
Bias Against Corporations Strong.
There has always been among the
masses of the people a strong bias
against corporations, manifesting IL
self in the verdicts of juries and
, sometimes in the opinions of the
courts. This bias has now passed
over into politics, and the favorite
ground of attack by the demagogue
on anybody in public life or on any
2 one who desires to enter public life,
: is that he represents corporate inter
I ests or that he is a corporation law.
I. yer"
The speaker here gave review OF
. the corporation laws of the various
e states, in an endeavor to show that
> the people themselves are responsible
for the conditions of which they now
:, complain.
"The great American national dis
= grace" the speaker went on, lis
!, found in the issuance of fictitious or
watered stock. This is made posi-
BILE by those corporation laws which
provide no governmental supervision
over the organization of corporations,
which require no part of the capital
stock to be paid in money, and which
permit the issuance of stock at the
pleasure of the organizers and direc-
IOIS lOE DIODSllS, ldDOl anu 81 'ASSA'
y at such valuations as they may
choose to place on them. l believe 1t
, can be truthfully stated that, under
the pretense of anticipating a future
: arning value, it is the fashion to in
sert from 20 to 60 per cent of water
> into the organization of all corpora
rs whose stocks are exploited on
the great financial markets.
f Favors a State Conference.
d 1T appears to me that it would re-
r ruire only a small amount of con
! structive craftsmanship to bring
e bout state conference and united
action on this grave subject Even
:, if the commission on uniform state
: laws, in whose work this association
t takes such large part, can ever
d agree on a uniform corporation law, it
t is doubtful whe-her it can exert the
a moral or the political power to get it
/ adopted without such conference
among the states. This is work for
l the house of governors
'In the absence of hotbed in
which to grow these vicious forms
> there is absolutely no need for the
Y exercise of eny regulative federal ac-
ton, further than to prohibit and 10
: punish combinations between other
!, wise unobjectionable corporations IN
interstate and foreign commerce.
For government to fix the prices
of merchandise bought and sold in
commerce is utterly beyond the power
! of any legislative body in America;
= and our free democratic society, based
= on the independence Of the individual