The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1892-07-19
AN OPEN LETTER.
Congressman Grady Writes to Col w.
E. Hill and Asks that the Let
ter be PubIished---The
Force Bill

WASHINGTON, D. c.,
July s, 1892.
Col. ". E. HILL, Faison, N c.:
My DEAR SIR:-I have just had
pleasant chat with your son who
stopped here on his way to New York,
on political conditions in your section,
and he advised me to write you my
views on the questions agitating the
minds of our people. have concluded
to follow his advice because am GER
tain that you feel as much anxieCy as
do for our children and our State.
AS to the general objects aimed at in
the ST. Louis platform have no doubt
that you and agree; but we may not
be as one as to the method of attaining
the objects. Take the ownership of
railways, for example, and let us com.
pare opinions. Of the 81 railways in
North Carolina, 35 made reports to the
State Railroad Commission, in which
we find that the managers and en-
ployees-not including attorneys, ply
sicians and others who depend directly
or indirectly on the railways for sup
pOrt-number II, 772; and if the other
% roads had reported, the number
would doubtless reach 10000. Now if
Congress should purchase these rail
ways, the appointment of these -, 900
able bodied voters would be thrown
into the hands of the President of the
Uaited States, with the usual conse,
quence that this number would be
largely augmented just before elections;
and uniting with all the other benefici
aries of executive favor, they would
constitute a dangerous political force
in the State. They would exert a
powerful influence in county and State
conventions; and co operating with the
vast army of their CO benefciaries in
all the other States-some of which
have many times more railway EN-
ployes than North Carolina-they
would dictate the nomination and cleo
tion of their benefactor; and we should
soon prefer hereditary monarchy to
the intolerable corruption of our cleo
tion system.
The spectacle of 1874 Federal officers,
as delegates, and 1000 or 5000 as
strikers, forcing on their party at Min
neapolis the denomination of Mr.. Har-
risOn, ought to warn us against the
enlargement Of the executive patron
age.
Those who undertake to fortify their
advocacy of the transportation plank,
cite the fact that some European gov
ernments own and operate the rail
ways in their dominiOns, and that the
system works well. They forget, how
ever, that in these countries there is
no quadrennial election of the King or
Emperor, inviting fierce and violent
struggles for the retention of lucrative
places.
The consequences flowing from gov
ernment ownership Of railways seems
to have alarmed others as we'll as my
self. The PROGREssIvEF FARMER of June
%, advised the Omaha convention to
adopt the first two planks- finance
and land "-and leave out the transpor-
tation plank; and the Omaha conven-
tion itself in it's third plank says:
"Should the government enter upon
the work of owning and managing any
or all railroads we should favor an
amendment to the constitution by
which all persons engaged in the gov
ernment service shall be placed under
civil service regulations of the most
rigid character so as to prevent the in
crease of the power of the national ad-
ministration by the use of such addi-
tional government employees"
Now consider this dilemma: Many
County Altar ces, Sub Alliances and
district conventions have pledged them