Part 26
It has become more and more evident of late years that the State will have to act in its collective capacity as regards certain subjects which we have been accustomed to treat as matters affecting the private citizen only, and that furthermore, it must exercise an increasing and more rigorous control over other matters which it is not desirable that it should directly manage. It is neither possible nor desirable to lay down a general hard and fast rule as to what this control should be in all cases. There is no possible reason in pure logic why a city, for instance, should supply its inhabitants with water, and allow private companies to supply them with gas, any more than there is why the general government should take charge of the delivery of letters but not of telegrams. On the other hand, pure logic has a very restricted application to actual social and civic life, and there is no possible reason for changing from one system to the other simply because the change would make our political system in theory more symmetrical. Obviously it is undesirable that the government should do anything that private individuals could do with better results to the community. Everything that tends to deaden individual initiative is to be avoided, and unless in a given case there is some very evident gain which will flow from State or municipal ownership, it should not be adopted. On the other hand, when private ownership entails grave abuses, and where the work is of a kind that can be performed with efficiency by the State or municipality acting in its collective capacity, no theory or tradition should interfere with our making the change. There is grave danger in attempting to establish invariable rules; indeed it may be that each case will have to be determined upon its own merits. In one instance a private corporation may be able to do the work best. In another the State or city may do it best. In yet a third, it may be to the advantage of everybody to give free scope to the power of some individual captain of industry.
On one point there must be no step backward. There is a consensus of opinion that New York must own its own water supply. Any legislation permitting private ownership should be annulled.
Nothing needs closer attention, nothing deserves to be treated with more courage, caution and sanity, than the relations of the State to corporate wealth, and indeed to vast individual wealth. For almost every gain there is a penalty, and the great strides in the industrial upbuilding of the country, which have on the whole been attended with marked benefit, have also been attended by no little evil. Great fortunes are usually made under very complex conditions both of effort and of surrounding, and the mere fact of the complexity makes it difficult to deal with the new conditions thus created. The contrast offered in a highly specialized industrial community between the very rich and the very poor is exceedingly distressing, and while under normal conditions the acquirement of wealth by an individual is necessarily of great incidental benefit to the community as a whole, yet this is by no means always the case. In our great cities there is plainly in evidence much wealth contrasted with much poverty, and some of the wealth has been acquired, or is used, in a manner for which there is no moral justification.
A profound political and social thinker has recently written: “Wealth which is expended in multiplying and elaborating real comforts, or even in pleasures which produce enjoyment at all proportionate to their cost, will never excite serious indignation. It is the colossal waste of the means of human happiness in the most selfish and most vulgar forms of social advertisement and competition that gives a force to passions which menace the whole future of our civilization.” But in continuance this writer points out that the only effectual check lies in the law of public opinion. Any attempt to interfere by statute in moral questions of this kind, by fettering the freedom of individual action, would be injurious to a degree far greater than is the evil aimed at. Probably the large majority of the fortunes that now exist in this country have been amassed, not by injuring mankind, but as an incident to the conferring of great benefits on the community—whatever the conscious purpose of those amassing them may have been. The occasional wrongs committed or injuries endured are on the whole far outweighed by the mass of good which has resulted. The true questions to be asked are: Has any given individual been injured by the acquisition of wealth by any man? Were the rights of that individual, if they have been violated, insufficiently protected by law? If so, these rights, and all similar rights, ought to be guaranteed by additional legislation. The point to be aimed at is the protection of the individual against wrong, not the attempt to limit and hamper the acquisition and output of wealth.
It is almost equally dangerous either to blink evils and refuse to acknowledge their existence or to strike at them in a spirit of ignorant revenge, thereby doing far more harm than is remedied. The need can be met only by careful study of conditions, and by action which, while taken boldly and without hesitation, is neither heedless nor reckless. It is well to remember on the one hand that the adoption of what is reasonable in the demands of reformers is the surest way to prevent the adoption of what is unreasonable; and on the other hand that many of the worst and most dangerous laws which have been put upon the statute books have been put there by zealous reformers with excellent intentions.
