The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1911-10-05


pront sharing plans between capital
and labor. accident and relief oenents,
old age pensions and general Wcltafe
work in factories and mlnsf
we American peopla In the I as,
analysts are a practical set, ana WIZ
The trust ouestion tAat does not bring
practical and permanently oenenclal re-
sultsY we are faced with the prae-
teal realities of life The Iea. .
NOT a theory, that confronts us,' The
reverse would seem 10 be our troupIe
at the moment. viz, that ~ ~ .hso.y
OF law that confronts condiuon IN
business; and even our noys rssi,ze
that there Is no place where theo,lSs
break down and go 90 pieces so qhckiS
as in the practical business world
Pictures Many Evils.
At,emnt 10 sweep the country back
into the old era OF ruthless compeu-
ton which would be the direct .on
sequence 81 a vigorous enforcement 81
the sherman law, and there VIII return
The evils OF deceit and fraud In ousi-
ness violent fluctuations In prices the
deliberate driving 20 the wall OF weak
concerns and the eventual creation OF
monopolies by survivors.
=, a. true that we were brought up
to believe that competition IL the ire
OF trade: but IL Is equaliy true tnN We
were brought up TO ridicule DARIUS
Green ana MS Hylnk Nho~AA'Nf'
true that this country throve and pros
nered AT one period OF its existence
without railroads. without the tee
graph without the telephone: put ~
is equally true that week before last
messages were sent over a copper wire
a Thousand miles by telegraph. ana
while this was being done people useu
the same wire for telephone converse
lions Does any one doubt that the
world is rapidly passing from the In
diyIduai to the collective system In
matters OF business
What is the Immediate situationI
What. IL anything. can we DO about
III The situation seems clearly TO ne
This. In the last national election the
people OF the United states voted IN
favor OF a platform which recognized
the existence OF class or corporations
having power and opportunity 70 enect
monopoiIes. and also voted In favor OF
such amendments TO the Sherman anil
trust law as would give 10 the federaI
government greater supervision ana
control over and secure greater pun
licity in the management OF such cor
uUrHtfuus The cOnRress which the
people elected for this purpose did
nothing and has been recalled ny the
people Meanwhile. two OF our large
Interstate Industrial companies have
gone before the supreme court In suits
under the sherman act. In rendering
its decisions IN these two cases the
supreme court pronounced for rule
OF reason" IL has given both COM
panies six months I'm which TO reorgan-
ize their affairs This term OF six
months has not yet expired. Mean
while II Is impossible for any large
Interstate Industrial company 10 know
defnitely whether Its form OF organi-
zation Is legal or illegal. And there
seems 10 be feeling on the part OF
the executives Of the government that
they are In honor bound to go on and
apply the law, as they understa nd ~.
10 other large Industrial companies.
Time 20 Call Halt.
Would IL not seem TO be but pru-
dent and just 20 call halt on indis-
criminate attacks on our great inter-
national agencies OF Industrial trade
until some one In authority can make
large successful international indus
trial businessf
We have had commissions appointed
that are now investigating how rail-
roads shorld be capitalized I'm order TO
prevent stock watering schemes: we
have had a commission appointed to
investig gate the postal rates; we have
had a commission appointed to investi-
gate and report on the tariff.
Ard on all three of these great and
Important business questions Judgment
IS being suspended and action Is not to
be taken until these commissions have
In view Of all that has happened.
why cannot a commission be appointed
in the same way for the same purpose
agencies OF trade?
Gigantic changes In the conditions
surrounding business have been taking
place They amount TO a complete re-
versaI OF old fashioned methods. q
We should wake up some morning And
ind that the Rocky mountains hal
been turned into pure gold. would not
finance be What becomes Of our gold
in the world Of finance would be
scarcely greater than the upheayai
brought In the world Of commerce.
Outlines Proposed solution.
I believe we must have some such
system as the following:
a given busines. BY their inventivs
genius executive ability and indomit-
able courage they develop that bust
ress to point where they want TO go
TO push It, They want TO take In add
tionsl partners and sell TO everybody,
everywhere. In order TO do this they
foresss that they wsi neea iar Ioi
friends can provide. They therefore
have TO go TO the public and ask them
TO become shareholders. When TINS
men should 20 TO our federal govern
ment and at least lay bare their plan.
expose their capitalization. their meth
eds and their objectsi that they should
agree khht ~ bhhtoo thtetNe
would submit to the government COM
plete statements as TO the operations
OF their bushes. so that the govern
ment in turn might say to the labor
employed, TO the consumer served. ano
to the investor, that the statements
these men are making are complete
and honest
This does not mean state socialism.
IL does not mean government owner
II does not mean government man
agement
IL does not mean fxing prices.
IL does not mean that the govern.
ment would be funning our Industrial
But IL does mean supervision and
publicity similar to that which Is nov
being required Of our banks ana our
IL does mean that some authority as
big and broad as the territory In when
the said company wants to operate VIII
be a, a position to say TO the people,
I'm our judgment this IL right or this
IL wrong"
suitabIe publicity and supervision We
could gradually make laws. as We have
with our railroads, that would aceur
ately define wrongs and innict proper
runfshment: In short system by
which publicity. full, frank and COM
uiete could be had from the proper
source, will of itself eradicate very
large part OF all our trouble and az
the enormous asset that they have IN
the efficiency OF these great interstate
md international agencies or trade
that have been built up after such
struggle and in order to meet the con.
dItions brought about by the grsat