The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-07-20

ECCuat - LA&t oVcEy 8IGat pauA - une
der suspicion with regard to the mo-
tive Of Its 1nvestments. II II at least
considered possible that It 10 playing
the am OF somebody who hal moth
ing to do with banking, but with
whom some OF 4ts directors are con-
nected' and Joined in interest The
ground Of unrest and u~neasiness, in
short. on tho part OF the public at
large n the growing knowledge that
many largo undertaking. are inter
laced with another, are indstin-
guiehable from M another In per-
sonnet
Therefore. when q small group OF
men approach congress in order to
induce the committee concerned to
concur in certain legislation. nobody
knows h r~amihcations OF the inter
ests which those men represent: there
seems no frank and open action Of
public opinion In public counsel, but
every man 10 suspected of represent
ing some other man and it Ia not
known where his connections begin or
end.
I am Of those who have been
30 fortunately circumStanced chat I
have had the opportunity to study the
way IN which these things come about
In complete dlsconnection from them,
and I do not suspect that any man
has deliberately planned ne system.
/ am not q undnstructed and miain-
formed as to suppose that there IL q
deliberate and malevolent combination
somewhere to dominate the govern
ment OF tho United States. / merely
say that, by certain processes now wels
known. and perhaps natural in them
selves. there has come about an ex-
traordinary and very sinister concen.
~tratton in the control OF business in
the country.
However II ha come about, It ID
more important shll that the control
OF credit also has become dangerous
~ centralized. It Is tho mere truth
to say HI tho financial OF
the country are not at the command
OF those who do no submit to the
direction and domination OF small
groups OF capitalists who wish to keep
the economic development Of the
country under their own eye and
guidance The great monopoly inathis
country il h monopoly Of big
credits. So long as that exists. our
old variety and freedom and indAvtd-
ual energy OF development arc out of
the question A great industrial ma
ton is controlled by ats system OF
credit Our system OF credit - PM
vately concentrated. Tho growth OF
NtS s@&AcA AS AAiu Alt OuH ~
tivtues are IN h hands Of q few men
who. even II their action be honess
and intended for tho public interest,
are necessarily concentrated upon the
great undertakings In which their WYE
money 10 involved. and who noces-
earily. by every a OF their own
limitations. chill n check and de-
stroy genuine economic freedom. This
u the greatest question. OF all, ana to
n fhNA fAfA0pnAN YnrtA AA-A- -
selves with an earnest determination
to servo tho long future and the true
liberties of men.
money OF, q it should
b moro properly called. his credit
trust. OF which congress has begun
an Investigation. In no myth; It ts no
imaginary ching. It IL not an ordi-
nary trust like another. 1t doesn't
do business every day. It does busi-
mes: only when there is occasion to
do business. You can sometimes do
something large when It isn't watch
ing. but when 1t Dc watching. you
can't do much. And I have seen men
squeezed by It: I have seer men who.
as they themselves expressed II, wore
put "out OF business by Wall Street
because Wall Street found them In
convenient, and didn't want their COM
petition.
Aet mo gay 08dfn C1laH / iii IfOI I'M.
pugning the motives Of the mon in
Wall Street. They may think that
that Ia the best way to create pros
perity for h country. When you
have got the market In your hand,
does honesty oblige you to turn the
palm upside down and empty f7 II
you have got h market in your hand
and believe hat you understand the
interest OF the country better than
anybody else, Is 1t patriotic to let It
go? imagine them using this
argument to themselves.
The dominating danger In this land
II not the existence of great individual
combinations-that IL dangerous
enough in all conscience-but the
combination Of the combinattons-of
the railways, the manufacturing en-
terprtses. the great mining prospects,
the great enterprises for the develop
mont OF h natural water-powers OF
the country. threaded together in the
personnel of a series OF boards OF d.
r~octors into a Community OF interest"
more formidable than any conoeiv-
able single combination that dare ap-
pear In the open.
The organization Of business has be-
come centralized. vastly mors
centralized. than the political organi-
zation OF the country ttscH. Corpora
tions have come to greater areas
than States; have come to live under
q greater variety Of laws than the citi-
zen himself. have sxcelled States in
their budgets and doomed bigger than
whole commonwealths in their infiu-
'sncs NJ the lives and fortunes u