Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1911-04-13
CAPITALS SAFEGUARD
Federal REGULATION
GEO. N. REYNOLDS, PRESIDENT
OF BIG BANK, IN FAVOR OF
FEDERAL SUPERVISION.
PUBLICITY AID CONSERVATISM
Public Confidence Will Be Assured by
Such System, he says-Goes Fur
ther into Problem Than Did Presi-
dent Of Bell Companies in advocat.
ing Control Of Public Utilities.

Especial To The Tribune.)
Chicago, April 13.-George NJ. Rey-
nolds, president Of the Continental
and Commercial National Bank, de-
clares that public regulation of public
service corporations has come to stay.
Mr.. Reynolds regards governmental
supervision as inevitable and neces-
sary Conservatism would be foster
ed, he said, by the publicity necessar-
lily attending supervision of railroads
and public utility corporations.
Mr.. Reynolds views regarding rail
road and industrial corporations went
further into the problem of corpora
ton control than did President Theo-
dore N. Vail of the American Telep-
hone and Telegraph company in his
declaration recently that public con-
troll OF public utilities has come and
come to stay. "Experience also has
demonstrated that this supervision
should stop at control and 'regula-
| ton and not manage operate nor
dictate what the management or op.
GRAFTON should be beyond the require
ments Of the greatest efficiency and
economy, said Mr.. Vail. This state
ment by President Vail referred par
ticularly to the class known as public
service corporations"
Mr.. Reynolds said: There is no
doubt about the fact that capital has
not always been handled conservative
ly and economically in the past. This
must be remedied. The bank of which
l am president has under it's control
a quarter of billion dollars, and five
times year must let the public know
through it's published statements just
what it is doing. addition to these
examinations by Federal Bank Exam
liners there is an examination by the
Chicago Clearing House and volun.
tary public statement by the bank it.
SELF
"Supervision of the public utility
corporations would mean publicity.
Publicity necessarily insures greater
conservatism. ] am convinced that
reasonable national supervision is not
far off; these statewide discussions,
laws and theories which are interest
ing every thinking American today
are natural development in our fl
nancial history. Sentiment is slowly
and surely forming along that line;
those of us who have studied the prob
lem know that public utility corpora
lions will be supervised by the gov
eminent eventually.
The fine dividing line between sup
ervisiOn and control is where the best
thinkers will have to get together. 1t
would not seem right for the federal
authorities to say to the railroads
just what they can do year in and
year out; that would be taking away
from the railroads the very power
which has made them the greatest de-
velopers of America. If railroads in
the past had been retarded through
too stringent legislation in entering
territory which was supposedly bar
rem, great sections of the west would
not have been opened and the stocks
of those roads would not be paying
dividends. A bOart of supervision, a
state body, whatever plan was adopt
ed, could not possibly absorb all the
data, figures, plans and estimates of
which every new railway project ne
cesstates the mastering. There is
a wide difference between supervision
and control, but this big feature of
the problem will he whipped out and
solved in time.
1--WE Americans are pretty thorough
in our method of adjusting economic
conditions; our only trouble is that
We are likely to go off half-cocked. We
sometimes fail to discriminate.
The getting rid of what is bad in
Wall street will be accomplished by
intelligent supervision, but in the dis.
cussion of corporations we should not |
condemn the good with the bad.
The dovetailing of the state laws |
and the method of national super
vision into one harmonious, intelli-
gent whole, is sure to come. The
only question now before us is the |
proper education of the American pub.
lie to the real needs of the situation. |
Hysteria and soap.box oratory must |
be supplanted by intelligent reason
ing; when this is accomplished, all |
the retty details OF difference will be |
swept away and the big utility corpor-
ations will be properly and conservat-
lively supervised and the day of pub
licity in big corporations will be at |
hand"