This problem has a hundred phases. The relation of the capitalist and the wage-worker makes one; the proper attitude of the State toward extreme poverty another; the proper attitude of the State toward the questions of the ownership and running of so-called “public utilities,” a third. But among all these phases, the one which at this time has the greatest prominence is the question of what are commonly termed “trusts,” meaning by the name those vast combinations of capital, usually flourishing by virtue of some monopolistic element, which have become so startlingly common a feature in the industrial revolution which has progressed so rapidly during recent years.
Every new feature of this industrial revolution produces hardship because in its later stages it has been literally a revolution instead of an evolution. The new inventions and discoveries and the new methods of taking advantage of the business facilities afforded by the extraordinary development of our material civilization have caused the changes to proceed with such marvelous rapidity, that at each stage some body of workers finds itself unable to accommodate itself to the new conditions with sufficient speed to escape hardship. In the end the accommodation of the class takes place; at times too late for the well-being of many individuals. The change which would be unaccompanied by hardship if it came slowly, may be fraught with severe suffering if it comes too fast, even when it is in the end beneficial. Occasionally, moreover, the change is positively deleterious, and very often, even when it is on the whole beneficial, it has features which are the reverse. In some cases, while recognizing the evil, it is impossible with our present knowledge to discover any remedy. In others, a remedy can be applied, but as yet only at a cost that would make it worse than the trouble itself. In yet others it is possible, by acting with wisdom, coolness and fearlessness, to apply a remedy which will wholly or in great part remove the evil while leaving the good behind. We do not wish to discourage enterprise. We do not desire to destroy corporations; we do desire to put them fully at the service of the State and the people.
The machinery of modern business is so vast and complicated that great caution must be exercised in introducing radical changes for fear the unforeseen effects may take the shape of widespread disaster. Moreover, much that is complained about is not really the abuse so much as the inevitable development of our modern industrial life. We have moved far away from the old simple days when each community transacted almost all its work for itself and relied upon outsiders for but a fraction of the necessaries, and for not a very large portion even of the luxuries, of life. Very many of the anti-trust laws which have made their appearance on the statute books of recent years have been almost or absolutely ineffective because they have blinked the all-important fact that much of what they thought to do away with was incidental to modern industrial conditions, and could not be eliminated unless we were willing to turn back the wheels of modern progress by also eliminating the forces which had brought about these industrial conditions. Not only trusts, but the immense importance of machinery, the congestion of city life, the capacity to make large fortunes by speculative enterprises, and many other features of modern existence could be thoroughly changed by doing away with steam and electricity; but the most ardent denouncer of trusts would hesitate to advocate so drastic a remedy. What remains for us to do, as practical men, is to look the conditions squarely in the face and not to permit the emotional side of the question, which has its proper place, to blind us to the fact that there are other sides. We must set about finding out what the real abuses are, with their causes, and to what extent remedies can be applied.
That abuses exist, and that they are of a very grave character, it is worse than idle to deny. Just so long as in the business world unscrupulous cunning is allowed the free rein which, thanks to the growth of humanity during the past centuries, we now deny to unscrupulous physical force, then just so long there will be a field for the best effort of every honest social and civic reformer who is capable of feeling an impulse of generous indignation and who is far-sighted enough to appreciate where the real danger to the country lies. The effects are bad enough when the unscrupulous individual works by himself. They are much worse when he works in conjunction with his fellows through a giant corporation or trust. Law is largely crystallized custom, largely a mass of remedies which have been slowly evolved to meet the wrongs with which humanity has become thoroughly familiar. In a simple society only simple forms of wrong can be committed. There is neither the ability nor the opportunity to inflict others. A primitive people provides for the punishment of theft, assault and murder, because the conditions of the existing society allow the development of thieves and murderers and the commission of deeds of violence; but it does not provide for the punishment of forgery because there is nothing to forge, and therefore, no forgers. The gradual growth of humanitarian sentiment, often unconscious or but semi-conscious, combined with other causes, step by step emancipated the serf from bodily subjection to his over-lord; he was then protected in his freedom by statute; but when he became a factory hand the conditions were new and there were no laws which prevented the use of unguarded machinery in the factories, or the abuses of child labor, forced upon the conscientious employers by the unscrupulous until legislation put them on an equality. When new evils appear there is always at first difficulty in finding the proper remedy; and as the evils grow more complex, the remedies become increasingly difficult of application. There is no use whatever in seeking to apply a remedy blindly; yet this is just what has been done in reference to trusts.
