“A somewhat similar case is the railroad legislation which Congress enacted under the Taft administration. That legislation represented the tearing to shreds and the subsequent recasting, patching up and ill-devised piecing together by Congress of a carefully thought out, though, in my opinion, by no means faultless measure, which had been introduced with the backing of the Administration. You all know the result. The spirit of enterprise in railroading was killed. Subjected to an obsolete and incongruous national policy, hampered, confined, harassed by incessant, minute, narrow, multifarious and sometimes contradictory regulations, that great industry began to fall away. Initiative on the part of those in charge became chilled, the free flow of investment of capital was halted, creative activity was stopped, growth was stifled, credit was crippled....”
“What we business men protest against is ignorance, shallow thought or doctrinairism assuming the place belonging to expert opinion and tested practical ability. We protest against sophomorism rampant, strutting about in the cloak of superior knowledge, mischievously and noisily, to the disturbance of quiet and orderly mental processes and sane progress. We protest against sentimental, unseasoned, intolerant and cocksure ‘advanced thinkers’ being given leave to set the world by the ears and with their strident and ceaseless voices to drown the views of those who are too busy doing to indulge in much talking. And finally do we protest against demagogism, envy and prejudice, camouflaging under the flag of war necessity and social justice in order to wage a campaign through inflammatory appeal, misstatement and specious reasoning to punish success, despoil capital and harass business.”
“We deny the suggestion that patriotism, virtue and knowledge reside primarily with those who have been unsuccessful, those who have no practical experience of business, or, be it said with all respect, with those who are politicians or office holders.”
This remonstrance of Mr. Kahn is but a sample which might be multiplied by the hundreds. It is typical of a constant stream of complaints which business men in all parts of the country are continually uttering. The universal testimony of our merchants, manufacturers and financiers is that neither at the federal or state capitols do they find men either capable of understanding the rules and operations of business or willing to study them, or interested in the business prosperity of the people. If the reader will but examine a list of members of any legislative body he will understand the cause of this deplorable situation. Let him study the names of the delegation at present representing in the state legislature the immense interests of the City of New York, her commerce, manufactures, wealth and population. She ought to be represented there by the class of honorable and successful active or retired merchants; financiers of high standing; manufacturers of note and ability and leaders in the professions; by publicists; scholars, and men of the first prominence in labor organizations; to be or to have been a member of a state legislature should be a badge of honor. On that list he will probably find not one name known outside the ranks of petty ward politicians; and men of the high character above described would feel it as a stigma to have it said that they had served in a legislative body.
