The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1946-01-25
Enterprise
CONTINUED from Page One)

records. I'VE do not give such il
formation even to our stockholders
General Motors is chartered under tn
laws of Delaware, state PRACTICAL
controlled, both politically and indu!
trially by the Du Pont family. Tim
magazine recently made an investigs
ton of GINS charter and found tina
it contains the following clause: N
stakeholder shall have any right t
inspect any account, book or documen
of the corporation, except as coferre
by statute or authorized by the boar
of directors or by a resolution of tn
stockholders" Time further state
that this provision may be found il
the charters of most large corpora
lions which number their stakeholder
in the hundreds of thousands" &C
M. reports show that it has about 426,
900 stockholders). If any of you read
ers own stock in General Motors, Unit
ed States Steel, or any other of the
| big fellows, try to get a loock at theil
records and see what happens. They
use your money, let you have the
crumbs when the cake is cut and SEND
financial statement which may, OF
may not contain all the truth. The
contemptuous phrase "The public be
damned" attributed to Commodore
Vanderbilt, is not used by manage
ment now; it's actions however mean
just that.
Americas free press" 95 per cent
controlled by free enterprise" shrieks
daily about governmental waste; and
there is no doubt some reason for this
complaint But big business also has
waste. It pays unreasonable salaries
and extravagant bonuses and keeps
useless relatives on the payrolls. These
cost the public, the consumer, and the
stockholders heavily. Of course the
hundreds of millions spent in subsi-
dizing the press by needless advertis-
ing; the maintenance of expensive
Hobbies at Washington and the state
capitols is not waste
Speaking of unreasonable salaries,
c. E. Wilson, president of General
MOIOIS uldWo QOWI PtOJ IlOuSduQ
year and five other executives of that
corporation are paid from 100000 to
more than $356,000 Mr. Wilson's sal
airy is more than six times that of
the president of the United States.
Moreover, if Wilson put in eight hours
a day, 80 days year, his salary
would be at the rate of $1S5 per hour,
or more than is paid to 1852 company
employees. Every dollar paid to Of
ficials of corporation for salary or
bonus in excess of his worth to the
stockholders, is money wrongfully TAX
en- from the widows and orphans"
over whom so many crocodile tears
have been shed by defenders of the
system Maybe you do not own stock
in any corporation and consequently
feel that it is nothing to you how they
spend their earnings. If you deposit
money in bank or pay premiums on
an insurance policy you have an in
terest, whether you know it or not.
Banks and insurance companies invest
your money in the stocks and bonds
of these concerns, and the big banks
of New York, Boston and elsewhere
have representation on the boards of
directors. OF course that is perfectly
legal. 1t is also legal. and good bust
ness. See?
Without any semblance of control
for nearly 100 years, business en-
Lerprise" went merrily on it's way,
lighting for control over our nations
natural resources, its money and its
wrecking and wasting as
t went.
Financial crises followed on each
others HEELS business depressionB
)anics, and suffering amongst the
poor, came with quick and devastat-
ng regularity. But the successful
built mansions that cost
Millions of dollars, cornered the
worlds finest art, and married their
worthless daughters to even more |
worthless princes, dukes, counts and
lo-accounts; any man who could bring
| title into the family.
At the same time, these plutocrats |
ought with all their power to prevent |
he enactment of legislation that |
would curb their devilish aims. They |
bought elections, they bribed judges,
and state legislators,
hey even secured egislation-much
# it-legalizing their stealing. The
Misery they brought upon the great
mass of the people can be described |
n the words of a convention Of farm
rs and workers held in Cleveland,
ohio, in 1878, from which | now quote:
Throughout our entire country the
alue of real estate is deprecated, I'M
aralleled distress inflicted upon the
oorer and middle classes, the land
illed with fraud, ENLIGHTENMENT, bank
uptcy, crime, suffering pauperism
nd starvation This state of things
las been brought about by legisla-
ion in the interest of, and dictated
" money-lenders, bankers and bond