The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1916-08-11
Publicity Needed
'ditor Pennington Times =

Judging from the complaints ema
mating from authoritative sources
some of the corporations of the Leat
Belt have failed or neglected to eff
feet or practice ordinary economy. Il
those complaints be true, they have
been managed inefficiently and they
are at present managed by officials
with no other interest in them thar
that of dividends, and the profits de.
rived therefrom. have frequently been
diverted from the stockholders to the
| pockets of an inside ring. Some OF
those corporations have shirked the
publicity even which they owed to the
public and in some instances they
have shown a hostility to the work
ingman and to labor organizations
as short-sighted as their business
management. The old idea that a
mans business is nobody else's bust
ness has been long since exploded,
by the organization of gigantic cor
porations, the business of which vi
tally effects the welfore of every man
in the community. The fullest light
should be thrown upon the combina-
tons, and the people shoupld be made
thoroughly acquainted with their
anatomy and physiology. Not only
the amount and method of capitali-
cation, the disposition of funds, the
cost Of production, the amount of
railroad charges, the rates of wages,
but every other fact connected with
the management of the business in
any of its details should be perfectly
clear and manifest. The right of any
stakeholder at any time to inspect any
and all of the books of corporation,
or those of any of their constituent
companies should be established so
clearly that a stakeholder would not
be compelled to institute mandamus
proceedings in court in order to OBJ
tain the privilege of inspecting the
books and business methods of said
corporation. So long as the people
know what is happening within these
huge corporations, to which they con-
tribute their savings and devote their
labor; so long as they may inform
themselves upon each and every ac-
ton taken by them, they need fear no
great evils or at least they may be as
sured of knowing how to correct them
when they become apparent. The
people Of the United States should in
sist upon the fullest publicity being
given to each and every act Of each
and every corporation to the end that
the interest of the stockholders and
OF the wage earners may be safe
guarded. 1t appears that Mr.. Robert
Holmes, large stockholder of Bonnie
Terre-Doe Run lead corporations, has
had bit of difficulty in securing pos
session of the books of those corpor-
atoms for the purpose of inspection
His every demand for inspection has
been met by a stern refusal by those
in charge of the books and records of
those corporations, but Robert Holmes,
the astute and keen business man that
he is, knows his rights and how to
secure and protect them, meets their
refusals by mandamus proceedings
against the officers in charge Of the
books and records of those corpora
tons to compel them to allow him, as
a stakeholder, to inspect the said books
and records. There is one thing that
we are convinced of: that Robert
Holmes is not "quitter." No, none
of the stuff that cutters are made of
enters into the make up of Robert
Holmes, and he will continue his bat
tie against inefficiency and misman-
sgement until success crowns his eff
forts. Right may be smothered for
time but it will out. truth, crushed
to earth, will rise again. The eter-
nal wears of God are hers" A. 2.