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<v Speaker 1>Chapter forty four of Philip Drew Administrator by Edward House.

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<v Speaker 1>This LibriVox recording is in the public domain, recorded by

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<v Speaker 1>the Progressing America Project, Chapter forty four, One Cause of

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<v Speaker 1>the High Cost of Living. In one of their fireside talks,

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<v Speaker 1>Selwyn told Dru that a potential weapon in the hands

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<v Speaker 1>of those who had selfish purposes to subserve was the

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<v Speaker 1>long and confusing ballot. Whenever a change is suggested by

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<v Speaker 1>which it can be shortened and the candidates brought with

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<v Speaker 1>an easy review of the electorate, the objection is always raised,

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<v Speaker 1>said Selwyn, that the rights of the people are being invaded.

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<v Speaker 1>Let the people rule, is the cry, he said, and

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<v Speaker 1>the unthinking many, believing that democratic government is being threatened,

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<v Speaker 1>demand that they be permitted to vote for every petty officer.

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<v Speaker 1>Of course, quite the reverse is true, continued Selwyn, for

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<v Speaker 1>when the ballot is filled with names of candidates running

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<v Speaker 1>for general and local offices, there is, besides the confusion,

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<v Speaker 1>the usual trading. As a rule, interest centers on the

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<v Speaker 1>local man, and there is less scrutiny of those candidates

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<v Speaker 1>seeking the more important offices. While I had already made

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<v Speaker 1>up my mind, said Drew as to the short ballot

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<v Speaker 1>and a direct accountability to the people. I am glad

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<v Speaker 1>to have you confirm the correctness of my views. You

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<v Speaker 1>may take my word for it. General drew that the

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<v Speaker 1>interests also desire large bodies of lawmakers instead of few.

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<v Speaker 1>You may perhaps recall how vigorously they opposed the commission

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<v Speaker 1>form of government for cities. Under the old system, where

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<v Speaker 1>there was a large council, no one was responsible. If

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<v Speaker 1>a citizen had a grievance and complained to his councilman,

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<v Speaker 1>he was perhaps truthfully told that he was not to blame.

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<v Speaker 1>He was sent from one member of the city government

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<v Speaker 1>to the other, and, unable to obtain relief. In sheer desperation,

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<v Speaker 1>he gave up hope and abandoned his effort for justice.

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<v Speaker 1>But under the commission form of government, none of the

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<v Speaker 1>officials can shirk responsibility. Each is in charge of a department,

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<v Speaker 1>and if there is inefficiency, it is easy to place

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<v Speaker 1>the blame where it properly belongs. Under such a system,

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<v Speaker 1>the administration of public affairs becomes at once simple, direct

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<v Speaker 1>and business like. If any outside corrupt influences seek to

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<v Speaker 1>creep in, they are easy of detection, and the punishment

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<v Speaker 1>can be made swift and certain. I want to thank

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<v Speaker 1>you again, Senator Selwyn, for the help you have been

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<v Speaker 1>to me in giving me the benefit of your ripe

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<v Speaker 1>experience in public affairs, said Drew. And there is another

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<v Speaker 1>phase of the subject that I would like to discuss

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<v Speaker 1>with you. I have thought long and seriously how to

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<v Speaker 1>overcome the fixing of prices by individuals and corporations, and

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<v Speaker 1>how the people may be protected from that form of robbery.

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<v Speaker 1>When there is a monopoly or trust, it is easy

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<v Speaker 1>to locate the offense, but it is a different proposition

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<v Speaker 1>when one needs to deal with a large number of

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<v Speaker 1>corporations and individuals. Two under the guise of competition, have

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<v Speaker 1>an understanding both as to prices and territory to be served.

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<v Speaker 1>For instance, the coal dealers at the beginning of winter

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<v Speaker 1>announce a fixed price for coal. If there are fifty

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<v Speaker 1>of them and all are approached, not one of them

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<v Speaker 1>will vary his quotation from the other forty nine. If

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<v Speaker 1>he should do so, the coal operators would be informed,

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<v Speaker 1>and the offending dealer would find, by some pretext or another,

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<v Speaker 1>his supply cut off. We see the same condition regarding

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<v Speaker 1>large supply and manufacturing concerns which cover the country with

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<v Speaker 1>their very essential products. A keen rivalry is apparent, and

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<v Speaker 1>competitive bids in sealed envelopes are made when requested. But

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<v Speaker 1>as a matter of fact, we know that there is

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<v Speaker 1>no competition. Can you give me any information upon this matter?

