Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-01-20

! { day.
|, This man." said Senator Smith, (
| said that If Mr. Roosevelt should !
| : meet a lion in the road he would
! Immediately Kill the lion but II
I 2 President Wilson were to meet
/ : lion he would reason with the lion,
| then put a saddle and bride on 1t 5
/ and ride it home
before it can make sure just what
the law is.
Surely we are sufficiently familiar
| with the actual processes and meth
DDS of monopoly and Of the many
| hurtful restraints Of trade to make
| definition possible at any rate up TO
| the limits of what experience has dis
closed These practices, being now
| aburdantly disclosed, can be explicit
! ~ and, item by item, forbidden by
statute i'm such terms as Will pracu-
| Cally eliminate uncertainty, the law
itself ami the penalty being made
equally plain.
Business Desires Guidance.
And the business men OF the
country desire something more than
! that the menace of legal process in
! these matters be made explicit and
! ineligible They desire the advice,
the definite guidance and lnforma-
ton which can be supplied by an ad-
| illustrative body and interstate trade
! commission.
/ "The opinion of the country would
| instantly approve of such commits
sion II Would not wish to see 1t en-
powered to make terms with mo-
ropoly or in any sort to assume con-
troll Of business, as if the Government
made itself responsible, 1t demands
such a commission only as an indis-
! pensable instrument of information
! and publicity as d clearing house FOR
| the facts by which both the public
! mind and the managers of great busl
! ness undertakings should be guided,
and as an fundamentally for doing
justice to business where the pro-
/ cesseS OF the courts or the natura
forces OF correction outside the courts
are inadequate to adjust the remedy
to the wrong in a way that will meet
all the equities and circumstances OF
the case
producing industries, for exam
pie, which have passed the point NJ
to which combination may be consis
freedom of trade, can not always be
diSsected into their component units
as readily as railroad companies OF
similar organizations can be. Their
. dissolution by ordinary legal process
may oftcntimes involve financial con-
sequences likely to oVerwhelm the Sc
curity market and bring upon il
breakdown and confusion, There
ought to be an administrative com
mission capable of directing and
shaping such corrective measures
not only in aid of the courts, but also
by independent suggestion, if neces-
sary
For Individual Guilt
"Inasmuch as our object and the
spirit of our action in these matters
Is to meet business halfway in its
processes of self correction and dis
turb its legitimate course as little as
possible, We ought to see to 1t, and
the Judgment of practical and saga
cious men Of affairs everywhere would
applaud us if we did see 20 it, that
penalties and punishments should
fall, not upon business itself, to its
confusion and interruption but upon
the individuals who use the instru
mentalities of business to do things
| which public policy and sound bust
| ness practice condemn.
/ Every act of business is done OF
the command or upon the initiative of
some ascertdinable person or group OF
persons. These should be held indl-
viduaily responsible. and the punish
ment should fall upon them not upon
the business organization of which
they make Illegal use.
TT should be one Of the main OBJ
jects Of our legislation to divest such
] C hat T.. oil I
deal with them as with those who do
not represent their corporations, but
merely by deliberate intention break
the law. Business men the country
through would, | am sure, applaud us
II we were to take effeCtual steps q
see that the officers and directors OF
great bodies We're prevented from
bringing them and the business of the
country into disrepute and danger,
Menace of Stockholdine.
"Other questions remain which will
need very thoughtful and practical
treatment. Enterprises In these mod
ern days Of great individual fortunes
are oftentimes interloCked not by be-
ing under the control of the same di-
reCtors, but by the fact that the great
er part of their corporate stock Is
owned by single person or group ot
persons who are in some way init
mateiN related IN interest. we are
agreed, | take il. that holding comma =
MES should be prohibited, but what
of the controlling private owenersdlr
of individuals or actually cooperative
groups of individuals? Shall the pr-
waite owners of capital stock be SUI
fered to be themselves in effect hold
Ing companies? We do not wish,
suppose, to forbid the purchase OF
stocks by any person who pleases t.
buy them in such quantities as Id
can afford, in any way arbitrarily e
limit the sale of stocks to bona fl Il
purchasers.
shall we require the owners OF
stock, when their voting power III
several companies which ought to DC
independent of one another would
constitute actual control. TO make
election in which OF them will eXer-
else their right TO vote? This ques-
ton | venture for your consideration
Redress for Trust Victims.
There is another matter in which
imperative consideration Of justice
and fair play suggests 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