Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1923-06-06
administration of the tools of indus

nant- private property Is assembled Iii
the hands Of the groups who control
the state that the Individual begins to
feel capital as an oppressOr Our
American demand for equality Of OPP
portunity is constant militant check
upon capital becoming thing to be
feared. Out of fear we sometimes even
go too far and stifie the reproductive
use Of capital by crushing the initia-
tive that makes for its creation.
Some discussion of the legal limita-
tons we have placed upon economic
domination is given later on, but it is
tent forces in our economic life that
are themselves providing their own
correction to domination.
The domination by arbitrary individ-
ual ownership is disappearing because
the works of today are steadily grow
ing more and more beyond the re-
sources of any one Individual, and
steadily taxation will reduce relatively
excessive individual accumulations.
The number of persons in partnership
through division Of ownership among
! many stockholders Is steadily increas-
ing-thus 100000 to 100000 partners in
, single concern are not uncommon.
The overwhelmingly largest portion of
our mobile capital Is that of our
banks, insurance companies. building
and loan associations, and the vast ma
jority of all this is the aggregated
small savings of our people. Thus
large capital Is steadily becoming more
and more mobilization Of the savings
Of the small holders-the actual people
themselves-and its administration be-
comes at once more sensitive to the
moral opinions Of the people in order
to attract their support. The directors
and managers of large concerns, them
selves employees of these great groups
Of individual stockholders, or policy
holders. reflect spirit Of community
responsibility.
Large masses of capital can only
find their market for service or produc-
ton to great numbers of the same
kind Of people that they employ and
they must, therefore. maintain conf
dence in their public responsibilities In
order to retain their customers. In
times when the products of manufac-
ture were mostly luxuries to the aver
age Of the people. the condition Of
their employees was Of no such inter.
est to their customers as when they
cater to employees In general. OF
this latter, no greater proofs need ex-
list than the efforts Of many large con.
Germs directly dependent upon puDllc
good will to restrain prices In scarcity
! and the very general desire to yield
measure Of service with the goods
, sold. Another phase Of this same de-
velOpment In administration Of capital
Is the growth Of sort Of institutional
sense In many large business enter.
prises. The encouragement Of solitlar>
ity In all grades Of their employees In
the common service and common sue
cess, the sense Of mutually with the
prosperity Of the community are both
vital developments in individualism.
There has been in the last thirty
years an extraordinary growth Of or
ganizations for advancement Of ideas
In the community for mutual cO-Opera-
ton and economic Objectives-the
chambers Of commerce, trade associa-
lions, labor unions. bankers, farmers,
propaganda associations, and what not
These are indeed variable mixtures of
altruism and self-interest. Neverthe-
less In these groups the individual finds
AL opportunity for self-expression and
participation in the molding Of ideas.
field for training and the stepping
stones for leadership.
The number Of leaders In local and
national life whose opportunity to
service and leadership came through
these associations has become now of
more Importance than those through
the direct lines Of political and reli-
gious organization.
At times these groups come into
sharp conflict and often enough charge
each other with crimes against public
interest They do contain faults; II
they develop into warning interests. If
they dominate legislators and intimi-
date public officials, If they are to be
new setting of tyranny, then they will
destroy the foundation of individual
ism. Our government will then drift
into the hands Of timorous mediocre
ties dominated by groups until we
shall become a syndicalist nation on a
gigantic scale. On the other hand,
each group Is a realization of greater
mutually of interest, each contains
some element Of public service and
each is II school Of public responsible
ty. In the main, the same forces that
permeate the nation at large eventually
permeate these groups. The sense of
service, a growing sense of RESPONSE
bility, and the sense Of constructive
opposition to domination. constantly
recall in them their responsibilities as
well as their privileges. In the end, no
group can dominate the nation and
few, Successes in imDOSing the will of