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<v Speaker 1>There are many and devious ways by which the law

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<v Speaker 1>can be evaded, and by which the dispoliation of the

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<v Speaker 1>public may be accomplished, said Selwyn. The representatives of those

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<v Speaker 1>large business concerns meet and a map of the United

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<v Speaker 1>States is spread out before them. This map is regarded

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<v Speaker 1>by them very much as if it were a huge

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<v Speaker 1>pie that is to be divided according to the capacity

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<v Speaker 1>of each to absorb and digest his share. The territory

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<v Speaker 1>is not squared off, that is, taking in whole sections

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<v Speaker 1>of contiguous country, but in a much more subtle way,

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<v Speaker 1>so that the delusion of competition may be undisturbed. When

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<v Speaker 1>several of these concerns are requested to make prices, they

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<v Speaker 1>readily comply and seem eager for the order. The delusion

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<v Speaker 1>extends even to their agents, who are as innocent as

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<v Speaker 1>the would be purchaser of the real conditions, and are

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<v Speaker 1>doing their utmost to obtain the business. The concern in

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<v Speaker 1>whose assigned territory the business originates, makes the price, and

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<v Speaker 1>informs its supposed rivals of its bid, so that they

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<v Speaker 1>may each make one slightly higher, which goes to show,

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<v Speaker 1>said Drew, how easy it is to exploit the public

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<v Speaker 1>when there is harmony among the exploiters. There seems to

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<v Speaker 1>me to be two evils involved in this problem, Senator Selwyn.

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<v Speaker 1>One is the undue cost to the people, and the other,

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<v Speaker 1>but lesser evil, is the protection of incompetency. It is

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<v Speaker 1>not the survival of the fittest, but an excess of

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<v Speaker 1>profits that enables the incompetent to live and thrive. After

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<v Speaker 1>a long and exhaustive study of this problem, the Administrator

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<v Speaker 1>directed his legal advisers to incorporate his views into law.

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<v Speaker 1>No individual, as such was to be permitted to deal

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<v Speaker 1>in what might be termed products of the natural resources

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<v Speaker 1>of the country unless he subjected himself to all the

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<v Speaker 1>publicity and penalties that would accrue to a corporation under

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<v Speaker 1>the new corporate regulations. Corporations, argued Drew, could be dealt

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<v Speaker 1>with under the new laws in a way that, while

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<v Speaker 1>fair to them, would protect the public in the future.

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<v Speaker 1>He reminded his commission. There would be upon the directories

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<v Speaker 1>a representative of either the national state or municipal governments,

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<v Speaker 1>and the books and every transaction would be open to

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<v Speaker 1>the public. This would apply to both the owner of

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<v Speaker 1>the raw material, be it mine, forest, or what not,

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<v Speaker 1>as well as to the corporation or individual who distributed

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<v Speaker 1>the marketable product. It was Drew's idea that public opinion

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<v Speaker 1>was to be invoked to aid in the task, and

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<v Speaker 1>district attorneys and grand juries throughout the country were to

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<v Speaker 1>be admonished to do their duty. If there was a

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<v Speaker 1>fixity of prices in any commodity or product, or even

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<v Speaker 1>approximately so, he declared, it would be prima faesee evidence

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<v Speaker 1>of a combination. In this way, the administrator thought the

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<v Speaker 1>evil of pools and trust agreements could be eradicated and

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<v Speaker 1>a healthful competition content with reasonable profits established. If a

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<v Speaker 1>single corporation, by its extreme efficiency or from an usual conditions,

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<v Speaker 1>should constitute a monopoly so that there was practically no competition,

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<v Speaker 1>then it would be necessary, he thought, for the government

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<v Speaker 1>to fix a price reasonable to all interests involved. Therefore,

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<v Speaker 1>it was not intended to put a limit on the

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<v Speaker 1>size or the comprehensiveness of any corporation. Further than that

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<v Speaker 1>it should not stifle competition except by greater efficiency in

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<v Speaker 1>production and distribution. If this should happen, then the people

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<v Speaker 1>and the government would be protected by publicity, by their

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<v Speaker 1>representative on the board of directors, and by the fixing

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<v Speaker 1>of prices if necessary. It had been shown by the

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<v Speaker 1>career of one of the greatest industrial combinations that the

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<v Speaker 1>world has yet known that there was a limit where

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<v Speaker 1>size and inefficiency met. The only way that this corp

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<v Speaker 1>operation could maintain its lead was through the devious paths

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<v Speaker 1>of relentless monopoly. Drew wanted America to contend for its

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<v Speaker 1>share of the world's trade, and to enable it to

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<v Speaker 1>accomplish this, he favored giving business the widest latitude, consistent

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<v Speaker 1>with protection of the people. When he assumed control of

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<v Speaker 1>the government. One of the many absurdities of the American

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<v Speaker 1>economic system was the practical inhibition of a merchant marine.

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<v Speaker 1>While the country was second to none in the value

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<v Speaker 1>and quantity of production, yet its laws were so framed

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<v Speaker 1>that it was dependent upon the other nations for its

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<v Speaker 1>transportation by sea, and its carrying trade was in no

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<v Speaker 1>way commensurate with the dignity of the coastline, and with

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<v Speaker 1>the power and wealth of the nation. End of Chapter

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<v Speaker 1>forty four,