Note and Comment

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · May 2, 1907

It is broadly rumored through the country that the recent depression in stocks which almost threatened a panic was deliberately brought about by the great corporate interests of the country because of the official investigation of corporations and the growing sentiment in favor of federal control of the railways. That the cause of the depression was an artificial one would seem to be indicated by the fact that in general crops have been good, and prices have been high. The railways have been burdened with traffic and travel; but it has been charged that many of their methods have been conceived and carried out in defiance of law. Suits have been entered against them, charging violation of the interstate commerce laws. President Roosevelt has been insisting upon supervision and investigation. Concerning this situation a contemporary says:—

Large corporations and combinations of capital have taken alarm, and given out warnings. Dire results are predicted if the anti-trust and related investigations continue. Assaults are made upon the policy of the President, and appeals are made to him to modify his course.

There is an evident unity of movement on the part of the great corporations—not all, but many—against the public sentiment which demands responsibility on the part of the holders of vast capital. All things taken together, there are indications of concerted action on the part of great capitalists to create public alarm and turn the general sentiment against the President and his policy, and against the whole movement for governmental supervision of railroads and other corporations. It is possible that this unity of action is the result of common influences, affecting all alike, but we can not help feeling that the action is concerted, that capital is combining against legislation and public sentiment. If this is correct, it is the most gigantic trust we have ever had. Such a movement is merciless in its spirit, it is selfish in its aim, and destructive in its results. It awakens antagonism, and tends to produce a spirit of hostility that may overleap all bounds of prudence and right, with most disastrous effect. The safety of capital is in the public confidence.

But the general public has lost confidence to a very large extent in the unselfishness of corporate combinations and activities, in the integrity of their professions, and the legality of their operations. A spirit of deep distrust is prevalent among the masses, and is growing. That spirit is helping to breed socialists, communists, and anarchists. It is helping to widen the gulf between the laborer and the capitalist, and is sharpening the already pointed arguments of such men as Eugene V. Debs, Samuel Gompers, and John Mitchell, whose demands go far beyond any possible peaceable compliance. In the Appeal to Reason, of April 13, Mr. Debs intimated, as strongly as language could be made to intimate, that the time would come when we might expect the bullet to settle certain economic questions where the ballot failed. He also speaks of “the spirit of solidarity moving among all the toilers of all nations in the name of the Social Revolution, bidding them to rise from the dust and unite their unnumbered millions for the emancipation of the race.” These words and these facts have peculiar significance to those who are familiar with the teachings of the Bible concerning the conditions prevalent in the world just before the second coming of our Lord. “Be ye also patient; establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”