Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-08-07
THE SUBSISTENCE OF THE ANTI
RAILROAD AGITATION.

In a recent editorial, the New York Times
printed list Of the Senators in Congress
and the leading members of the House of
Representatives who favored and opposed
the Thurman funding bill. Following for
ward, it showed that nearly all the promi-
nent Congressman who favored the meas
ure have gone into retirement, while those
who opposed it hold prominent places in
political leadership. For illustration, Stan
ley Mathews, who opposed the measure, is
on the Supreme Bench; James G.. Blaine,
an opponent, is the Republican candidate
for President, while the reputed author of
the bill, Mr.. Thurman, of Ohio, could not
obtain beggarly one hundred votes in the
Democratic Convention at Chicago The
Times misapprehends the true significance
of these facts. The bill itself was an in
iquitous and wrong measure. twas an at
tempt to change the terms of a contract en-
tered into between the Government and
railroad corporations after the latter had
fulfilled all their covenants faithfully and
honestly. It was III the nature of an
CT post fdct0 law-an attempt to go back in
the contract, and make terms more favora-
bic for the Government than was originally
agreed to. In truth, the anti-rairoad
agitation has lost its usefulness in the pur-
poses and aims of demagogism; and since
it never had other apology for existence
it is necessarily dying out, No better
proof of this could be cited than the re-
cords of the candidates for President of the
two great political parties. Those who still
believe in the efficacy of the old anti
railroad howl on both sides will continue
to claim in a feeble and illogical way some
recognition for their candidates as repre-
sentativcs of anti-railroad sentiment. But
fair and honorable criticism will fail to find
| anything in the record of either to sustain
this assumption. 1t was fatal blunder on
| the part Of the Democracy of California 10
make Il platform before the National Con-
vention had selected candidate. The
Stockton Convention, under the leadership
of the political agent of an aspirant for the
United States Senate, and hungry attor-
ney in search of fees for pretended public
! service, formulated a platform so replete
with dcmagogism, so imbued with spirit
| of communism, so foreign to every dictate
of common sense or prudence, so much at
variance with the conservative spirit of the
National Democracy, that its expressions
serve now the purpose only of giving en-
phasis to the incongruity between the re-
cord of the National candidate and its full
limitations.
The Republicans did not make this mis-
take. They waited until after the National
Convention acted, and therefore when its
political professions would harmonic with
the record of the candidate and the express
sions of the National platform The Re-
publican party, as a State organization, is
therefore in line with the National party,
and not at cranky variance with the Ma
tional organization, as is the case with the
Democrats. 1t is more than probable that
| if the State Democratic Convention were
| to be held to-day, that its platform would
be AS conservative in its expressions toward
corporations as that of the Republican
party.
All these things show conclusively that
outside of the columns of blackmail news
papers, elsewhere than in the mouths of
ranting demagogues, the anti-railroad craze
possesses no longer any political value or
vitality.