The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1883-1893, 1889-03-22
WHICH SHALL RULE.
Shall Ii BE the People or Shall 1t BE
Railroads.

Especial Cor. of STATE CHRoNIcLE.l
lhe reasons for voting against a Rail
ROAD commission as given by ten Demo
cratic Senators IN your last issue are in
terestng not that they contain ANYTHING
new but ao 10 the Rip Van Winkleism Of
men elected to the Senate. This does not
apply TO Senator Means, who gives the
only manly reason Readng carefully
the views expressed, was somewhat sur
prised to lind not one alluaion to the pro
lection of the dear" people. suppose
that Is deferred until the next canvass
The views boiled down may be stated tn :.
Fear of hurting the railroads., ''feal :
stopping railroad building. fear of gel
ting Commissioners that would not know
how to run railroads, 1.-The fear of the
people not being able to pay the tax to
support the Railroad Commission, and
1.-THE fear of there not being demand for
a Commission.
How scary some Senators become when
railroad interests are involved. Any cit
izen Of any State adjoining North Caro-
lima reading these reasons" would smile
and think "verdant' These reasons
were worn out i'll each State that touches
North Carolina years ago, and the people
OF South Carolina and Georgia have had
their Commission and have been riding
on railroads for years at three cents mile
and PAYING FRElGHTS IN PROPORTION, while
our citizens have been riding AT three and
| a half cents per mile AND BEEN PAYING
| FRElGHTs IN PROPORTION.
The people of our neighborlng States
must laugh at our State not being able to
| support a Railroad Commission, aud our
people pay higher rates than they do, and
the higher rates means hundreds Of tbous-
ands of dollars. They must think We
are a verdant people to believe that
! $50, 900 GEO Will be dumped into the State
| IN one year for building railroads. They
| We're told that old tale years ago, and IL
was said in Georgia Ithat when the Com
mission was first agitated the Legislature
was asked to grant great numbers of rail
road charters, and then when the Com
mission bill came up they were told the
| railroads Would not be built. The Geor-
| gianS were not 50 verdant as 10 be taken
| III 10y the dOdge-nOt so soft as some of
our people and ii Georgia they get their
Increase Of railroads on the ground and
We get ours-ON PAPER.
The Legislature Of every State adjoining
North Carolina protects the PEOPLE FIRST
Our Legislature protects railroads first.
In fact, Il amounts to saying to foreign
syndicates, Come in and levy what freight
tariffs upon our people that you think they
can bear and the law making power viii
protect you Skin them easy as you
can. No one shall interfere with you"
Look at the railroad charters of this
state They certainly grant the right to
charge all the traffic Will bear" and Mr..
Syndicate if you cant come, say YOU are
thinking Of building a railroad in the
state, bat If Railroad Commission law is
) | enacted you won't come; it Nili help to
tool the people. Come and enjoy
The simple rule, the good old plan,
! That be shall take who has The power,
And he shall keep who can"
Is il any wonder Mr.. Editor, that money
+ Is so scarce among the peope, when the
railroads have the power To levy tax
r (above what IS fair and reasonable upon
+ the transportation Of the people that
;, amounts to more than ten times the State
and county taxes combined, VIII North
. Carolina continue to condemn privat,
! property for corporations, and give then
. a right to charge all the traffic will bear
. If so, the day is not distant when many
Of our citizens Will be compelled to leav,
i this State or be reduced to poverty.
these railroads are not owned by on
. citizens, and the money collected by then
:, leaves our State to enrich men who ear
y 10 more tor us than the average darke
i for the welfare Of Stanley. If North Car
DINA ever prospers she must do like tn
# prosperous States, protect home folks first
and they will make her great, but if sh
y continues to grant such powers, UNRF
q STRICrEp, TO foreign syndicates, they vi
i gather ''the loaves and fishes and distres
= her people worse than absentee landlord
% ism has distressed the people of IrelanC
;, The question whether home folks sha
, rule North Carolina or corporate powt
q controlled by foreign syndicates, is boun
=, to come 70 the front, and the CHEoNICI
+ is looked to BY the people as one of the
: ablest defenders.
CITIZEN