New-York tribune., 1911-01-31
CALLS MONOPOLY WRONG
Should Be Regulated, McAdoo
Tells B0StOnianS.
THE PEOPLE NEED A LEADER
Public Must Assert Its Rights and
Corporations Taught They Are
It's Servants, He Says.

Boston. Jan. 3O-William G.. McAdoo,
president Of the Hudson & Manhattan Rail-
road Company. OF New York, dwelt par
ticularly OH the manner in which the pubic
should be treated by large corporations IN
an address tonight at the annual dinner OF
the reorganized Boston Chamber OF COM
mcrce. lie said In part:
Decent treatment Is due the public. There
will survive, and there still control, large
numbers Of the divine" and vested rlght
managers who have learned nothing aIo
will learn nothing until the great pubic as
serts its rights more foTcibly than III the
past These managers must learn that
the corporations are not the masters, pul
the servants Of the public; that their mas Mas
ter is not going 10 destroy tnem so ions
as they remain servants, and that tnelr
rights as servants are going 10 be scrupuss
lousy respected. as their assumption ot
mastershp will be relentlessly suppressed
Mr.. McAdoo said that the deep rooted
prejudice against corporations had arisen
from dishonest management. which re-
suited i'm grave losses TO investors abuse
OF power and Of opportunity. corrupt prac-
tices I'm politics and arrogant and arpitrsry
methods i'm dealing with the public. lie
was not hostile to corporations, he de-
clared, but desired to see justice done both
side.
II feel that no greater service can be
rendered" Mr.. McAdoo continued, than
by srousing tho corporations and the pubic
TO a just sense of their mutual obligations
The public on its side must treat the cor
porat fairly. The whole subject must
be handled in a spirit of moderation, Wis
dom and Justice
The speaker thought that all the powers
of ,e ebo he cd n
competitive conditions. and that commits
sions should be created with the broadest
legal powers 70 regulate monopolies, all of
which were inherently wrong.
He said in conclusion:
Gentlemen. We are undergoing great
economic and social evolution in this
country. The deeper currents are beyond
the range of our vision az the moment, but
am convinced that all these hidden forces
are working toward higher plane and
better civilization. The twentieth century
will witness the renaissance Of the people
their rebirth and regeneration. what
they need IS leader. man OF infeXible
understanding, capable Of interpreting
their hopes and translating their asp!ra-
tions into some big achievement for the
cause OF humanity itself. The question
did in 1860. but IL II does II will be for
emancipation from the slavery Of economic
and social conditions resulting from the
failure to control or even 10 effectively reg
ulste the giant monopolies
Rudolph Spreckels. Of San Francisco,
who made a brief address, declared that
IL We are 10 hope for honest government
for our cities. our states and our nation
we must first ostracize and condemn the
corrupt men of business Mr.. Spreckels,
after telling of the San Francisco graft
prosecution and alleged corrupt conditions
in other cities. approved the recent state
ment of Louis Brandes TO the effect that
saving of $500, 100000 annually can be
made by the railways Of the country with
ont detriment to public service or loss of
dividends 10 the shareholders.