CHAPTER XVII. CORPORATIONS. "Work, work, work ; My labor never flags; And what are its wages? A bed of straw, That shattered roof, and this naked floor, And a wall so blank my shadow I thank "A CORPORATION is a civil institution, or, as it is sometimes termed, a body politic,' the essential character of which is that it has a legal existence as a person under the name given it by legislative authority, either by express charter or by prescription which implies a charter."-American Cyclopedia. Corporations for the aggregation and accumulation of wealth are of comparatively modern origin. Recent writers on political economy seem to turn their attention to the consideration of the most effective methods of concentrating wealth and accumulating large capital for the production of wealth as the leading object of government; and corporations are the most efficient instrumentalities for that purpose. A corporation has a legal existence as a per son. While the rights of a person are limited to his natural life, and he is restrained by conscientious considerations and social dependencies, corporations are renewed in their existence, and having no obligations to society, they are free to act solely in the interests for which they are created, therefore relentless in their greed and despotic in their rule. "The king of England lives forever. He passes through many forms, but he does not die. He is a great conquerer, a great warrior, a vain and arrogant woman, a fop, a libertine, an idiot, a statesman, sage, and soldier, a fierce and cruel tyrant, a stupid beer-drinker, a sober matron; but all the time king. "So a corporation lives forever. It is even worse than a king, for it has no human feeling or emotion. Its motive power is profit, and its only inspiration is avarice. The corporation is a greater menace than noble or king." It is a law of nature that the greater attracts the less. All bodies attract directly in proportion to their quantity of matter. The principle holds good in political economy. A number of natural persons, having their natural rights recognized by law, associate into a body politic for some financial or industrial enterprise, combine their capital, and become a power much greater than their dissociate powers, which, however, remain intact. A corporation, having been formed for a special purpose, is bound to its accomplishment; for that, it exists. A power is created by law, vesting in individuals rights in addition to their natural rights. Here is a disturbance of political equilibrium, and the whole fabric is affected. These combine, and thus the power of vested rights gains the ascendency, and a few control the many. Sometimes a single individual becomes a "body politic," having previously associated himself with others and gained a foothold by indomitable energy and deep forethought, outstripes his fellows in the race and gains a supreme control. How nearly this condition of things is reached may be seen in the person of Jay Gould. Another instance is William Vanderbilt, who within the year has accumulated $20,000,000. The fact that not one cent of this vast sum was earned or produced by him will assist in realizing the gross outrage this is upon labor, and how destructive to a free government such a vast power becomes. It is a general opinion that corporations are necessary for carrying on great enterprises requiring immense outlay of capital. It must be remembered that in public enterprises all are equally interested, and a fund should be furnished from the public treasury to carry on these enterprises, and conducted by the respective jurisdictions for which they were intended; then all would be equal recipients in its benefits. Thus a highway or bridge, the improvement of a navigable stream, a canal or the building of a railway or telegraph line, should be carried on for the benefit of the township, county, state, or general government, according to the convenience and requirements of each. The canal system of the State of New York affords demonstrable proof of the practicability of state corporations. "De Witt Clinton broke with his own hand the ground in the beginning of the enterprise (the Erie Canal), July 4, 1817; and overcoming constant, unremitting, and factious resistance, he had the felicity of being borne, in October, 1825, in a barge on the artificial river which he seemed to all to have constructed from Lake Erie to the bay of New York, while bells were ringing and cannons saluted him at every stage of the imposing progress. No sooner had that great work been undertaken, in 1817, than the population of the State began to swell with augmentation from other States and from abroad; prosperity became universal; old towns and cities expanded, and new cities rose and multiplied; agriculture, manufacture, and commerce quickened in their movements, and wealth flowed in upon the State from all directions.”. American Cyclopedia. The New York State canals have an aggregate length of 886 miles. "The gross earnings of these canals for the four years from September 30, 1860, to 1864 was $17,722,384. After paying the expenses of superintendence and ordinary repairs for the same period, the net balance of surplus revenue was $14,442,408." -Ibid. This is an income to the State of $3,610,602 a year, and shows how much could be saved to the people if the government conducted all public enterprises. "De Witt Clinton had the good fortune to mature the system of finance which enabled the State, unconscious of expense or care, to begin and carry out his policy of internal improvement."—American Cyclopedia. How much of wise political economy is expressed in this brief statement! The rapid increase of population, the universal prosperity, the multiplicity of towns and cities, the quickening of industries and the increase of wealth, the wisdom and efficiency of their management, and the financial measures, "unconscious of expense or care," in this vast and magnificent enterprise carried on by a State corporation. Why do not other statesmen arise and put into practice what is here so clearly demonstated? Corporate greed rules the nation, and a score of De Witt |