The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1891-11-19
THE SECOND DAYS SESSION LARGELY
ATTENDED.
CONGRESSMAN John I. Head, OF Missouri
Addresses the Delegates on the Railroad
Question, Advocating State
Commissions.

SEDALIA, Mo-, Nov. ll.-Ihe Ma
tlonal farmers congress was late III
assembling this morning, and it was
II O'Clock before Vice-President Smith
let the corn cob gavel drop calling the
ses. ion to order The following reso-
lutions were introduced and referred:
BY John Church of Colorado, urg-
ing the congress Of the United States
to cede the arid lands in the various
states and to provide the states with
systems of irrigation.
BY NJ. r.. w. Hartman of Missouri,
urging the extension of the signal
and crop report system of the depart
ment of agriculture.
BY Vigil Mckay of Kansas, provid-
ing that the ear Of corn used by the
chairman as q gavel be sent to the
worlds fair for exhibition.
BY G. w. Swink of Colorado, urg-
ing national system Of irrigation.
Congressman John 7. Heard, Of the
Sixth Missouri congressional district
delivered an address on railway trans
portation. Railway transportation
was subject Of supreme Importance
to the farmer, One Of the solutions
of this veXed question, he said, was
found in the state railway commits
sion. Missouri has been among the
first of the states to deal with the
question in that way and Missourrs
experience showed that method has
been successful. Another method of
controlling railway corporations in
the interests of the people was true
national railway commission.
Some protested to believe that a
railroad should be placed under gov
eminent management. Government
railroading, he believed, would be a
gigantic failure. In the first place
the government would have to buy
the railroads, and that would cost
ten thousand million dollars. That
would be impossible, practically, be-
cause there was i'll circulation only
fifteen hundred million dollars. The
purchase of the railroads would neces-
itate the mourning of debt Of gigan-
tic proportions, and he did not believe
that the farmers or any one else
wanted to 90 down into their pockets
and pay any more debts than they
were now paying. Another great OBJ
lection to government railroad con-
troll was the increase of Federal office
holders which it would necessitate.
H. G. Brown of Georgia endorsed
everything that Mr.. Heard had said.
Georgia, he said, had tried state
ownership ofrailways; Georgia owned
the Western and Atlantic railway.
Under state control rates We're higher,
the service bad and the deficits were
extraordinary. The state found that
it was too expensive to run its own
railway and the line was leased to
private individuals. Under private
control the road charged cheaper
rates, gave better service, paid g
rental of $4,000 more and made money
for the lessees.
Hon. Martin Mobler secretary of the
| Kansas state board of agriculture
read paper on the races under the
conditions of high CIVILIZATION. He dis.
/ cussed the question whether high
} state of civilization tended to increase
or decrease the happiness Of man
kind He took an optimistic view o
the question and concluded that high
er civilization gave greater happiness
/ to the race. The convention then adj
iourned until o'clock.