Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-06-19
TIE PRESENT sprrHkrIc WARFARE

Nearly 8 quarter Of a century ago pro-
found thinker and accomplished journalist
exclaimed with something of despair and
much OF acerbity in his tone, "Ours a
Government Of the people Why, it has
been Government of the politicians for
half ceptury--of set of men who, in
the main, are aotuated by no higher mo
tives than a love OF plumber aud of place.
The people are simply used for the purpose
OF effecting the aims of demagogues. The
bitterness Of his sentiment might be in
tensihed within the limits of truth if he
lived now to witness the frantic efforts Of
the came class Of selfish men in California
to stir up strife for personal ends, by the
distortion AID perversion of purely com.
msrOial propositions relative TO the trans
porta.ion question
The very best evidence of the correct.
ness Of this statement, and Of the injustice
OF the assaults made by portion of the
press and by designing political agencies
upon great industries SO intimately re.
lated to the best interests Of the people Of
the State as to be inseparable from them
without mutual injury, is found in the fact
that the assail5nts have forced the contest
into an epithetic warfare. DenunciAtion,
which is not strength has taken the place
with them OF reason, which is power. vi
tuperatiou, the child OF passion and the
enemy of logical discussion, coupled with
violent personal abuse, is INDUCED in to
the exclusion of that calm deliberAtion
which SO grave a question as that OF trans
pOrtation demands.
The art Of reasoning is all that discrimi.
mates between the wise and the fools. Rea-
soning proceeds upon the expectation that
thipgs viii happen as they have happened
before under like circumstances but vi
tupe rative argument is born Of the error
chat he who Is fouless mouthed and loudeas
voiced should be thevicsoT. Reasoning gives
knowledge, and, as Bacon said, that is
power but in the mad race of the trans
poEtation reformera there is neither
one nor the other. No man can walk
IN the right path except he is
Informed OF the way in which he
is likely to go wrong but the railroad
assailsnts viii admis of but one possibility
IN tdeir procedure, aud deny that full
knowledge Of the subject they treat is es-
seniial to 5 correct conclusion, and fair
judgment All that Is necessary for men
70 know, they practically hold, are such
things "a respond to thu selfish desire to
make onr neigtbor so act as viii best con-
tribute to our own comfort and gain, ire
spective of his interests and natural rights.
In the attempt to lead the people in com
munistic and lasless paths stronger efforts
are being made every day and have excited
the fears Of some of the best thinkers and
most far.sighted men of the period. Out
of this tendency springs the fsllscies with
which the press TEEN snd which harrow
up the souls of logicians, and that result
from the bad reasoning that because on
some occasions things happen in pArtiou.
lar order, therefore one is the cause of the
other. In short, It is safe TO assert that
the major portion Of the anti-railroad sen
siment-so styied-springs from cOnfu-
sion of natural and unavoidable events and
facts, with possible preventable evils,
but the confusion is purposely maintained
by the self.constituted leaders Of she pres
ent mad raid upsn the carriers of the
cosst. Correct reasoning is the one thing
they avoid, for it VIII give correct meth
DDS and prevent the cOnfounding of things