Americus times-recorder., 1915-04-29
DIXIE IS FACING A
RECONSTRUCTION
LIKE DAYS AFTER
WAR
GEORGE w. PERKINS TELLS THE
SOUTHERN COMMERCIAL CON.
GRESS THAT THE SOUTH OF
HTNR YGRADY HAS GIVEN WAY
TO THE SOUTH OF THOMAS Ed
ISON
(By Associated Press.)


tariff and the Sherman antitrust law
are the greatest asset of our politicians
and the greatest liability of our merch-
ants" declared George W. Perkins, of
New York, before the Southern Com
mercial Congress today. He spoke on
"The New South and the New World
and discussed what he called another
great reconstruction period when the
New South is no longer that of Henry
Grady's Day but of Thomas Edison's
day, with its problems no longer Sec
tional but national and international
Mr.. Perkins declared that laws are
such now that no man can find out
what he can legally do in business.
mo lawyer, court, or President can
tell him." he said, "and while his
transactions may be proper, morally
and financially, the laws are so vague
that one government official can take
one position and another government
official exactly the opposite position
and the'courts can do and are doing
precisely the same thing. New enter
prises, new undertakings, that mean so
much to any country, and general
business cannot and will not be start
ed until this uncertainty is removed.
We are told the Clayton law will fac
ilitate business. 1t might better be
called the Muddle Law, for the only
business it will facilitate is the busi-
ness for lawyers"
The drafters of the Sherman law"
he said, failed to diagnose the situa-
tion correctly. They saw new evils
creeping into the business world AMI
instead of striking at those evils they
tried by man-made laws to wipe out
God-given economics. The law should
have supplemented the common law 50
as to make it criminal to issue water
ed stock, or to issue false annual
statements; should have required fed
eral incorporation with the fullest
publicity and strict government regu-
lation in the case of large interests
and international industrial companies
where ownership is widespread"
All the bills proposing tariff boards
and tariff commissions, Mr.. Perkins
said, fail to provide for sufficient lati-
tude and power. He said. such a body
should be non-partisan, with ample
authority and facilities to deal with
the subject Gin a big way" He said it
should be a sort of tariff court to
which people of any industry may at
any time apply and which may take
steps to have Congress act promptly
where injustice has been found and
relief shown necessary. Congress, he
said, should delegate to it, general su-
pervision of preparation of tariff
schedules and be guided by its expert
advice.
"Crowding the tariff hard for first
place as trump card for politicians"
he added, has been the hulabaloo
kept up all over our land for 20 years
over the Sherman law. What has
come of it all? Many political joobs,
business failures, innumerable lost
business opportunities. For years bus
mess in this country has been the
football of politics and politicians. All
of you are responsible because you let
politics go hang"
Saying he had no brief for the Stan
dard Oil Company, he suggested that
while it may have done any number o.
things wrongful, it had been a phe-
nomenal commercial success and the
government might have tried the ex-
pertinent Of regulating and controlling
it, He said mo question ever has been
al Don't Feel Good"
That is what a lot of people tell us.
Usually their bowels only need cleansing.
~~~~f1f9 (0%IaN9iAA