The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1890-06-19


where there is no commission.
| boldly lay do VII this PROPOSE
tion, that a commission Is against
the people. In Georgia. under
a commission, it cost a child
from five to twelve years Of age
half price to travel on rail
road, here it will not cost him
anything. How is itwith freight?
Without going into details, | say
to you here. on my honor, that
the Commission has raised
freights in Georgia one third
higher than they We're before.
In Georgia the railroads ale get
ting rich off of the Commission.
In this State there a"e only two
railroads tEa. are paying ex-
penses, that is the Wilmington
& Weldon and the Richmond &
Danville. The profits of the
former is only 8 per cent. and
the latter 5 per cent. Now do
you object to anybody making
8 per cent. interest or profits.
We all want to and ou yht to do
so. In 1879, when Georgia
passed the commission act, the
railroad property was worth in
round numbers only $9,O0O,000;
in 1888 it was worth S29, 900, 900,
or three times the amount.
Where did this increase in
in wealth come from? 1t was
ground out of the people by that
God blessed commission that
you say You want. Do you
want it? No. | dent believe
you do.
Now you are ready to ask if
it helps the railroads why are
they opposed to it? They are
not opposed to it: They want a
commission. Mr.. Waters, who
virtually owns the w. & W..
railroad, went to Raleigh during
the last session of the Legisla
ture and asked me to stop fight
ing the Commission. I asked
him if he thought [ was fight
a commission for him He said
that he thought | might be do
ing SO thinking it would be a
favor to the railroads. | told
him that | was fighting a COM
mission because it would ruin
my people He said yes, your
people would catch the patch
ing if Il commission was passed,
SO go ahead. Some say that
there was a lobby of railroad
men and their attorneys in Raj
eigh during the last Legislature
fighting the commission. The
man who says that tells a lie.
l asked some of the RAILROAD
officials, who happened to be
there, to go up to the capita
with me, but they said that a
railroad man was not a free
citizen in North Carolina, that
if they went up to the capital
that every dadblame1 little
newspaper in the State would
raise howl and yell.
Inever raw in the Capitol but
one railroad man, that was Mai.
Winder.
Gentlemen, bere is the Rail-
road Commission bill holding
up the pamphlet that I voted
against, the god-blessed thing
that they say will do So much
good. There is more devil in
this bill than in a Texas mule.
Yes, gentlemen, it is the
monkey that is so mncb-talked
about and so little known about.
There is not a man in this an
dience wh) has ever read it.
So don't condemn Inc till you
know what is i'll it. ItproviGed
for three commissioners. one of
whom was to be a Radical. Did
you send ne to Raleigh to vote
for 4 Radical? | never have
done so, and so help me God l
never will. 1t requires that no
one of the three should own any
railroad stock or bonds Or know
anything about railroads. In
fact the bill required that they
should all take an oath to that
effect. Now is that right? Sup
pose that the next Legislature
should be composed chiefly of
Law yers and merchants and they
were to take up a notion that
all the troubles of the country
were due to the laziness of the
farmers, and they were to pass
a commission to regulate the
farmer and see that he worked
better and got up earlier, and
did not rest so long at noon, and
did not go to town unless he had
business, and that the bill should
say that your bosses. the com
missions, should not own any
land, nor know anything about
farming. Would You like that
Then don't put a cup to the lips
of the railroads that you are not
willing to pu! TO you' own.
Now you pass a Commission
the convicti will be taken of
from the roads and put back in
the penitentiary, and it will cost
you S250,OO0 a J ear more to run
the penitentiary. That is half
as much taxes as you pay. Now,
therefore if you now pay SIC
tax Won wou1d then have tn nav