The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1892-05-31
GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP.

hibition lecturer, is with the people on
most reform measures. His speech
in this city Thursday night won much
applause.
By the kindness of Mr.. E. J. FOrney,
| one of the best stenOgraphers in this
city, we are able to give his remarks
| on the government ownership Of rail
roads Uerbatim as follows:
q would put the railroads under
the absolute control of the government,
to be operated at cost, in the interest
of the people, as our mail service is
operated to day. A Democrat said to
me to day l am opposed to that. Why?
Because it centralizes the power Of the
! government into a political party.
Let us see if it does SO Dr. not. This is
a government of the voters, by the
voters, for the voters, and there are
twelve million voters in this country.
l would rather have the power cen
| tralized in twelve million voters, than
in Jay Gould and Vanderbilt. | have
morefaith in the people of this country,
than I have in any one or a dozen rail
road kings in this nation.
Il want to call your attention to
one fact. The railroad companies
WOIh UI1S COdl IllIlGS III L Ci1lIOJ INdIlId.
You buy a bushel of coal for 8 cents,
it starts West, and in ten days it is at
Larnard Kan. That coal has now
reached SO cents a bushel. Kansas
corn is worth IL cents a bushel. You
have then for what cost originally s
cents, an article that has been con
verified into four bushels of western
corn. A bushel of this corn shipped
east grows at least to be worth 40
cents.
Notice then a Pullman car comes
along Furnished by Jay Gould with
New Jerseys finest band on it, and a
distinguished politician. They pull up
at this coal mining station, and they
have a piece of music, and the miners
come out from their dark holes
and gather along the hillside and
listen to the band. This distinguished
politician is brought out and intro
duced to them, and they give him
cheer after cheer. He commences to
say my fellow miners" | say he
commences to say my fellow miners,
because L was nC6 M of you L
know what it is to eat a piece of corr
bread, l know what it is to have these
hands callous and blIstered. You have
my deepes5 sympathy. But thank the
Lord when | got into Congress and
put the railroad system under such
control as Gould and Vanderbilt,
you get s cents for your coal. See
your wages, a dollar a day, And the
band starts up Haul Columbia, happy
land, the train moves on, and the
miners, all fall into line and vote
with the old party. In a few days
this car stops at LarMard, Kan, ana
around the depot Is a great crowd of
farmers. The band plays, the disJin-
guished statesman is brought out and
he says my fellow farmers, | call you
my fellow farmers, becuuseI was raised
on a farm, my father was a farmer,
my grandfather was q farmer, and my
great-grandfather was a farmer. But
| have been hOnOred by my fellO Y
citizens, and l have been to Congress.
Behold your prosperous country Toe
band plays Hail Columbia, Happy
land, and the train moves on, and the
farmers all fall in and vote the Old
ticket; and the corporations gObbles up
the profits between the two. What
the miner and farmers want is fair
play, an equalization of prices. They
demand that the profits shall be equally
divided between them, and they are
going to have it, too, good people, be-
lore Un0 ESnG IS over.
Il was going from Buffalo eastward
a few weeks ago, In a seat on the left
of the car sat a boy who was sObbing,
ter? He told me that he had received
a telegram informing him of the death
of his mother in New York. He said
he was working thirty miles below
Buffalo and was getting one dollar a
day. Just then l saw cross the aisle
two distinguished looking gentlemen
l aScertalned that they were members
of the New York Legislature. The |
Senator represented a million of dol
lars, the member Of the House halt a !
million. Just then the conductor came
down the aisle IN the performance of
his duty, and this boy who was going
to the deathbed of his mother paid full
fare, and the conductor turned to these
distinguished gentlemen across the way |
and each of them handed out an annual
pass. This is the result Of the repub-
llcan and democratic rule in this cOun-
try. And God helping us we propose
to do away with the inequality be-
tween the rich and poor man of this
country. We propose to do away |
with the necessity of carrying this
rich man at the expense of the poor.
The poor man does not object to pay
ing full fare, but he does not want to
pay for anybody else. I tell you it is
wrong, good people, that there should
be a necessity for carrying millionaires
and politicians free.
Put the railroads under the control
of the government and what is the re-
suit. To day, the poorest boy in North
Carolina has identically the same right
the rich man in the mail service.
Did you ever hear any complaint about
the mail service? Did you ever hear
that it was an outrage that a poor boy
who had only one letter to mail should
pay the same rate of postage rs a rich
man who mailed a thousand letters?