Much of the legislation not only proposed but enacted against trusts is not one whit more intelligent than the mediæval bull against the comet, and has not been one particle more effective. Yet there can and must be courageous and effective remedial legislation.
To say that the present system of haphazard license and lack of supervision and regulation, is the best possible, is absurd. The men who endeavor to prevent the remedying of real abuses, not only show callous disregard for the suffering of others, but also weaken those who are anxious to prevent the adoption of indiscriminate would-be remedies which would subvert our whole industrial fabric. The chicanery and the dishonest, even though not technically illegal, methods through which some great fortunes have been made, are scandals to our civilization. The man who by swindling or wrongdoing acquires great wealth for himself at the expense of his fellow, stands as low morally as any predatory mediæval nobleman and is a more dangerous member of society. Any law, and any method of construing the law which will enable the community to punish him, either by taking away his wealth or by imprisonment, should be welcomed. Of course, such laws are even more needed in dealing with great corporations or trusts than with individuals. They are needed quite as much for the sake of honest corporations as for the sake of the public. The corporation that manages its affairs honestly has a right to demand protection against the dishonest corporation. We do not wish to put any burden on honest corporations. Neither do we wish to put an unnecessary burden of responsibility on enterprising men for acts which are immaterial; they should be relieved from such burdens, but held to a rigid financial accountability for acts that mislead the upright investor or stockholder, or defraud the public.
The first essential is knowledge of the facts, publicity. Much can be done at once by amendment of the corporation laws so as to provide for such publicity as will not work injustice as between business rivals.
The chief abuses alleged to arise from trusts are probably the following: Misrepresentation or concealment regarding material facts connected with the organization of an enterprise; the evils connected with unscrupulous promotion; overcapitalization; unfair competition, resulting in the crushing out of competitors who themselves do not act improperly; raising of prices above fair competitive rates; the wielding of increased power over the wage-earners. Of course none of these abuses may exist in a particular trust, but in many trusts, as well as in many corporations not ordinarily called trusts, one or more of them are evident. Some of these evils could be partially remedied by a modification of our corporation laws; here we can safely go along the lines of the more conservative New England States, and probably not a little farther. Such laws will themselves provide the needed publicity, and the needed circumstantiality of statement. We should know authoritatively whether stock represents actual value of plants, or whether it represents brands or good will; or if not, what it does represent, if anything. It is desirable to know how much was actually bought, how much was issued free; and to whom; and, if possible, for what reason. In the first place, this would be invaluable in preventing harm being done as among the stockholders, for many of the grossest wrongs that are perpetrated are those of promoters and organizers at the expense of the general public who are invited to take shares in business organizations. In the next place, this would enable us to see just what the public have a right to expect in the way of service and taxation. There is no reason whatever for refusing to tax a corporation because by its own acts it has created a burden of charges under which it staggers. The extravagant man who builds a needlessly large house nevertheless pays taxes on the house; and the corporation which has to pay great sums of interest owing to juggling transactions in the issue of stocks and bonds has just as little right to consideration. But very great hardship may result to innocent purchasers; and publicity by lessening the possibility of this would also serve the purpose of the State.
Where a trust becomes a monopoly the State has an immediate right to interfere. Care should be taken not to stifle enterprise or disclose any facts of a business that are essentially private; but the State for the protection of the public should exercise the right to inspect, to examine thoroughly all the workings of great corporations just as is now done with banks; and wherever the interests of the public demand it, it should publish the results of its examination. Then, if there are inordinate profits, competition or public sentiment will give the public the benefit in lowered prices; and if not, the power of taxation remains. It is therefore evident that publicity is the one sure and adequate remedy which we can now invoke. There may be other remedies, but what these others are we can only find out by publicity, as the result of investigation. The first requisite is knowledge, full and complete.
