The Washington times., 1911-08-08
Constructive Legislation Is the Argument Made by George W. Perkins

! in the DEVELOPMENT of our great cor
porations. At first the idea Of a hoAS
/ ing company-of q great corporation
that supervised, with advice and coun-
/ sel the smaller and perhaps weaker
| concerns, was considered so novel as
| to be almost revolutionary and unsafe.
In bringing some, of these holding com
panies into existence fights and battles
took place. We are told that some sub
\ sidiary companies were forced to Join
/ the holding company; but latterly, es-
| pecially in very recent years, that spirit
| has passed away. The small company
has been seeking admission to the large
company, realizing that its best inter-
ests lay in such an arrangement.
| There Is no question but that evil
practices have been INDUCED in, In cor
porate life. Men have done things they
| should not have done, and II Is the duty
of State and Federal Government OFF,
cials to investigate and find out what
| these evil practices are, that they may
| be eradicated.
| On the other hand, scarcely a man In
public life has had the courage to say
even word by way Of excuse for the
| existence of large business concerns,
and 80 plain business man may per-
| haps be excused for saying that there
| are at least few, just few, self-evt-
dent advantages that could be urged
as excuses for the existence of some of
our So-called trusts, and which might
| be fair questions for investigation by
our politicians. For instance, a Con-
gressional committee might find 1t of
| advantage to the people to inquire:
| First-Has the cost of articles made
| by the so-called trusts increased or de-
| creased?
second-Have wages increased or de-
creased?
Third-Has labor been more steadily
| employed and better housed-more geE-
orally employed and better satisfied?
] Fourth-Have there been fewer failures
in the lines Of business involved?
Fffth-Have the so-called trusts in
creased or decreased our foreign trade
| balances?
! Sixth-Have the so-called trusts de-
vised ways and means and provided the
capital for saving and utilizing waste
products, which could not have been
done by smaller concerns?l
Profits Distribution.
Seventh-Is the tendency to have the
ownership of these large companies and
| the profits made by. them enjoyed by 4
| few men or by many men? Is the
| tendency to have these corporations In
the future create, by their profits. large
| fortunes for few men, as was the case
| in partnerships under competitive
methods, or is the tendency to distribute
such profits more generally among the
| people? l say it might not be a waste
OF the public's money to investigate
su"h fundamental questions as these
and If, by some rare chance. IL should
he found that they could be answered
| favorably, then the public might like to
| Inquire whether our public servants
could not find some way to preserve
| theso advantages to the public, rather
than to destroy them.
At the present moment. while the
, Attorney General Is enforcing the laws
of Congress (as he is in honor bound
TO t0), and is proceeding to actually dis
solve large business concerns. he is at
| the same time publicly calling on the
country to discuss the question Of
whether or not ruthless competition has
| not had its day and the time arrived for
us to find some other and more CO.
operative principle of business on which
| &c proceed.
The spirit OF cooperation is not only
| breathed throughout our Declaration Of
| Independence and written il our Con-
stitution, and latterly made imperative
in business through the great discov-
cries and practical work OF our inven-