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The Commoner.
VOLUME 10, NUMBER If
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The Commoner. Genesis of the Taft National Incorporation Bill
ISSUED WEEKLY.
Entered at tho PoBtofllco r.t Lincoln, Nebraska,
ao nccond-claBH matter.
William J. Hhvan
Killtnr nntl l'joprlctor
lUaiAuu U Mktcai.hk
Auoclulo Killtor
ClIAIU.KS W. NllYAN
Publisher
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THE COMMONER, Lincoln, Nob.
MR. DALZELL DISCONSOLATE
Mr. Dalzoll, ono of Speaker Cannon's lieu
tenants la disconsolate. Ho Is also mad. Com
menting on tho rocent republican convention In
Indiana, Mr. Dalzoll says: "I can't see how any
solf-rospoctlng republican can vote for a single
candldato on tho Doverldgo ticket in Indiana;
It is not a republican ticket. His platform is a
Doverldgo platform and not a republican plat
form. I bollovo now that tho democrats will
carry Indiana. I bollovo that tho now Indiana
legislature will bo democratic and that a real
democrat will bo sont to tho United States sen
ate in placo of Boverldge."
Of course republicans and all good citizens
of Indiana should vote tho democratic ticket in
order that "a real democrat may be sent to the
United States senate in placo of Boveridge."
Thoy should do this on general principles but
oven If there aro some who do it merely on Mr
Dalzoll's advlco thoy will bo serving their coun
try and thoir state.
In truth thoy will also bo serving thoir party
for tho best sorvlco that may bo rendered tho
republican party today is to turn it out of
power -boforo it is wholly lost to tho considera
tion of self-respecting men.
STATESMAN AND DEMAGOGUE
According to tho dictionary used by tho bene
ficiaries of privilege, ho only is a stateman whose
ear is tuned to catch tho slightest pulsations of
a pocket book, while ho is a demagogue who
dares to listen to tho heart-beat of humanity
Tho Commoner, January 7, 1910.
Tis tho same old story, tho same old cry
and tho same old tactics, too; while blood is
cheap, and mammon high, humanity's annals
through. Tho tribune who stood for tho Roman
mass, they likened him to a braying ass, did tho
hireling tools of tho "higher class"tho tools of
tho preying few.
And there came a time when a Lowly Man
from a village in Galileo, was hounded and
mobbed by tho ruling clan of tho scribe and tho
Pharisee. But tho good old Book proclaims tho
word that the while the rulers' wrath was
stirred, by the common folk Ho was gladly
heardfor Ho spake for you and mo
Then on with tho fight for the common weal
though the foe be great and strong; today de
feat 'neath th' oppressors' heel-tomorrow' our
triumph song. Nor fear to be called a doma
goguo by those who would fain the facts befoc
turn another page in tho good ship's loci,
you're a statesman truo ore long g
MONTGOMERY MORLAND.
From the Wall Street Journal, Friday, Feb
ruary 11, 1910:
Two years ago, on February 7, Georgo W.
Perkins read an address in the Columbia Uni
versity lecture course of that winter which,
received less attention than it deserved. And
it is a curious coincidence that exactly two years
afterwards, to the very day, the administration's
federal incorporation bill was Introduced into
both houses of congress. What Mr. Perkins, in
February, 1908, advocated and expounded, Presi
dent Taft and his administration have, so far
as tho general principle was concerned, warmly
recommended to congress. And so it is a singu
lar feature of this agitation by means of which
there is hope of relief from certain features
of the Sherman anti-trust law, that one of tho
great minds occupied in the construction of
great combinations, like that of the International
Harvester and the United States Steel corpora
tion, should now find that what he recommend
ed two years ago is advocated by the president
and his administration, and has been whipped
into tho formality of legal and legislative phra
seology by Attorney General Wickersham.
It may be that Mr. Perkins finds some occa
sion for criticism of certain of the details of the
federal incorporation bill; and it is observed
that the chairman of the board of directors of
the United States Steel corporation, Judge Gary,
speaks in approval of its general principle, still
withholding complete commendation until there
can be assurances that the bill, if it becomes
a law, will furnish practicable remedies.
Of course, it is recognized here and has at
Washington, that if some of the master minds
of tho greater corporations and combinations
speak in approval of the principle of the incor
poration bill, then the likelihood is that there
may be accusation that these minds may dis
cover in it legalized opportunity to continue as
they have continued, except that the eye of the
federal administration will be upon them.
Still, it is regarded as a' reasonable answer
to that doubt that the attorney general framed
the measure, that the president has studied it
and has given it his approval.
In all probability, the men of large affairs,
who are sincerely and not with any falsehood at
heart, seeking some way by which reasonable
combination that is, combination not injurious
to public interest may be made legal, would
prefer that the supreme court should so interpret
the Sherman anti-trust law as to declare it is
in effect nothing more than a specific enuncia
tion of the common law which prohibits such
agreements or combinations as tend to or actu
ally do work injury to the public. Were there
an interpretation of that kind, there would prob
ably be no necessity for an incorporation law.
