Charles R. Van Hise Quotes
Many advantages … may be gained through the establishment of trade commissions, national and state. At first, we should be conservative in giving additional powers to these commissions. The powers given should be based upon the same principles that have been applied in the pure-food laws, and in the control of the public utilities. The American people always move slowly in these matters, and step by step. I should not expect that these trade commissions, if created, would at once be granted all the powers which they would finally exercise. In this matter I should expect the same slow development to take place that has occurred regarding the commissions which control the public utilities.
Charles R. Van Hise, 1857-1918, President of the University of Wisconsin, Speech, Twenty-First Meeting of the Economic Club of New York, November 1, 1912
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This quotation illustrates one of White’s correct early grasps of what was happening in the political economy of the time and its future direction with growing industrialization and technological complexity. Most historians agree that White passed classified information to the Russians. He was accused of being a Communist, but there was never any evidence of that. Some people believe that he was a spy for the Russians and committed espionage, but others disagree observing that White was very much his own man and felt that much information that was classified never should have been. White substituted his own judgment, it is believed, about what could be given to the Russians for the security system. He was an admirer of what Russian socialism had accomplished economically, educationally and medically since the 1917 revolution deposing the Czar. Russia had been a valuable military ally, which had taken the brunt of both military and civilian casualties in WWII. White’s economics were certainly not Marxist but very much Keynesian. He was subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Committee where he was accused of being a Communist which he denied (see {634907}). He died of a heart attack 3 days later.
The Commission is not a law enforcement agency in the sense that it can initiate or prosecute a civil or criminal lawsuit against a party that is breaking the law. The Commission however, can refer cases to the Justice Department and turn over their findings with a recommendation to prosecute. However, under George W. Bush, the policy was not to even do that. Chairman Majoras actually persuaded the Bush Justice Department to terminate efforts to prosecute Intel and other companies that previous Commissions had recommended prosecuting.
To the modern reader utterances such as this from a Conservative Prime Minister seem astounding. However, the Great Depression existed in Canada as well as the United States, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt was not the only world leader who would reach the conclusion that business and capitalism must be profoundly regulated and the system changed if it was to be saved.
Some economic conservatives see little or no role for government. For many of them, in a free market there is no role for government. This quotation, from one of the economic heroes of the conservatives, shows that he not only saw a role for government, but believed that government was essential to the operation of a free market.
The prime minister had a political and philosophical position that government should not interfere with or set or control pricing in the economy. However, a scandal broke out involving payday lending—short term lending the working class does to tide them over till pay day if they run out of money. Lenders were charging huge interest rates beyond anything that is conscionable. Cameron’s government placed controls on interest rates and other facets of that industry as they might have lost a vote of confidence in Parliament had they not acted. He was then questioned about the hypocrisy involved in his regulation, and he gave this amazing quotation, which was the classic reason for government price controls on the private sector that had been given by the Labor Party opponents for years. This also distressed extreme conservatives, who argue that market controls are always preferable to government controls.
the administration’s plan to regulate the industry Taft was actually the Secretary of War when he gave this speech. However, President Theodore Roosevelt used him as his “Assistant President” to run things in his absence and help with policy making and implementing major reforms. The President had decided to aggressively push for railroad regulation to end the rate rebate abuses that were used to support the monopolies like Standard oil. He had initiated the campaign by personally speaking to the Railroad Owners and Corporate Magnates—{640489}. Then he dispatched Taft to address the Railroad Executives of the Nation. This led to the first American regulation of the Railroads.
During The Depression although business in general was doing very poorly, there were a few which had grown immensely powerful and abused the power as there was little or no regulation at the time.
Charles Richard Van Hise was an American geologist, academic and progressive. He served as president of the University of Wisconsin (UW) in Madison, Wisconsin, from 1903 to 1918.
