The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-10-20
CURRENT COMMENT
Governor Wilson and the Incorporation Laws
of New Jersey.

II Colonel Roosevelt continues to make
speeches in the campaign through other mouths
than his own, as he did at Louisville last night
through Mr.. Beveridge. Governor Wilson will
have to revise his determination to remain
quiet.
Mr.. .Beveridge speaking for the colonel re-
peated the latter's recent attempt to show that
Mr.. Wilson has made very inefficient gov
ernor of New Jersey because change has
been made in the last two years in the incor-
poration laws of that State.
An inefficient governor? II is to laugh.
The man Who with hostile legislature put
through such measures as the presidential pri-
mary and general election laws, the corrupt
practices act the public utilities law, the work
1ngmen's compensation act. the cold-storage
law, the commission government act and many
other good measures too numerous to mention,
constituting in all the best body of legislation
which any governor OF any State of the Union
has been enabled to put on the statute books
in the memory of the present generation--to
say that such man is inefficient incapable
is to speak words of absurdity and fooishness.
Colonel Roosevelt, it will be recalled apollo
gized the other day for his failure to do any
thing with the tariff while he was president.
saying that he had other matters of greater
importance on hand. In view of the record
referred to above, Governor Wilson, had he
done nothing whatever with reference to the
matter of the incorporation laws might justi-
fiably have avaied himself of that plea In
suppressing Jim" Smith, the States chief rep
reSentatlVe OF Dig business, lie was doing a
much more Immediately necessary thing than
revising the Incorporation laws. In passing a
public utilities law he dealing with big
corporations vastly more powerful for harm
than the industrial corporations. Those things
necessarily came first.
But Governor Wilson was most assuredly
not inactive in the other matter. He has been.
perhaps. the most vide awake man in his State
in approaching tho evils of the New Jersey In
corporation laws and in working to change
a. Al htr
address, and when the State convention met In
1911 he drafted the plank that was put in the
party platform demanding a change in these
laws. The legislature of this year, being Re-
publican, failed to act, and In the State plat
form few days ago the Democratic party,
again led by Governor Wilson, returned once
more to the attack.
Governor Wilson naturally does not want
the power of the States restricted in any way,
nor superseded by federal authority. He has
never, however. expressed the opinion that the
States have supreme control over the trusts,
because, for one reason, ii for no other, he
has always believed that the protective tariff
is one OF the greatest buIwarks of the trusts,
and the States have nothing to do with the pro-
tective tariff. He has maintained, with regard
10 this matter of the Incorporation laws of his
State the same good judgment and clear
thought that he has displayed with regard to
other matters, and when those laws finally
changed for the better it will be recognized,
We imagine, that Governor Wilson had been
more influential than any other one man In
securing the change.--Baltimore Sun,
Convincing Evidence