The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-05-04

employees, Immediately employed, and
so at work in ancillary labor as to be
practically at work under government
employ and imagine that enormous
force of men inevitably Influenced more
or less by leading persons, perhaps gov
eminent officers, or persons having
them in charge.
IN old times it used to be thought
very important that the collector of the
port of New York should be taken from
the party in control because it used to
be the fashion of half Of the employees
there to go UP to a state convention
and run the whole machine Public
sentiment has in a measure corrected
that and there is very much less OF It.
But that illustrates what I was saying
as to the wiser modern policy and the vic
iOus old one to which I am not desir-
GUS Of returning.
1T is proposed that the government
shall take charge not only Of the rail
ways but of all the telegraph lines. 1t
is proposed that the government shall
as well.
Now. elaborate the scheme at your
leisure and see what an enormous ma
chine the government would come to
be; how practically the power over ev-
erything that enters into our daily life
would be centered in the government,
and in some cases at the very demand
of the people who are all the While de-
nOuncing the government as corrupt.
denouncing the senate and house or
representatives, the president. and eV-
cry DQQy else Us ullIL TO COL4UCL DuSl-
ness Yet they turn around the next
day. and when they have a little bridge
to build across a river they think they
have done The prettiest thing in the
world when they provide an engineer
of the army to build it, and in thou
sand other ways display the powers of
the government"
Senator PETER replied to the argu-
ment of Mr.. HaWley and took occasion
at the same time to define, as he under
stood them, some of the principles of
the POpulist party He repudiated the
frequent charge that POpulists were kin
to anarchists, and declared the mission
of his party was not to destroy, but
build up. He said.
The distance that is Travelled back
ward and forward in the transportation
of mails of the United States in the
course Of a year amounts to a line
equal to about Is times around the
earth. 1t is the most stupendOus bust
ness establishment in the world, and
yet it is conducted with the systematic
arrangement of clock work by one man
no larger than the senator from Con
necticut or myself, physically speak
ing. and it is done with perfection, and
yet the senator complains about the
vast amount of power that will be con
centrated in the administration in case
the principle involved in this discussion
should be extended to other depart
ments of the government.
Then the senator undertakes to cast
ridieule upon those who are taking the
same view of the subject I do, because
of the view that he and some other self
appointed critics aIege that the party
to which I belong holds. There is moth
ing in our political creed, so far as I
am aware, (and I think know good
deal about it, that has ever looked to-
ward the taking possession of the pres
ent railway systems of the United
States and bringing the entire trans
pOrtatiOn business of the country i'm
medIately under government control
nothing of that kind. We do believe
Ihag the people ought to have control of
all of their own transportation inter
ests; but, while that is true. we do not
believe in the doctrine of the senator
from Florida IMr. Call who insists
tnat while we are anxious at some time
or other to procure the good will and
all that 1t implies of the people of Cuba
We should therefore Immediately go
down and take possession of the island
and take possession of the people That
is not our view of the situation at all.
Mr.. President. We do believe that the
government Of the United States should
control by government agencies; that
all public functions ought to be exer-
cised by public agencies In one way or
another That is the fundamental
principle and the doctrine of the party
to which have the honor to belong.
out we do not propose to go about and
make q holocaust of this business: we
do not propose to tear everything down
as anarchists would, to destroy We
are builders, Mr. President we are not
destroyers- In some respects, perhaps.
we might be called icOnoc1asts. because
we are breakers of images, but they are
party images We are not dangerous
at all.
1.-The principle that is involved in the
work that is going on in the bureau Of