The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-08-08
Crying Need of the United States Is Constructive
 National Policy
IS THERE TWO SIDES
 TO TRUST QUESTION?
Why Seek Peace Everywhere But In Business World?-Does Good Side of Trusts Fail to
 Counterbalance Bad?

Houghton. Mich, AugustsT.-George W. Perkins of New York was to have deliv- cred an address before the Michigan Col lege of Mines today on the topic, Want ed-A Constructive National Policy" MT. Perkins, however. was called to testify be-
 fore the Stanley steel Investigating com nittee as Washington and in his absence President McNair read the paper
 Ut ie Q matter of common knowledge
 among cur people, began the address,
 that our national Congress enacts laws;
 that our executive officers are sworn to
 enforce such laws and that our supreme
 court is sworn to interpret those laws in
 case of differences. It Is likewise a mat
 ter of common knowledge that 20 or more
 years ago national Congress passed
 law that was intended to put barriers
 in 1ite way of plans that business men
 were undertaking for the further up-
 building and extension of trade and com
 n.eroe in the United States-plans that,
 in the judgment of these men, were essen-
 tlai ana which would ultimately operate
 for the greatest good to the greatest num-
 Der.
 .lt is a matter of common knowledge tha: the enforcement of this law was almost if not quite neglected for a num-
 Der of years during which period busi- ness mer were allowed to proceed with their plans. It Is a matter of common knowledge that during the last eight or D years some of our executives who are sworn and in honor bound to enforce the laws as they found them have endeav- ored to enforce this law, and while doing SO. studying its effect and seeing it's op- | eratoD. have raised the question as to whether it should not be amended. l While many of members of Con- gress have been loudly calling for a Iit- eral enforcement of this law by the execu- | tives, our people have been told that what they were suffering from were evil prac- | tices by large corporations and that one 1 of the chief reasons why the practices l'wsre tvil was because the corporaticcs
 were very large. At last this question:
 reached our supreme court, and that court has held that a company is not necessarily evil because it is large. Our business men
 east and west. north and south, in con stantly increasing numbers, have
 pressed their opinion that country cannot prosper and develop it should while this old law is in existence.
 Congress is Stubborn
 "Wbile our executive officers have been
 in the attitude stated, while our supreme court has found as it has, and while our business men are almost unanimous in their position, Congress has refused even to take up study of the question in such a way to ascertain whether there is anything good and worth while in the bus mess mans contention. Congress has steadily called for the destruction of our local business enterprises. It has appro- priaied money to find out what crimes these concerns have committed and what evil practices they have indulged in, but, so far as common knowledge goes, 1t has not taken one step to ascertain what good the concerns have accomplished and whether not there is anything of ben eft and value in them that should be preserved. It's slogan has seemed to be
 millions for destruction, but not one cent for construction.
 There is no question that evil practices | have been indulged in corporate life 1 Men have done things they should not have done and 1t s the duty of state and l federal officials to investigate and find | out what these evil practices are that l they may be eradicated On the other hand. scarcely man in public life has had the courage to say even & word by way of excuse for the existence of large business concerns and so plain business | man perhaps may be excused for saying that there are at least few. just a few self-evident advantages that could be urged as an excuse for the existence of some of our so-called trusts and which might be fair institutions for investiga- | ton by our politicians. For instance, a congressional committee might find 1t of advantage to the people to inquire: "First-Has the cost of articles made by the so-caled trusts increased or de- | creased?
 "Second-Have wages increased or de- | creased?
 "Third-Has labor been more steadily l employed and better housed-more gener- ally employed and better satisfied? | "Fourth-Have there been fewer fail- ures in the line of business involved. l "Fifth-Have the so-called trusts in- creased or decreased our foreign trade balances?
 | "sixth-Have the so-called trusts de- 1 vised ways and means and provided the | capital for saving and utilizing waste products which could not have been done by smaller concerns2
 "Seventh-Is the tendency to have the ownership of the large companies and the profits made by them enjoyed by few men or bv many men? Is the tendency | to have the corporations in the future | create, by their profits, large fortunes for a few men, as was the case in partner ships under competitive methods, or is | the tendency to distribute such profits more generally among the people? Business Peace Barred "The civilized world Is witnessing the spectacle of our holding extra session | of Congress to enact policy of reel prccity. of our negotiating peace treaties with European powers and at the same time of our Congress calling loudly on our l Attorney General to force our business men to adopt ruthless, competitive meth ods. In other words, 1t seems we can have consolidation of states; we can have treaties for peace with foreign pow ] CTS; we can have preciprocty with our neighbors; we can have church unity; but 1 it is unlawful. unholy to have peace in l the business world. Has the height of 1 absurdity at last been reached? 1 "Congress has ignored every sugges- i! ton by Roosevelt. by Taft, by Wicker l sham--yes. even by some of its own l rd