The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1894-06-05
RALEIGH, N. c.. JUNE 5, 1894.

Will doubt it little more than YOU
ever did before. Facts are facts. Ar
guments are arguments, and the man
who brings the strongest facts and the
pest arguments will, in the end, pre-
vail. You may put US down to day by
Grlggering with the ballot cox. Gap
plause.) You may put us down to-
morrow by keeping our views away
from the people, but sooner or later
the sunlight of truth is going to break
through all these temporary obstruc
tlons, and the people are going to un-
derstand these questions, and when
they do they are going to be Populists
from the mountains to the sea. ZAP
plause and cries of That's right y
You tell me this is new doctrine
say to you, no. 1t is an old doctrine.
New to you because you have been Rip
Van Winklipg little too much. Was
there ever a nation that didn't own it's
national highways3 Was there ever
civilization, ancient or modern, that
was not dedicated to the proposition
that the highways must belong to the
king; that the highways must belong
to the people; that it was too danger
GUS to give them to any individual or
any corporation. In the days when
our ancestors established these institu-
tions, the public highways belonged to
the people. The iron highway had not
then superseded the dirt highway, but
to show you that the iron highway
ehould belong to the government, let
me call your attention to the fact that
they said that navigable rivers, lakes
and bays, seas and CULTS should never
belong to private citizens, to corpora
tlons or even to the States. Tell me,
my friendly Democratic editor-ex-
plain it to your people to morrow
why did George Washington, Benja-
min Franklin, Lee and the balance of
the great statesmen who framed the
Constitution say that the Savannah
river the Chattahoochee river, the
Missouri river, the Mississippi river
should always belong to the people and
never belong to corporation9 Gap
nlause.) Crack that nut if you can.
(Applause.) Put that in your editorial
pipe and smoke it. Great applause)
Why did they say the Savannah
river should never belong to any body
but the people9 Because it was the
peoples highway. And yet in the
evolution of commerce the Central
Railroad is manifestly more important
as the hepeople's highway than the Savan-
nah river could be. There is not a
Democrat or Republican here who
would vote to turn over the dirt roads
Of Fulton county to any corporation or
any Individual whomsoever. Why's
It would interfere with the freedom of
travel and commerce. Why won't the
same argument apply to the iron high
way3 You say there is no way to get
the railroads. I answer you, we can
get the railroads back just as the rail
roads got from US the lands and the
money with which to build-by the
law of eminent domain they took the
right of way. Under the law of emf
nent domain they have right to pass
through your fields, through your pas
lures, through your lots, through your
cemeteries. They can condemn any
piece of property whatsoever so they
take it for the public good, What they
take from the public the public can
take back. The law for the one is law
for the other, prolonged applause)
You ask me, how would get them9
Get them honestly and like gentle
man. I would steal no mans property
and want no man to steal mine unless
he will steal my debts with it. Gap
pIause) Let US take these railroads
under a fair system of assessments
under the law of eminent domain, and
pay for them fairly and squarely either
by the issuance Of treasury notes in
whole or in part Or the issuance of
bonds in whole or in part. That is a
matter Of detail What do say is, I
do not advocate injustice to the rich
man nor the poor man, I would de
spise myself if made war merely upon
the man that is rich. In The race Of
life you have the right to accumulate
property if you can, It is not only
your right, but your duty to do it.
Your wife, your child is locking to you
for protection and support, and 1 make
no war upon the man who is doing it.
1t is only the man who by class laws,
by special exemptions, that has got
some advantage at the expense of his
neighbor that I make war upon, and
IL is mora 11nnn the system than unon