The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1890-10-16
fHE RAIL
yays We Need n Commission to
Make Them Tote Fair In this
State.

seri: oil On Last Thursday in tn e
Tabernacle at Wilmington paid
his respect 10 lordly Railroads
ard their unjust rates. He COMES
from Georgia where they LA ye
a comm ssioD, so be speaks from
practical experience. His words
are a. follows:
Il am free To say | don't re-
Iieve the railroads are toting
faii with Your people it is one
fare for the round trip to Raj
eiEh fair; down here it is four
cents; that is not toting fair.
y railroad Las got no soul 10 be
Ga nInei, and m back to ne cow
hided, it il IA hard matter to get
even with them, but viii tell
you, III tie various places in this
State best people come to these
meetings, aud if you want to
regulate this thing, you elect
men to your Legislature that
will have commission to put
the railroad fare down to two
cents where it ought to be, then
you will be independent. Will
tell you, ths "vox populin AS
one Of our candidates said, "Who
is vox populi anyhow I? ! have
got two letters from him." Vox
populi is the biggest fellow in
this country, no douOt about
that, and you can ask one of
these officials why he won't give
you the same rates. "Oh," he
says, "the traffis association CON
trolls that He can fool you
with that, but he can't me. That
is like this interstate business;
whenever they want to do any
thing they go along and do it,
and whenever they don't they
say, "Ihe Interstate prevents"
To at traffic association, that in
te-state business is nothing more
or less than subterfuge of peo-
pie who don't want to do some
thing they ought; and when you
go home, talk about this thing;
send men to the Legislature who
will put the passenger tariff
down at two cents a mile, just
where it ought to be, and then
you car afford to go along like
a white man; yon Amt begging.
/ know railroads just like
everybody else in this world
need friends, and the way to
have friends is TO show yourself
friendly. Put the fare down to
a dog fight, or a base ball game
or fair, and then make the
people Of the State pay a large
per cent. more to attend these
meetings. am for right every
time. God knows | have moth
ing against railroads personally,
it is jnst a question of right that
is all. The railroad that runs
through my town, when we hold
our tabernacle meetings there
every year, they have cut their
rates down to d three cent rate,
less than one cent and a. half
round trip, and then they con-
tribute Is per cent. Of all the
gross sale Of tickets to the town,
towards the expenses Of the
tabernacle meetings. But over
here you can get a dog fight
rate, you can get a base ball rate.
That is all wrong; now don't
anybody say that I ain going
outside of my province as a
preacher and meddling where
I have no business. Bless your
soul, that has just about as much
to do with the meetings as the
ten commandments, for you fell
lows have to get there. From
the collections they have taken
up here, they have just about
got all your money you had be-
fore you got into the house
daughter.
Now you think over these
things; at last, my countrymen,
as I have said just now, the vo1
populi of this country is the
ruling power; and the bird that
can sing and won't sing, ought
to be made to sing. hope you
reporters will get that just as ]
said it. / have been preaching
at Durham and Charlotte anG
different places in this State
and not less than $50, 100 will be
paid by people coming to these
meetings. There won't be less
than twenty-five thousand peo-
pie coming in from first to last
and they wont average less than
$500. Now you think of thai
some. They pay $4,000 rail
road fare and then tug and twist
and we have about $500 up tC
this writing to pay for the tab
ernacle; that is d joke. If you
| just loved the tabernacle like
yon love the railroads ! Ru1
there is This difference: The
railroad makes you pay before
yousget on, and we les you ride
along some and trust 10 your
honor. Laughter.)
How is This?