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

holders" Does that remind you OF
conditions in 1931-32-33? Those were
the good old days" for which some
people sigh today. Those were days
when Vanderbilt could say 1.-THE pub
lie be damned" and J. P Morgan the
elder could tell the public that my
business is none of the public's bust
ness" and get away with it. So, to
day, General Motors management tells
the government, the public and its
employees that they are not to be al
lowed to find out how it does bust.
ness. How different are they from
Vanderbilt and Morgan? The only
difference, as l see it, is that they are
not so coarse in manners.
The old time financial pirates spent
time and money to prevent legislation
distasteful to them. How does the
modern financier differ from the 9TH
er kind?
When did those who did not like a
piece of legislation affecting the con-
troll of property and the benefits ac-
cruing from such control, notwith-
standing its value to the public at
large, desist from efforts to make such
legislation useless? Not yet, that I'VE
heard Of
Proponents and beneficiaries of
free enterprise" have at all times in
the past, arrogantly repudiated every
effort at social reform and backed up
Nv snl,
control to the extent of perhaps 95
per cent, have clamored that pattern
alistic legislation" that is any legis.
lation in the interest of the general
public, would wreck the American peo-
pies sturdy individualism" These
same magnates conveniently forget
that monopolistic combinations have
crushed economic individualism, at
the same time accepting "paternalistic
legislation" favorable to their own in
terests. These same people who talk
rugged individualism" seem always
to live softly themselves. While adj
vocating life in "the raw" to make
people sturdy; they take none of it
to themselves. For example; they
were Mortified at the idea of a tax on
the effect of which at
worst would be to give their own sons
a chance to be rugged individualists
Free enterprisel What freedom
does it want that it does not now DOS
sess? Does it want freedom to shoot
as it did at Carnegies Home
stead Steel plant; as it did at Rookie
feller's coal mines in Colorado? Does
it want to go back to the time when
It's thugs beat and gassed workers who
sought betterment of their semi
slavish conditions? Does it want free
1om to corrupt judges, and law-mak-
ing bodies by the rankest kind of brib- |
cry, as it did in the good old DAYS ?" |
Does free enterprise, as exemplified |
by big business today, wish to con-
.inue cheating its employees, its stock |
holders and the general public, by
,aying fabulous salaries and bonuses
o its officers? Quoting an AP article
n my Sunday paper: But corpora
ions never have been in a relatively
,ress-to battle labor to a showdown
md still not lose too much money
without turning wheel
Because of tax laws, concerns like
General Motors, United States Steel |
nd Westinghouse could remain idle
II through 1916 but draw millions in
efunds on taxes paid in wartime"
Ind of quote.
There are billions of tax money.
objected from excess (unearned) prof
is, income and other tax sources. all
t which our government sadly needs,
nut which it must hand back to the
reat corporations in the event they
all, for any reason, to make profit.
10 if they choose, they may keep fac
cries idle, while their employees use
p their savings, and starve after they
re gone.