The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-04-21
Two Notable Addresses

Two Notable Addresses
At the Chamber of Commerce ban
quet Saturday night Dr. George H.
Denny, president of the University of
Alabama, made brilliant and stimu-
lating speech on "The Business Man as
a Citizen,1 and George w. Perkins of
New York discussed in statesman
like manner corporations and the at
titude of politicians toward "Big Busi-
ness" 1t is not often that two such
notable addresses are heard on one
evening.
Mr.. Perkins was the guest of honor
at the first annual dinner of the
Chamber of Commerce and the title
of his address was "some Inconsist-
encies." He makes no pretentions to
oratory. He is quiet talker but his
discourse from beginning to end was
thoughtful and generally convincing.
In order that he might set forth his
views clearly he wrote and read what
he had to say in the development of
his theme. Every sentence was clean
cut and succinct.
Mr.. Perkins argued strongly in
favor of government control of indus
trial corporations. He uttered many
truisms but he discussed his points in
such a practical and eogent way as to
be gripping.
"Since the old world began" said
Mr.. Perkins, trade, commerce, busi-
ness, has grown so fast and no faster
than intercommunication has devel-
oped and this is so because mans abil-
ity to do business rests primarily on
his ability to reach customers, which,
in turn, rests on intercommunication;
and as we have moved on through the
various periods of improved intercom-
munication, from the time when mans
only method of getting about was with
an OK team until we have reached the
wireless message, trade has expanded,
grown and cent? allied. 1t was in
evitable, it is inevitable, it will remain
inevitable. No set of laws can turn
back progress of this kind"
The speaker stressed the incon-
sistency of opposition to government
control of industrial business when he
said, "We are being told that we can
not regulate our large interstate and
national industrial concerns-one of
the reasons given being that they (the
industries) would obtain possession
of our governmental machinery and
run it themselves" He said another
reason advanced was that we would be
fostering and promoting monopoly.
The speaker then remarked:
"Has any one heard of the railroads
dominating the interstate commerce
commission? Has anyone heard of
our bankers dominating the controller
of the currency? Has anyone heard of
a successful attempt to control our
pure food bureau? Yet we are told
that if we had an industrial commits
sion to regulate our interstate indus
trials the heads of these commissions
would be dominated by the great in
dustrial leaders of the country. How
inconsistent! As for fostering monop-
oily, no one is advocating any such
course.
Mr.. Knox was taken by President
Mckinley almost directly from great
industrial law practice and made At
torney General. Mr.. Wickersham was
taken by Mr.. Taft almost directly
from a great corporation practice and
made Attorney General Has the
charge ever been made or even hinted
at that either one of these men was
in any respect controlled or dominated
by the great industrial leaders of this
country? There is not a particle of
evidence and no real ground for believ-
ing or suspecting that any part of our
federal gover9ment's operations in
regulating business up to date has
been in any respect controlled by the
branches of industry affected.
"lf the people who are now SO
strongly arguing against the regula-
ton and control of the interstate in
dustrials are consistent, they will
either move at once to do away with