And State Papers 277 



supervision and regulation over all corporations 

 doing an interstate business." 



The views thus expressed have now received ef 

 fect by the wise, conservative, and yet far-reaching 

 legislation enacted by Congress at its last session. 

 In its wisdom Congress enacted the very impor 

 tant law providing a Department of Commerce and 

 Labor, and further providing therein under the Sec 

 retary of Commerce and Labor for a Commissioner 

 of Corporations, charged with the duty of supervis 

 ion of and of making intelligent investigation into 

 the organization and conduct of corporations en 

 gaged in interstate commerce. His powers to ex 

 pose illegal or hurtful practices and to obtain all 

 information needful for the purposes of further in 

 telligent legislation seem adequate; and the pub 

 licity justifiable and proper for public purposes is 

 satisfactory guaranteed. The law was passed at 

 the very end of the session of Congress. Owing 

 to the lateness of its passage Congress was not able 

 to provide proper equipment for the new Depart 

 ment ; and the first few months must necessarily be 

 spent in the work of organization, and the first in 

 vestigations must necessarily be of a tentative char 

 acter. The satisfactory development of such a sys 

 tem requires time and great labor. Those who are 

 intrusted with the administration of the new law 

 will assuredly administer it in a spirit of absolute 

 fairness and justice and of entire fearlessness, with 

 the firm purpose not to hurt any corporation doing 

 a legitimate business on the contrary to help it 



