The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1914-01-23

are II adequate to adjust the remedy ID
the wrong in a way that will meet Ill
the equities and circumstances Of the
case.
Producing industries, for example.
which hare passed the point up to
which combination may be nsistent
with the public interest and the free.
dom of trade, cannot always be dis.
sected into their component units as
readily as railroad companies or
similar ORGANIZATIONS can be.
Their dissolution by ordinary legal
process may often tines involve a.
nancial consequences likely to over.
whelm the security market and trine
urcn it breakdown and confusion.
There ought to be an administrative
commission carsh'e Of directing and
sha ping such corrective processes, not
only in aid of the courts hut also by
Independent suggestion, If necessary.
Penalties and Punishrents.
1nasmuoh as oup Object and TIE spir-
1t Of our acton in these matters Ia
to meet business half way in its
processes Of. self correction ard dis
turb its legitimate course as little al
possible we ought to see to it, and the
judgment Of practical end saracicus
men OF affairs everywhere would an.
pleud us If we did see to 1t. that pen.
alites and pun'sfments should fall.
not upon business itself, to it's con-
fusion and interruption, but uron the
individuals who use the Instrumental.
tiles Of business to do thinps which
public policy and sound business rae
tice condemn. Every act CT business
Is done at the command or upon the
Initiative Of some ascer+airable per-
son or group Of PERSONS. These
hould be held individually responsi-
be and the punishment should fall
upon them, not upon the business or.
ganizaticn Of which they make illegal
use. It should be one of the main OBJ
jects of our legislation to divest such
persons Of their corporate cloak and
deaf with +"er - with those who do
not represent their corporations, but
merely by deliberate. irtention break
Nh| Ap". HVu lie SO'UUTTy
through would, I am sure, applaud us
II we were to take effectral steps to
see that the Officers and directors of
great business bodies were prevented
from hrin"ing them and the business
OF the country into disrepute and dan
ger.
Holding Companies.
Other questions remain which will
need very thoughtful and practical
treatment. Enterprises. in these mod.
ern DAYS Of great individual fortunes,
are often times interlocked, not BY
being under the control Of the same
directors, but by the fact that the
greater part Of their corporate
stock is owned by a single person or
group of persons who are in some way
related In interest. We are
agreed, I take It, that holding COM
panies should be prohibited, but what
of the controlling private ownership
OF individuals or actually cooperative
groups Of individuals. Shall the pri-
vate owners Of CAPITAL stock be SUI
fered to be themselves in effect the
holding companies? We do not wish.
I suppose, to forbid the purchase of
stocks by any person who pleases to
buy them In such quantities as he can
afford, or in any way arbitrarily to
limit the sale of stokes to bona hde
Shall we REQUIRE the
owners of stock, when their voting
power in several companies which
ought to be Independent of one an.
other would constitute actual control,
to make election in which Of them they
will exercise their right to vote? This
question I venture for your considera-
ton.
Injury to the Individual. |
There is another matter in which
imperative considerations OF Justice ;
and fair play suggest thoughtful
remedial action. Not only do many
Of the combinations effected or sought
to be effected in the industrial world
work an injustice upon the public in
general; they also directly and seri.
ously injure the individuals who are
put out of business in one unfair way
or another by the many ~dislodging
and exterminating forces of ccmbina.
ton. I hope that we shall agree in
giving private individuals who claim
to have been injured by these pro-
cesses the right to found their suits
for redress upon the facts and judg.
ments proved and entered in suits by
the government where the govern.
ment has upon it's own initiative sued
the combinations complained of and
won its suit, and that the statute Of
limitations shall be suffered to run
against such litigants only from the
date of the conclusion of the govern
ment's action. It is not fair that the
private litigant should be obliged to
set up and establish again the facts
which the government has proved. He
cannot afford, he has not the power
to make use of such processes of in.
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