The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1890-02-25

ana Dy the great Writer'S OF England
on the subject? ? Have you read the
reports of the French scientists on the
point2 Have you read the great Ger
man thinkers on the subject? Do
you not know that in our own country
our cIearest thinkers advocate it =? We
have practically had this plan as to our
mail facilities for near century. Is that
bosh ? Explain why railroads under
government control should cease to
be for the benefit of the people? Is
not the mail service under government
control, and is it not for the peoples
good ? Is it not cheaper and better
than we could hope to have it if in
the hands of monopolists ? "A Unit "
makes another charge. In fact he
made a wholesale busin ess in that
direction. He adds: That it would
become vast political machine.
What proof is adduced for this
Does not North Carolina own some
railroad stock Does not our good
old State have something to say about
who shall be president of our rail
roads :? Do you mean to say that
Vance and Jarvis, Scales or Fowle
have used the State railroads for a
vast political machine ? l do not sup
pose you would say so, yet reasoning
by analogy it would lead up to that.
Do you not suppose that when Capt.
Alexander is Governor of North Caro-
lima that he will be equally as patri-
otic and pure? Or that If these same
gentlemen had charge of the railroads
of the United States they would not
prostitute the public service. l have
not lost all faith in human kind, nor
do I think all good is found in any one
party.
After all these articles, he builds a
man, of straw and stuffs the following
in his mouth: Place the roads in the
hands of the present Administration
and all the present employees not in
sympathy with the Administration
would be displaced.
The good people of North Carolina
will justly conclude that mans cause
must be weak when he is forced to
make his opponent say what he
actually opposed.
Does he misrepresent "Old Fogy,"
or is cold Fogy" misrepresenting
him 2 Turn to your paper of January
2lst and read for yourselves. You
will read in my address "The State
Superintendent to be elected by
the people. Thus we would have no
Administration patronage. Mail, ex-
press and telegraph superintendents
would be elected by the people. We
would lessen by more than 100, 600 the
number of appointees by the Admin
istration.
Who proposes to place patronage in
the hands of the government ? We
do not. We propose to put it in the
hands of the people, and all my articles,
as you will bear me witness, is for
more State sovereignty and less cen.
tralization-even to electing postmas-
ters by the people.
Again, "a Unit " says: We
would elect a King or some other
nuisance, the weight of whose little
finger would be heavier than the
heaviest yoke ever fastened upon US
by all the railroads in the country. l
certainly sym pathize with the ignor-
ant. know how little / know and
no one can regret it more than r So
I feel for my poor brother. Now [
would offer this advice in the klndest
spirit. The railroad heelers, anxious
to keep in favor with their masters,
want to abuse some one and show at
the same time how little we poor hay
seeders know, so l give thus opportun
ity for them to spread themselves.
We have in the United States six
men railroad kings that with the
weight of their fingers on the pen
can and do collect more tax from the
people of the United States than all
the monarchies in Europe for monar
chial purposes. If the government
controlled railroads, A Unit could
have voice in the management; as it
is he has now but little voice in the
country's affairs and growing less year
by year.
We want all our people to control
railroads and the government. To-
day the railroads and banks control
the country and control US all to a
greater or less extent and at last the
old negro puts in his appearance. Is
the old woody head TO be the Alpha
and Omega of all arguments eternally2
Yes, if politicians can control US he
will.
How that woody head that nursed |
us as babes, that played with us when
boys, makes US shiver. Oh, how
awful to see them helping us on the
trains Did you ever ride on Pull |
man car ? Don't they do that now
Were our fathers before the war
afraid of their touch ? There is such |
a thing as being over nice. 1t seems
IL