The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1892-04-14
OWNING RAILROADS.

clares in favor of the government
owning all the railroads. 1t would
take nine billions of dollars to buy
them. There are one million EN-
ployees on the railroads. This
would give the political party in
power that many more support
ers and vast deal of corruption
money, and it would be impossible
to turn out any party in power
backed by such a vast score of Off
GERS and patronage.
Georgia owns the State road, and
when it was run under Bullock's
! administration it was used as vast
political machine to keep the corrupt
Republican party in power. The
tax payers had to pay to keep it up.
Do the farmers want to pay. more
taxes to keep up Railroads?
The Marietta and North Georgia
Railroad is in the hands of Receiv-
er and not paying expenses. The
Central Railroad has just been taken
on. Of the hands of a Receiver, not
paying expenses. The Georgia Pa
cific Railroad is not paying expenses.
The Western and Atlantic Railroad
is not paying expenses, and they
have spent more than four hundred
thousand dollars in the last few
months more than they have taken
in. Do the farmers think it best for
the government to own railroads
and operate them in the face of such
losses? Would not the tax payers
have to foot the bills to keep them
up when they fail to pay expenses |?
The Ocala platform says Control
them" That's right. We are in
favor of that.
The Third Party platform says
own and operate them. We are OPP
posed to that.
But our Alliance friends must re-
member that the Ocala platform is
their platform. The ST. Louis plat
form isnot. 1t was adopted by large
class of individuals, who do not be-
long to the Alliance.
A mass meeting assembled after
the Alliance convention had adjourn
ed, and gave birth to the Third
Party. Alliancemen are not bound
by that mass meetings. action, any
more than they would be by any other
mass meeting. You don't have to
leave the Democratic party unless
you want to.
The Ocala platform says control
the railroads by Railroad Commis-
sions and Interstate Commissions.
This is being done very sue ,essfully.
Stop and think before you act.
Then another thing. 1t the rail.
road owners refused to sell, would it
be right to con6scate their private
property? If this were done,
couldn't the government confiscate
your farms, factories, houses, ETC.,
just as we'll? Do you not see that
this would lead to usurpation of
power, robbery, despotism and de-
struction of our form of government?
If the government owned and op-
Grated all the railroads, you could
not sue the government ifyou should
get hurt on the railroads, or your
COW OF horse killed by train, as
you can now Go, and recover a mon
ey value for losses sustained.
Having looked at it from this
standpoint, are you willing to be
taxed nine billion dollars tor the
government to buy and operate rail-
roads? Ought the government to
take the peoples money and build
railroads ? Isn't it wrong in princi-
pie? Isn't it true democratic doc
trine to say you shall take no more
money from the pockets OF the peo-
rle than an honest and economical
administration requires?
Let our people in a kindly and
friendly spirit get together and talk
over these matters, and all work to-
gether for the good of one another.
What is good for one class of our
people, is coed for all /; and what is
bad for one, is bad for all.
Let there be no abuse, no harsh
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