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FIRST ADMINISTRATION
INDEX
FIRST ADMINISTRATION
INDEX
A Achievement, cost of, 92
Adams, John Quincy, President, 12, 87, 745 quoted, 755 William, Rev., 45
Administration, qualities needed for, 352 requirements for a good, 5
Admiral of the Navy, 631
Agencies, Indian, reduction of, 595
Aggression by United States, no, 624
Agitation, ignorant, dangers of, 140
Agitators assist their own enemies, 541
Agricultural Association, New York State, 466 experiment stations, 128 prosperity, 251 questions, 438
Agriculture, Alaskan, 424 competition in, 563 Department of, 127, 249, 303, 305, 440, 557, 559, 681, 684 mining and, 437 work of, 303, 304, 557 work in, great, 557
Aguinaldian oligarchy, 65
Aguinaldo, Emilio, 317
Alabama, 511, 517
Alaska, 204, 243, 326, 328, 338, 393, 421, 638-639, 677-678 agriculture in, 424 boundaries of, 664-667 cable to, 678 coal-land laws in, 677 Congressional Committee in, 639 Delegate from, 639 Delegate from, a, 423 development of, 424-425, 677 Farming lands in, 677 fisheries in, 424, 677 Fisheries Commission in, 678 forests of, 638, 677 future of, 422, 428 gateway to, 428 hatcheries, salmon, 678 importance of, great, 426 Indians in, 678 interest in, 428 land laws of, 638, 677 land patents in, 678 laws on, 423, 638 light-houses in, 678 lumbering in, 424 mineral wealth of, 677 mines of, 424 mining interests in, 665 population of, future, 428 provisional boundary of, 665 purchase of, 422 railroads in, 678 resources of, 429, 638 revenue questions in, 665 roads and trails in, 678 salmon industry in, 424, 638, 678 settlers in, 425 stock-raising in, 677 transportation in, 425 Tribunal, appropriation for, 667
Alaskan Boundary Convention, 665 Boundary Tribunal, 665-666 Treaty, 1867, 664
Albany, New York, 758, 760, 770
Albuquerque, N. M., 368
Alcibiades, galleys of, the, 579
Alfalfa, cultivation of, 305
Alleghany Mountains, 202, 243, 338, 425, 453
Allotment Act, General, 594
Alma Mater, debt to one’s, 458
Alverstone, Lord, 665
America, business position of, 540 debt of, to soldiers, 14 debt of, to Virginia, 453 destiny of, 220 for all Americans, 18 future of, 186, 360, 471 glorious past of, 330 headship of, 297 importance of, growing, 86, 268 mercantile growth of, 393 not aggressive, 578 pre-eminence of, 213, 239 prosperity conditions in, 577 race strains in, 450 true ideals of, 380 united, proofs of, 19 unity of interests in, 373
American, the average, 157, 358, 472 blend of races, an, 450 character of average, 297 creed of the, 607 duty of each, 502 educational advantages, 406 fighting edge of, 487 Federation of Labor, 521 good, the, 136 government, genius of, 430, 434 heritage of valor, 452 humorist, an, quoted, 496 industries, market for, 297 influence, growth of, 395 Nation, founding of, 345 no physical defect in, 510 officer, typical, 589 primacy, 257 Republic, success of the, 287 seamen, 463 shipping, superiority of, 554 ships, need of, 554 spirit, 200, 487-488 steamship line, contract with, 656 true, ideals of the, 409 typical, McKinley a, 398 typical virtues of an, 398 Revolution, Sons of the, 36-39
Americanism, example of, 166 genuine, 124 meaning of, 38
Americans, union of, 168
Amnesty in Philippines, 96
Amusement, true ideal of, 453
Anarchists, Congress and, 535 dangerous criminals, 533 defenders of, 530 exclusion of, 549 Federal Courts and, 535 immigration of, 535 murderers and, 534 protected by law, 536 suppression of, 534
Anarchy, arguments for, foolish, 530 crime against humanity, 535 danger of, in Philippines, 569 despotism and, 534 encouraged by lynching, 527 forerunner of tyranny, 524 freedom and, 529-530 governmental, 17 mob violence a form of, 523 not social discontent, 533 triumph of, 534 war against, 17
Animosity, class and sectional, 619
Annapolis, Md., 38, 120, 412, 633 Naval Academy at, 581
Antagonism to industrial conditions, 538
Anthracite on the free list, 296, 617
Antietam, Md., 482 battle of, 482-488 battlefield of, 507
Antilles, Queen of the, 567
Anti-Rebate Law, 280
Anti-Trust Laws, 322, 649
Anti-Trust Laws, actions under, 283 appropriations for, 612, 660 enforcements of, 282, 284, 612 funds for enforcing, 280 ineffective, 781, 784 (See also Trusts, Corporations, Combinations, etc.)
