Evening star., 1939-07-25
0'kahoney Sees Rise
In Business IfU. :.
Curbs Monopo|ies
Head Of Committee
Reviews Progress Of
Investigation


Wyoming discussed the work of the
Monopoly Committee, which he
heads, in radio address last night
on the National Radio Forum, ar
ranged by The Star and broadcast
by the National Broadcasting Co.
The text of his address follows:
One year ago when the manage
ment of The Washington Star in
vited me to talk on the National
Radio Forum on the work of the
Temporary National Economic Com
mittee, which had then just come
into existence, it was freely pre-
dicted that this committee would in
dulge in a far-reaching punitive
probe of business. So general were
these predictions that I took occa-
sion in my broadcast on the evening
of July II, 1888, to say:
Though this has been called a
monopoly investigation and a mo-
nopoly probe, it is definitely not to be
thought of as grand jury hunt for
law violators. 1t is rather to be q
careful, serious, objective and con-
structive study of the causes which
have brought about the concentra-
ton of economic power, the exist
ence of which has been so generally
recognized"
Tonight as I come back to you to
discuss the preliminary report of
this committee, filed with the Presi-
dent and with both houses of Con-
gress last Monday, am glad to be
able to say that my predictions of
last year have been justified: That
the committee has not looked for
victims, that it has studiously
avoided doing anything that might
disturb business and that it has
confined itself to an objective search
for the answer to the economic oues-
ton which is everywhere disturbing
mankind.
Faith in Democratic System.
The preliminary report now avail
able to Congress and to the public,
does not, of course. supply the an
swer sought by all. Nor does it
foreshadoW the final recommended
tions which may be submitted to the
next regular session of Congress. 1t
does, however, clearly enunciate the
faith of the committee in the demo-
cratic system of private property:
Private enterprise, the profit mo-
tive, the free utilization of capital,
the full employment of labor-the
maintenance of these" says the re-
port, lis the objective of the study"
which the committee has under,
taken.
A vast amount of material some
of it in the files of the Government.
some of it supplied by business, has
been examined and analysed A por-
ton Of it was presented at public
hearings through the answers given
by wide range of witnesses to the
questions propounded by the men,
bers of the committee and its staff.
1t would be quite impossible in a
broadcast of 20 minutes to give an
adequate summary of this evidence
Those who are interested in the de-
tails of the hearings may procure
printed copies from the superin-
tendent of documents at the Gov
ernment Printing Office here in
Washington, or from the committee
itself. For this evenings purposes
it will be sufficient to point out
only few of the high lights which
are reviewed in the report. For
example:
Less than 3 per cent of all of the
families in the United States have
annual incomes of $1,000, or more.
Scarcely 10 per cent of all of the
families in the United States have
annual incomes ranging from 5000
down to $2,50O.
At the other end of the scale. 81
per cent of all of the families in the
United States have annual incomes
of $3.50, or less.
Employment Distribution.
Comparable to this distribution of
family income is the distribution of
employment. Concerns which en-
ploy more than $50 workers each.
though they constitute only about
per cent of all the employers in the
country, employ one-half of all the
workers, while so per cent of all
employers hire only per cent of
all the workers.
Hand in hand with this concen-
tration of the opportunities for in
dustrial employment goes a concen-
tration Of industrial assets. The
evidence presented to the committee
shows that less than one half of
per cent of all the corporations in
the United States own 81 per cent
of the total assets of all corporations,
while SIS per cent of the corpora
tions, with assets of $4,000 or less
each, own only IA per cent of all
corporate assets.
Concentration has also appeared
in the financial field. The Is larg-
est legal reserve life insurance COM
panies own 81 per cent of all the
assets of all the legal reserve life
insurance companies Sixteen of
these companies own 80 per cent of
all the assets and the five largest
own 81 per cent. Sixteen with home
Offices in New York or New England
own "a per cent of all the assets of
all companies.
What this means in terms of con-
centrated control of the national
capital reservoir is to be illustrated
by the fact that the 40 largest of
these companies, on December 81,
1888, owned II per cent of the direct
and guaranteed debt of the Govern
ment of the United States, almost 10
per cent of the debt of all States,
cities and political subdivisions of
the United States; 229 per cent of
all railroad bonds, % per cent OF
the entire public utility debt, IS
per cent of the entire industrial debt.
II per cent of all farm mortgages
and IA per cent of all city mortgages.
These resources were contributed
by 64,000,0O0 policyholders. They
represent, it is true, a fund held in
trust by the insurance companies
which are managed in accordance
with State law and under public
examination by State authority.
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