Gubernatorial Messages 785 



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 mis- 

 lead the upright investor or stockholder, or defraud 

 the public. 



The first essential is knowledge of the facts, pub- 

 licity. Much can be done at once by amendment of 

 the corporation laws so as to provide for such pub- 

 licity as will not work injustice as between business 

 rivals. 



The chief abuses alleged to arise from trusts are 

 probably the following: Misrepresentation or con- 

 cealment 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 improper- 

 ly ; 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 par- 

 ticular 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 corpo- 

 ration laws; here we can safely go along the lines 

 of the more conservative New England States, and 

 17 VOL. XIV 



