OCR Text |
Show CORPORATE LAWLESSNESS. It Is generally recognized, in e very part of the country, that the lawlessness lawless-ness of corporation is one of the most serious menaces to our Institutions that exists. The moves made In the financial finan-cial world In the name of "high finance" and the consolidation of various competing com-peting Interests are at time scarcely if at all to be distinguished from crimes. Thus, the New York Sun points out that "the gravest danger which threatens threat-ens this country and its Government is that which has Its origin In corporate dishonesty and the outrages commit te l in corporate management on the body corporate." The Wall Street Journal confesses to doubt of tho future of the country because be-cause of the prevalence of "a 'high finance' which Is so frequently shown to be merely low thievery, resorting to graft and deceit, doctoring tho books, falsifying Its statements, and even using the trust funds saved to widows and orphans to promote schemes of speculation and promotion." And further, fur-ther, "It is clear that the money question ques-tion of today is the wicked, odious and dangerous assault on wealth which Is being Inflnmed by the misdeeds of men who know how to acquire wealth, but who, having acquired It. have become corrupted and enslaved by It. and thus carrleel to gross excesses and crimes," In similar vein, the Bankers' Magazine, Maga-zine, reviewing the whole field, and admitting ad-mitting the advantages of the corporate form of association, shows that "s -rl-ous abuses have accompanied the growth of these organizations. Most men who have charge of corporations are like politician? they will do things In this capacity that as lndilduals they would not countenance. This is perhaps per-haps attributable to the lack of direct responsibility. Besides, the average stockholder of a large corporation takes no Interest in its affairs other than that th- dividend he receives shall be a itls-factory itls-factory And where the corporation has a monopoly, llttlo attention need be bestowed upon the quality ef the service or the character of the commodities com-modities supplied. This i? Illustrated by the poor service rendered by the transportation and lighting companies In some of the cities, but the public cannot apply any effective remedy " Under the illustration supplied i,y the last-quoted authority the Utah Light and Hallway Company Is strictly to be classified among the corporations which are outside the decent purview of the law. It unscrupulously uses Its monopoly monop-oly here to "bestow llttlo attention upon the quality of Its service, " and emphatically em-phatically does it "render poor service in transportation and lighting." It is strictly a law-breaking, law-defying corporation, patterning In Its operations opera-tions after the personal conduct and individual in-dividual relations to the community of Its notorious president, Joseph F. Smith, who Is also the chief hlerarch of the Mormon church. But the Bankers' Magazine, while In general right In saying that the public cannot apply huv eff. iiiv.- remedy, does not mean that the remedy cannot be applied in the framing of the franchise. It is only after the franchise has been granted, especially If It Is a long-time franchise, that the public Is unable to apply a remedy. This distinction Is Important Im-portant here, where this lawless monopolistic mo-nopolistic company Is now applying for a consolidation and extension of its franchises. It Is quite possible for the Council of this city to "apply an effective ef-fective remedy" here and now. And we believe that the members will do It. -Jbm. -m . The vote of the eight members of the Count II on Mondaj night gives the pub-He pub-He the liKht to hope that the proper remedy for the protection of tho city and of the public will be applied effectively, ef-fectively, and that at least one lawless corporation will be brought to time and Its lawlessne ss suppressed. |