The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1894-06-05
no. II


Voice from the n,'d;~----, ''Wish we
had = N1o1qEI'lS'" wild ones"
LaLo4UoI, applause and amens. y If
there Is statesman who has the re-
spect of the entire English speaking
world may go further, has the re.
spect OF the entire civilized world, that
man is William E Gladstone, of Eng
land. Upon his gray head has been
placed the wreath Of the worlds praise
and approval Do you know he stood
just where stand upon this questi n9
No, you don't, because your newspa-
pers won't tell it to you (AppIause)
Mr.. Gladstone when a member of Sir
Robert Peels Cabinet introduced O bill
that the government should buy the
English railways. That bill became q
law and it is now the law, but it has
never been acted upon because railroad
influence has been enabled to do as
much in England as it has been able to
do in America-keep back the hands
on the clock Of civilization, Let us
compare them: will take the Ger
man Empire, the Austro Hungarian
Empire, and then will take the Indian
Empire. Why, gentlemen, the Ger
man Empire is to day the mightiest
civilized force, military, civil, educa-
tional, commercial, that this world ever
saw. What have they got there9
The government owns the railways,
and what is the result9 In the United
States the average fare per mile is more
than two cents, In Germany just q
fraction above one cent per mile. In
Austro Hung ary just fraction above
one cent mile; in India just one-half
cent per mile. In America they kill
or wound one passenger out OF every
181, 900 carried. In Germany they
carry fifteen hundred thousand before
they kill or wound single passenger.
In Austro Hungary they carry 1,20O,-
900 before they wound or kill a single
one. In India they carry nearly three
hundred thousand before they kill or
wound single one. In the United
States, cut OF every 30 employees one
is killed or wounded every year. In
Germany one out of 1873, in Austro-
Hungary one out of every 257; in India
one out of every 323.
1 remember when this unworthy
citizen was member of Congress, and
the bill was introduced to compel the
railroads to protect the lives of the
brakemen and of other employees by
putting on automatic car couplers.
recollect that previous to the elec-
tion the House passed the bill without
dissenting voice; the Senate passed
the bill with some amendments which
made it more favorable to the railroads.
Then came the election and trusting
country threw itself into the arms Of
the Democracy, and the Senate bill came
back to the House and it was almost
impossible to find the Democrats who
had voted for it. Stahlman was there.
The lobby was there. The Louisville
and Nashville with their paid agents
were there. They took up their quar-
ters in one of the committee rooms;
they worked night and day; they ap-
peared to work the bar-room for all it
was worth. (Cries of shame)
I remember cold winter night when
that question hung between life and
death; when its enemies seemed to be
defiant and sure of victory and it's
friends faint hearted and discouraged,
and shall always be proud that what
ever force Of enthusiasm have got in
my nature put on the side of arousing
the friends of the bill, and we rallied
our lines and whipped the railroads,
lock, stock and barrel (Applause.)
In Germany they save lives because
they take care of their employees; not
only that, in this country the railroads
fight the unions. The corporations
fight the labor societies and there is
war all along the line. In Germany,
that motive being taken out, the gov
ernment encourages the societies. and
those societies annually pay So, 500, 900
to the helpless men, women and chill
dren engaged in the government rail-
way service. But enough of that The
subject grows a little, doesn't it2
daughter and applause) It don't
look go wild after all, does it9 Gaugh-
ter.) Who is there that does not know
that under our present system one town
is built up at the expense Of anotherl
Who is there that does not know that
one business is destroyed in the intozoss
of anothera Who does not know that
the big shipper enjoys advantages
which the little shipper can't getf Who