第70章

Fromtherailroadratelawtothepurefoodlaw，everymeasureforhonestyinbusinessthathasbeenpressedduringthelastsixyears，hasbeenopposedbythesemen，onitspassageandinitsadministration，witheveryresourcethatbitterandunscrupulouscraftcouldsuggest，andthecommandofalmostunlimitedmoneysecure。Thesemendonotthemselvesspeakorwrite；theyhireotherstodotheirbidding。Theirspiritandpurposearemadeclearalikebytheeditorialsofthepapersownedin，orwhosepolicyisdictatedby，WallStreet，andbythespeechesofpublicmenwho，asSenators，Governors，orMayors，haveservedthesetheirmasterstothecostoftheplainpeople。Atonetimeoneoftheirwritersorspeakersattackstheratelawasthecauseofthepanic；heis，whetherinpubliclifeornot，usuallyaclevercorporationlawyer，andheisnotsofoolishabeingastobelieveinthetruthofwhathesays；hehastoocloselyrepresentedtherailroadsnottoknowwellthattheHepburnRateBillhashelpedeveryhonestrailroad，andhashurtonlytherailroadsthatregardedthemselvesasabovethelaw。Atanothertime，oneofthemassailstheAdministrationfornotimprisoningpeopleundertheShermanAnti-TrustLaw；fordecliningtomakewhathewellknows，inviewoftheactualattitudeofjuries(asshownintheTobaccoTrustcasesandinSanFranciscoinoneortwoofthecasesbroughtagainstcorruptbusinessmen)wouldhavebeenthefutileendeavortoimprisondefendantswhomweareactuallyabletofine。

Heraisestheusualclamor，raisedbyallwhoobjecttotheenforcementofthelaw，thatwearefiningcorporationsinsteadofputtingtheheadsofthecorporationsinjail；andhestatesthatthisdoesnotreallyharmthechiefoffenders。Werethisstatementtrue，hehimselfwouldnotbefoundattackingus。Theextraordinaryviolenceoftheassaultuponourpolicycontainedinspeecheslikethese，inthearticlesinthesubsidizedpress，insuchhugeadvertisementsandpamphletsasthoseabovereferredto，andtheenormoussumsofmoneyspentinthesevariousways，giveafairlyaccuratemeasureoftheangerandterrorwhichouractionshavecausedthecorruptmenofvastwealthtofeelintheverymarrowoftheirbeing。

Themanthusattackingusisusually，likesomanyofhisfellows，eitheragreatlawyer，orapaideditorwhotakeshiscommandsfromthefinanciersandhisargumentsfromtheirattorneys。Iftheformer，hehasdefendedmanymalefactors，andheknowswellthat，thankstotheadviceoflawyerslikehimself，acertainkindofmoderncorporationhasbeenturnedintoanadmirableinstrumentbywhichtorenderitwellnighimpossibletogetatthereallyguiltyman，sothatinmostcasestheonlywayofpunishingthewrongisbyfiningthecorporationorbyproceedingpersonallyagainstsomeoftheminoragents。Theselawyersandtheiremployersarethemenmainlyresponsibleforthisstateofthings，andtheirresponsibilityissharedwiththelegislatorswhoingeniouslyopposethepassingofjustandeffectivelaws，andwiththosejudgeswhoseoneaimseemstobetoconstruesuchlawssothattheycannotbeexecuted。Nothingissillierthanthisoutcryonbehalfofthe“innocentstockholders“inthecorporations。WearebesoughttopitytheStandardOilCompanyforafinerelativelyfarlessgreatthanthefineseverydayinflictedinthepolicecourtsuponmultitudesofpushcartpeddlersandotherpettyoffenders，whosewoesneverextortonewordfromthemenwhosewithersarewrungbythewoesofthemighty。Thestockholdershavethecontrolofthecorporationintheirownhands。Thecorporationofficialsareelectedbythoseholdingthemajorityofthestockandcankeepofficeonlybyhavingbehindthemthegood-willofthesemajoritystockholders。

Theyarenotentitledtotheslightestpityiftheydeliberatelychoosetoresignintothehandsofgreatwrongdoersthecontrolofthecorporationsinwhichtheyownthestock。Ofcourseinnocentpeoplehavebecomeinvolvedinthesebigcorporationsandsufferbecauseofthemisdeedsoftheircriminalassociates。Lettheseinnocentpeoplebecarefulnottoinvestincorporationswherethoseincontrolarenotmenofprobity，menwhorespectthelaws；

aboveallletthemavoidthemenwhomakeittheironeefforttoevadeordefythelaws。Butifthesehonestinnocentpeopleareinthemajorityinanycorporationtheycanimmediatelyresumecontrolandthrowoutofthedirectorythemenwhomisrepresentthem。DoesanymanforamomentsupposethatthemajoritystockholdersoftheStandardOilareothersthanMr。Rockefellerandhisassociatesthemselvesandthebeneficiariesoftheirwrongdoing？Whenthestockiswateredsothattheinnocentinvestorssuffer，agravewrongisindeeddonetotheseinnocentinvestorsaswellastothepublic；butthepublicmen，lawyersandeditors，towhomIrefer，donotunderthesecircumstancesexpresssympathyforthei