PROPOSALS FOR REFORMS 785
tion. It is true that not all corporations publish accurate and complete
statements as frequently as they should. Unfortunately, the information
already available is not properly used. Even the best of reports would not
furnish the information desired by many security purchasers. What they
want to know is what to buy and when to buy it. The more useful a
corporate report, the more difficult it is to find in it specific answers to these
two questions. Reports and statements that are intended to influence the
judgment of security purchasers are not useful to the latter. In other words,
factual reports cause headaches. Most security purchasers want mere tips
on the market.
Government Regulation.—Influenced by the promises of politicians who
are willing to offer anything in exchange for a vote, we are accustomed to
expect much of governmental bodies and even to blame them if they do not
prevent our own mistakes. Experience should teach us that government
regulation can neither prevent nor correct all corporate weaknesses. In a
democracy such as ours, governmental control or supervision of business
enterprise is subject to important limitations. "We do not always select our
best men for public service. Business offers so much more compensation to
able men that the latter cannot afford to work for the public. Methods of
selecting public servants do not always result in the selection of those best
fitted for the service. As a consequence, nearly every battle of wits between
the agents of the government and those of business finds the latter more able
fighters than the former. Victory rests with the former only when the weight
of authority turns the balance.
Time is frequently the essence of success in business relationships. The
wheels of government regulation, on the other hand, grind slowly. By the
time decisions are reached, the damage may be irreparable.
Government regulation is never automatic. Parties at interest must
always take the initiative in appealing to it for support. Interests hostile to
government regulation are almost always better organized and better repre-
sented than those who solicit its support. Existing agencies are adequate
to correct many present corporate weaknesses if those who suffer from them
only had the inclination and the resources to enlist their aid.
Further Legislation.—Universal suffrage places tremendous power in the
hands of the electorate. Merely by casting a ballot, voters can make funda-
mental changes in our economic system. Natural rights and the sacredness
of private property no longer gain many converts. If a democracy should
take a notion that bald heads are unsightly and should be legislated out of
existence, wigmakers would do a thriving business.
If the voters possess such great power, why does the average man not use
Ms franchise to protect his own interests better? This is one of the unsolved
riddles. The question has several answers—all wrong. If we say the
average man does not know what he wants, we would have difficulty in