The morning news., 1894-09-30

necessary to q complete and intelligent
understanding of the situation and the
prospects.
WHERE THE SPLIT BEGAN.
For nearly ten years Senator Call has
been trying to secure legislation on puo-
lie lands which the owners and officials
of the land-grant railroads tboth IN and
out of Florida) have regarded as dl-
rectly antagonistic to their interests.
Hence the railroads come TO look upon
him as their natural enemy, and this
feeling was intensified by his frequent
attacks upon them in his public speeches.
In turn. the friends and supporters of
Call came to be regarded as the enemies
of railroads, and the opposition to Cali
naturally allied itself with the railroad
democrats"-for the lack OF better
term. This question OF CalIsm ana
anti-Callism and of antagonism TO rail-
road interests has caused friction and Ill
feeling among democrats in every county
in the state, and it has now become crys-
talized as an issue between two distinct
factions in the form of the railroad com
mission question. OF course, there are
Call democrats who are opposed to rail
road commission (but mighty few, com
paratiVely), and there are antl-Call men
who favor commission. The line OF
demarcation does not always run exactly
straight
The legislature of 1887 established a
railroad commission It was failure IN
correcting the abuses complained or ana
the law was repealed in 1891. majority
of the people of the state regarded 1t as
an expensive experiment for the TAX
PAYERS. In 1893 the lower house OF the
legislature passed a railroad commission
bill the Senate defeated it. Then IL was
that Senator St ClairAbrams OF Lake
mission-law followers would fight the
question out at the polls in 1894 IN the
choice of legislators for the session OF
1895.
THE ISSUE MET.
Early last spring Senator St. Clair
Abrams in Lake county, Col, A w.
Cockrell in Dual, State Treasurer
Collins in Leon, Hon. Robert Bullock In
Marion. and nine others of more or
less prominence in the councils of the
democracy in their own counties, united
in an address to the democratic masses
on the necessity for a railroad commits
sion. and the repeal OF the
present demoralizing election law
In it they charged the
democratic organization with treachery TO
the party and declared that it was under
the control Of nonresident millionaire
railroad owners some of then repu0u-
cans; and they called for new deal all
round in the Florida democracy. This
address has not inappropriately been
designated as the reform" call-toarms,
and its signers and their followers have
been dubbed ''reformers. 4" After this the
issue could not be obscured, and the forces
OF the Florida democracy, as above de-
scribed, drew themselves up into line OF
battle.
From the start it was very evident that
the commission democrats desired above
all things else to keep the Call question
out of this campaign. ut is not an is
sue. 4" they said, "but il may be two years
hence. Now the burning question is a
railroad commission 10 correct abuses and
TO stop this wholesale robbery Of the
people by extortionate freight and passen-
ger charges. Keep your eye on that"
Their enemies, seeing that Calls re-
election was a sore point with them, di-
rected a good deal Of their fire against the
senior senator-and with good effect, for
il drew him into the fight when ne was a
hindrance rather than help to his fol-
lowers.
Al this time within two days OF the
election. the battle-ground is almost
wholly in the four split counties, for they
send in all twelve men TO the legislature
of SOS. and their votes may makeor break
a commission law.
HOW THEY STAND.
Here in Duyal county the 1ght has been