Imperial Valley press., 1912-12-10
PUBLIC TO Be SUPREME
IN UNITED STATES FORBES

Inc CnlteuA SualeSt Has Deen fDutJ
up mainly by individual effort, and if
the individual be swamped by monopo-
listic growths, then the natiori's future ]
cannot be Viewed without misgivings!
Modern conditions admittedly demand
concerted effort. Big railroad systems,
big industrial corporations, big banks,
big trust companies, big factories are
not merely desirable but necessary to
keep this country in the forefront Of
| The worlds commercial powers. But
| bigness and monopolies are different
things. Monopoly, in the essence Of
! things, involves lack of initiative, lack
of energy. lack Of progress, lack of
that competition which is an indispen-
sible tonic to business in any form.
| From time immemOrial monOpolieS
have led to abusable mismanagement,
decay and chaos. The older nations of
Europe in the earlier stages of eco
nomic development went through many
unfortunate experiences arising from
| trading monopolies. Americans will do
we'll to avoid repetition of history in
this respect.
/ The latest decision of the United
States supreme court, decreeing that
the merger of the Union Pacific and
Southern Pacific railroads must be un-
done, is full of encourag cement to the
I 4. g A.,
despair even to tile most ambitious of
our capitalists, men Of transcendant
ability Of vast vision and commanding
limitless resources.
The door has not been closed upon
effort TO create. Combination has net
heen condemned. The highest copr;
las simply-and very WiseIy-ordeLd
that, while capital may combine 10
develop The untold poientialilies Of The
country. it must moi combine TO re-
>trainirade transportation or any oihet
line Of activity. l
''EXtend Your activities all you want,
but do mob cripple the legitimate la
hors Of the people," is the essence Of
the supreme courts ruling.
The younger generation of financierS.
men not incrusted in old time notions
concerning the impotency of The people
at large. are willing to accept the new
order of things. They have a better
understanding Of twentieth century hu
man nature Than the veterans imbibed.
Commodore Nanderbilt's dietum re-
| garding the PUBLIC no longer can be
the public satisfactorily it cannot live
| One by one arrogant monopolies are
being taken in hand and. although IN
fortunately the legal remedies are not
80 effective as could be desired. yet
real headway is being made in estab-
fishing fairer play and fsirer field for
competition.
New England is affording The world
a lamentable spectacle OF what monop-.
oily breeds. The New Haven railroad,
hacked by the unplumbeu Morgan purse
and manage by the over ambitious but
misguided Charles S.hNIellen. has as
siduously striven to build up trans
portation monopoly more complete,
more arrogant and more needless of
!the public will than any other uncon-
victed combination in the United States.
The New Haven monopoly has resulted
exactly as economic history has taught
us to eXpect-high handed action com
bined with gross ineffjciency retro
eression and public outcry for aboli-
| ton of such q system.
| II. II. Rogers once peeyishly walled
that he had been cured Of ambition.
He meant that the government was
interfering overmuch with the doings
Of himself and others of his class. Well,
it would be q joyful day for the United
States if every monopolist were cured
Of his ambition. There are ambitions
and ambitions. Americans can well dis
pense with the variety that regards
only its own pocket and has nothing
but contempt for the public.
! The public is to be supreme in this
land. The sooner this fundamental fact
sinks INTO certain heads, the better
| for the permanent peace of this re
public.
Edward H. Harriman was by no means
the worst kind of capitalist America
has produced. My own conviction
! and had moderately intimate oppor-
tunity to study his life's works that
| hartman did not aspire to restrain
trade. While he carried in his head
projects Of far greater magnitude than
any he brought 10 fruition, his dOmi-
Dant desire was not to monop0lize the
transportation business Of the country
with q view to s,lhiecflns the public
10 arbitrary treatment.
Efficiency was his fetch. II he could
carry ton OF freight across the con-
| tinent cheaper by acquiring a through