Antung, China, 674
Appalachian Mountains, 255
Appointments, Civil Service, 680 fixed policy in, 518 merit system in, 591, 644 negro, defended, 516 negro, in South, 516 negro, fewness of, 512 policy in making, 514, 518 whites and negroes in, 511-512
Appomattox, battle of, 486
Appropriation Act (Feb. 25, 1903), 660
Appropriations, Anti-Trust Law, 612, 660 economy in, 654 fraud, 660-662
Arbitration, growth of, 662 international, triumph of, 669 International, Union, 672, 673 international, union for, 672 labor troubles and, 308 peace and, 622-623 The Hague Court of, 669
Architecture of the White House, 644
Arctic Brotherhood, the, 421
Arid lands, reclamation of, 679, 682 reservoirs in, 561 surveys in, 682 Western, 438
Arizona, 158, 362, 369 irrigation in, 370 land-reclamation in, 682
Arlington, D. C., 40, 56 Cemetery, 40 soldiers’ monument at, 53
Armaments, object of, 266
Armies as fighting machines, 492
Army, United States, the, 312, 487, 505, 584-590, 629-631 attacks on the, 313 attention deserved by, 10 camp sites for, 689 capacity demanded in, 587 commands in the, 629 constructive force, a, 590 criticisms of the, 61 debt to, public, 588 details in, four-year, 588 efficiency of the, 584, 588, 689 efforts for efficiency in, 587 elimination in, grade, 586 favorite subject of attack, 9 general staff law in, 689 grade elimination in, 586 increase of, not needed, 584 legislation on the, 319, 589 limits of, maximum and minimum, 588 manœuvre work in the, 629, 689 marksmanship in, 630 material in the, good, 629 merit sole rule in the, 586 minimum of the, 629 officers in, senior, 629 pay in, increased, 588 peace, an instrument of, 590 political influence in, 689 preference and seniority in, 586 promotions in, suggestions on, 689-690 reforms in, three prime, 588 regular, the, 319, 320, 492 Reorganization Act, 588 reorganization, benefits of, 589 senior grades in, men for, 586 seniority promotions in, 689 small size of the, 631-632 source of pride, a, 10 staff divisions in the, 588 staff of the, general, 585 standard of, high, 584 traducers of the, 313 training in the, 584, 587, 629 units of the, 584 volunteer, the, 492 wrongdoers in the, 494 Y. M. C. A. in the, 228 (See also under Soldiers, War, Philippines, etc.)
Army and Navy, the, 463 no politics in the, 209 pride in the, 492 value of the, 48-49
Arrogance, evils of, 472
Arthur, Chester A., President, 119
Artillery, chief of, 588 corps of, 588
Artificial powers, regulation of, 609 (See also under Trusts, Corporations, etc.)
Asia, cable to, need of, 573 trade with, 563
Asiatic barbarism in Philippines, 238 peoples and the Filipinos, 410
Associations, benefit of, 69 German, debt to, 452 good due to, 340
Athens, Ga., postmaster of, 515
Atlanta, Ga., surveyorship of, 515 “Constitution,” 518