The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1911-04-14
IS HERE 10 STAY
Control and Publicity for Public
Service Corporations.
VERDICT OF PROMINENT NAN
Theodore N. Vail, PRECEDENT Of West.
ern Union and Telephone compar
niles, Recognizes Rights Of the
American Public.

Public regulation of public service
corporations has come to stay, sit
ought to have come and II ought to
stay. That is the nat and unequivocal
assertion Of Theodore N. Vail, pteDi-
dent OF both the American TelephCAe
and Telegraph company and the VISIT
ern Union Telegraph company. %xIt
came In the form Of his annualefe-
port to the seventy thousand stock
holders Of the two great scor6ofations.
Although Mr. Wallis advocacy, Of full
publicity In connection with the affairs
Of such oncerns was we'll understood.
nobody in financial circles had. antici-
pated 60 frank an avowal Of full pub
lio rights in the shaping of their gen.
sral conduct It came consequently o
. surprise, not only because Of it,
novelty and s%quareness, but also on
account Of tho unqualified acquies.
cence OF Z board Of directors compris.
ing such eminent ana conservative
~inanciers IL Robert Winsen. Of Kif-
der, Peabody & Co., and Henry 1.
Higginson or Boston. Henry p. Davi.
son Of j.. P. Morgan 4 Co.; Senator
w. Murray Crane. George F. Baer.
T. Jefferson Coolidge. II. Norman w.
Harris. John I. Waterbury and others.
President vaiPs declaration is her.
aided as the frst recognition by those
in high corporate authority of the jus.
tice Of the demand that the public
BE- regarded as virtual partners
in all matters that pertain to the com.
mon welfare. He goes directly to the
point
Public control or regulation Of pub
lie service corporations by permanent
commissions" he says, has come and
come to stay. Control OF regulation.
to be effective means publicity;
It means semi-public discussion and
consideration before action; 1t means
everything which Is the oppo-
site OF and Inconsistent with effective
competition. Competition-aggressive,
effective competition-means strife.
industrial warfare; it means conten.
ton; 1t oftentimes means taking ad-
vantage Of Or resorting to any means
that the conscience. OF the contestants
or the degree Of the enforcement of
the laws will permit.
Aggressive competition means du.
plication Of plant and investment. Tho
ultimate object Of such competition
is the possession Of the field wholly
or partially; therefore it means eth
er ultimate combination on such
basis and with such prices as Will
cover past losses, or 1t means loss Of
return On investment, and eventual
loss of capital. However 1t results.
all costs Of aggressive, uncontrolled
competition are eventually borne,
directly or indirectly, by the public.
Competition which Is not aggressive,
presupposes cooperative action, under.
standings, agreements. which result
In general uniformity or harmony. OF
action. which, in fact. Is not competi.
ton but is combination, unstable, but
for the time effective. When thor.
oughly understood 1t will be found
that control will give more of tho
benefits and public advantages, which
are expected to be obtained through
such ownership, and will obtain
them without the public burden Of
either the public ofice-holder or pub.
lie debt or operating deficit
when through a wise and judicioua
state control and regulation all the
advantages without any OF the disad'
vantages OF state ownership are 50
cured, state ownership is doomed"
IT Mr.. Vail Is right" sayi
Harper's Weekly. in a concise sum
ming-up, then It seems pretty plain
that we are entered upon a new era IL
both economics and politics. And it Il
high time we did II evolution Is tt
supplant revolution as an eficienl
force in the development of civiliza
tion." 2 ~