(4 of 4)
The current War Crimes Trials in Nürnberg, however, seem to me to be a peculiar way of improving the world. The long list of indictments against the various defendants, most of which seem well grounded, are a pretty severe accusation against any man's right to continue living. The only difficulty is that I can discover no indictment which could not be turned, with equal justice, against one or all of the victorious accusers. In fact, many of the United Nations are committing the same sorts of outrages against weaker nations right now, without even a war to justify their actions. . . .
[AIR FORCE LIEUTENANT'S NAME WITHHELD ] Alexandria, Va.
Open Books
Sirs:
. . . TIME [Dec. 3] reports that General Motors' Vice President Harry Anderson . . . said that G.M. did not even open its books to its 426,000 stockholders.
As a law student I was particularly intrigued by Mr. Anderson's statement, for the general rule of law in the U.S., unless the corporate charter specifically provides to the contrary, is that any stockholder, though he be a holder of but one share, has the right to examine the books and papers of the corporation so long as he does it for an honest purpose and in good faith. He is, of course, subject to reasonable regulations as to place, time, and method, so that his inspection will not disrupt the business, but the right is there nonetheless. . . .
EDWARD JACOBSON Tucson, Ariz.
¶ From G.M.'s Certificate of Incorporation (Delaware): "... No stockholder shall have any right to inspect any account or book or document of the Corporation, except as conferred by statute or authorized by the Board of Directors or by a resolution of the stockholders. . . ." This practice is common to most large corporations which number their stockholders in the hundreds of thousands.—ED.