The Washington herald., 1911-11-26

years. comparatively few years ago there were
scarcely miIlonaires in America. Now they are
thick blackberries. There is no counting them. A
man who has but million dollars is comparatively
poor
But in these past few years-oh very few
years-we have begun realize thar these huge for
bad things They bad for the country and
they bad for the mlionaires They bad for
tn" poor people and they nuisance for the men
who make and manipulate them. They not good
things in any way.
The very fact that this nation is coming to realize
that is a hopeful sign for America.
The next thing do is to make the piling up of
such fortunes impossible.
That is exactly what doing Our
great fortunes will be distributed, and they will not be
plicatpd. That is all over"
Miss Tarbell asked what made the making of
many millions an impossbility for the future and she
explained
Stripping off special privilege and government
control" she answered. Give the United States Gov
control of Big Business and you begin the dis
trbution of wealth You make the ping up of barbaric
fortunes in he hands of few men impossible.
Our great fortunes have Deen m-de by the re-
strant of trade by methods known to be illegal
ut would never have been possible for certain
corporations pile up colossal capital without control
transpora for their ends 1t would not have
been possible without control of natural
Take the management of these things, the private
manipulation of them, completely away from the hands
of the corporations the few and place in the Federal
power, and you take away the beams of which our
colossal fortunes built.
The problem of the distribution of wealth has
never been solved in the history of the world We
nearer a solution than we have ever been"
When Miss Tarbell urges government control OF
Interstate commerce" she all of Big Business.
She includes all corporations, all railroads. all the
of natural resources and public service in
dustries all manufactures that do business over the
borders of State. She has halfway measures to
propose.
The control that she urges must be- she AYERS,
tive, detailed, immediate.
Three great steps have already been taken, Miss
TarbeI points out toward the achievement of Federal
control.
the first possibilities of government jurisdiction
railroads.
The Bureau of Commerce and Labor has enabled
the government investigate and keep closely in touch
with the manipulation of big business activities
Prosecution of corporations has been carried on
under the Sherman antitrust law and definition is
being evolved by series of tests of that vague phrase
restraint of trade"
"The work of the Interstate Commerce Commis-
sion illustrates how working toward government
control of large interests" she sid ut also illustrates
the slowness with which achieve things.
1T took US twenty years to set that Interstate
Commerce Commission. And it took nearly twenty
years more to learn how to make use f it.
"Now the Interstate Commerce Commission is in
good working order. 1t has made rebating so difficult
and dangerous be practically impossible 1t exer-
cises yigilan government control the railroads
By taking away monopoy's control of transportation.