Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1912-10-11
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The steel corporation has an out
SANDING capitalization OF fifteen hun
cred dollars. ! nat amount is very
nearly as great as The aggregate as
sessed value o. al the property of the
great cities OF Chicago and ST. Louis
combined. with their 2,S,5,55t inhab-
iants with that huge capital this
single corporation acquired more than
two hundred other companies Through
these companies il owns the principal
iron ore supplies in the United States;
il owns strategic transportation sys-
tens; it owns large part of the steel
mills of the country. The corporation
is in turn controlled by a few inch
IT'S directors. These few men are di-
rectors also in fifty-rine banks and
trust and insurance companies, which
together hold quick capitalize life
1lcOd of businesS-of more than double
the amount OF the Steel Corporation
capital.
The Steel Trusts advantage over
competitors of three dollars ton in
cost of production, due not TO superior
efficiency but to the ownership of GER
tain strategic railroads and steamship
lines. is greatly enhanced by its rela-
lions to many other carriers. The
few men who control the Steel Corpor-
alton are directors also in twentynine
other railroad systems, with 10000
miles of liue-more than half the rail
road mileage OF the United States-and
-, m on
are also directors in twelve steel-usmg
street railway systems, including some
of the largest in the world; they are
directors in forty machinery and SIM
liar steelusing companies; in many
gas, oil. and water companies, extern
si,e users of iron products; and in
great wire-using telephone and tele-
graph companies. The aggregate assets
of these different corporations exceed
sixteen billion dollars. Sixteen billion
dollars is more than twice the assessed
value of all the property in all New
England. 1t is more than one and
one-half times the assessed value of
all the property in the thirteen South
ern States. 1t is larger than the as
sessed value of all the property in the
twenty-five states, North and South,
lying west of the Mississippi river,
except only Texas.
The new party resolutely declares in
its platform: I'VE do not fear CONNER
cia! power"
The modest bill recommended by the
Stanley committee would prohibit any
owner, officer. or employee of a concern
which sells railroad equipment, rails
steel, or coal to railroads, from acting
as an officer or director of a railroad
company engaged in interstate COM
merce.
OF the great wealth of Massachusetts
large part is represented by deposits
in its saving banks. On November
l, 1911, these deposits equaled s22S.97
for every man, woman, and child in
the Commonwealth. These deposits
are distributed among one hundred
and niaety-two different banks. These
one hundred and ninety-twO banks are
separate and distinct not only in form
but in fact In order that the banks
might be really banks of the people
and not of the financiers. the Massa-
chusetts law provides that no executive
officer or trustee (director) of any saw
ings bank can hold any Office in any
other savings bank. That statute
was passed in 1876. A lew years ago
it was supplanted by providing that
none of the executive officers of saw
ings bank could hold a similar Office
IN any national bank. When that act
the number of deposit accounts 1929;
its savings banks were $243,34O.642;
he 70 na1, Nf
the population $144. Today the ag-
gregate deposits are $780,, 220.707; the
number of deposit accounts 2,137,543;
the average deposit to each person in
the population $22S.97. Massachus-
etts has shown that curbing the power
of the few does not necessarily impair
the efficiency or the prosperity of the
whole people.
Should unlimited concentration of
commercial power be encouraged in
country dedicated to equality of OPP
portunity?
Governor Hay Expensive Luxury.
(Mt. Vernon Herald Republican,
Washington, has been a costly luxury
to the state. Notwithstanding the fact
he has an inordinate desire to be elect
ed governor. The voters of Skagit
county should consider the fact that
it cost them quite three times as much
money to maintain the Hay state ad-
as it does the taxpayers
of Michigan, California, Kansas, Min
nesota, Nebraska and Oregon each to
maintain their state governments. The
per capita of Michigan is 2.32; Califor-
mia. AS; Kansas, 4.S6; Minnesota,
5.17; Nebraska, 5.27 and Oregon,
6.59, while that of Washington swells
to the huge figures of 9.S2. Or in other
words the Washington state appro-
priatiOns have now reached the stupen-
dous figures of $l1,216,941, which is {
greater than the amount expended by
any of the other named states. Is |
not Hay an xcessive state luxury?
johnson Dirty Mut-Slinger.
(Bickleton News. Republican,
do not for minute consider the
president in this race. He Is a neg
ligible quality. l It's with shame as |
an American citizen that l say today |
the most humiliating character in Am
erican history is the president of the !
United States" This is a statement /
made by Governor Hiram Johnson of |
California. Is it not humiliating that |
q candidate for the presidency should |
descend to such language towards a |
president of the United States? Presi- |
dent Taft may have made mistakes,
but does he deserve to be classed with i
Benedict Arnold? Fair-minded peo-
pie will resent such mud singing.