Moreover, such a measure as President Taft
now approves will, if it becomes a law, be in
danger of frequent testing through appeal to
tho courts, whereas a judicial interpretation by
tho supreme court would not. Such an inter
pretation, the great corporation managers say
and President Taft has also intimated of late
to his callers, would permit the business of the
United States now carried on through incor
porations not only to know where it stands ex
actly, but that it can maintain combinations of
capital without violating the law.
Mr. Perkins, intimated that one reason why
federal incorporation would be desirable, would
be the relief from the various statutory exac
tions of the states of the union. But he em
phasized what all business men have said that
federal supervision and regulation should be
placed in the hands of men who are not crea
tures of political favoritism, but who have ex-
SfetZ'tiJaHtym0nt' abiUty and a Perfect sensQ
This is also the view taken by the nresidenr
of the New York Central, Mr. Brown, than
whom there is no stronger supporter of gov
ernmental supervision of public utilities cor
porations in the United States. Recently Presi
dent Brown, speaking to a friend, said that
already it has been discovered that the public
utilities commissions of New York state are not
only of benefit to tho people, but .of real benefit
to the corporations which under the law tw
have the power to supervise. And in his view
the brief experience we have already had with
our public utilities commissions makes it clear
that in duo time, in case these bodies do nof
hfnfft ? UaidS f th0 Politicians ,?hfy will
bo of the highest services, not only to the cor
porations, but to the people. r
In Mr. Perkins' Columbia University address
he spoke carefully upon one subject upon which
in private he has. spoken enthusiastically, it
seemed to him that it is not only within the
power of the people, through theii representa
tives at Washington to create a very competent
body of railroad and corporation control, but
that in that creation tho people will find them
selves best served, as well as the corporation.
Mr. Perkins is of the opinion that if to such gov
ernmental bodies there be brought men of ex
pert knowledge, high character, free from all
political or partisan influence, then in due time
these bodies will be regarded as furnishing an
appropriate, highly dignified, and distinguishing
claims of careers of great achievements. Mr.
Perkins thinks that if this idea' be well worked
out, then it would ultimately be regarded as
high an honor relatively to serve for life or for a
long term of years upon a body of this kind as
lawyers regard, the supreme bench as the climax
of a professional career.
The feeling here is that there are some de
tails in the bill as at present worded which
must be eliminated or modified if the measure
is to be practicable. It looks as though the bill
intended that there should be nothing in the
way of holding companies, but that the great
corporations should buy outright subsidiary cor
porations, and completely assimilate and absorb
them.
Practical Tariff Talks
A glittering example of the follies of the tariff
makers may be found by an examination of the
schedule relating to burlap cloth. A number
of years ago, some twenty of them, it was con
ceived that the business" of manufacturing this
cloth might be transferred from India tp
America by putting a heavy duty on 'the import
ed stuff. For -twenty years the consumers in
this country have been compelled to pay this
duty, and today there is no manufacture worth
mentioning. Instead India continues to make
the cloth and upon this necessity the consumer
has been paying a stiff tax. Burlap cloth, or
rather the bags which American factories make
from it, is used very largely by flour millers,
by grain, sugar, cottonseed meal and fertilizer
dealers. A tax on them is, therefore, plainly
a tax on a necessity transferred bodily to the
consumer. The opinion of practically all men
in the business is that the fact that the raw
material, jute, comes only from the vicinity of
Calcutta, makes it not only unprofitable but
unsafe as an investment, since the country that
controls a raw material can always use an ex
port tax to destroy a business located elsewhere
and dependent upon this material for existence.
It is a remarkable fact, quite apropos here,
that even with raw cotton at our doors three
fifths of our great cotton crop is shipped to for
eign countries hunting for cheap labor to make
it into goods. Part of this comes back into this
country, paying freight and heavy duties, to
??w etenSUCCoSSfully with our own high priced
labor. Only 2 per cent of the cotton goods re
SfnSJrK th cotton importing countries is man
ufactured and exported by us. With this being
the case it can be easily figured out what would
rawTte rZY WOUld S
raw jute from a country where the cheapest sort
make intob?nwdS f?F Ur -Priced labor to
toake into low-grade goods like burlan cloth
JfAPff Ver SOMOO.OOO square ySrds of bu
APth r1 7 iraPrted io the United States,
contain fertile Taed for the baSa which
Si nr. S? li 6Xi PUUy aild St0 fOOdS. The
tax on this third was $1,600,000, directlv naid
by the farmer, planter and stock raiser The
Sd ftVTiSr0! tUiS Clth Ws over W.000.000,
and the tariff tax amounted to 19 ner cent to
duced from 22.91 nercenf to ??i,duty "In
substantial rfe1 MST
to f?-maLVa"dbay'0the IT mad th8
of the United I q!?i, , T1ttan ana reed truBt
Sicreased so that o' ESS'l!" "" tarlff
of 600 por oenf wo? asked pSSV ProteotIOI
the Dutch East Mies and cyl S om
of automatic machine iTyC ; ,By tne UBa
This baric taiaSlr8S ? SpUt ott-
taritt 'as VTtlVt &
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