The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-02-15

graph because ID Is NATURALLY POI
Of the postal system. In England un-
der government ownership the cost OF
a message is less than half and IN
France less than one-fourth what 1T
is in the United States. There is no
reason why the telegraph should not
be operated as cheaply in the United
States as in Europe or in any other
country.
The last speaker for the negative was
Mr.. Robert n. Simms, of Raleigh, n. c.,
who claimed that the ownership of
railways and telegraph did not fall
within the sphere of government duty.
Competition was necessary to mans
best interests; this system would at
the same time put an end to COMPETE
ton and be the death of progress. Gov
eminent ownership had not worked
well in other countries; nor was gov
eminent management of other depart
ments successful in our own. The
want of analogy between the railway
and telegraph systems and the postot-
fee was pointed out. The corruption
resulting from government manage
ment was considered. Several practl-
cal questions were taken up: as, for i'm
stance, the method by which the gov
eminent would get this property;
whether American rates were compar-
atively higher than European, etc. 1t
was held that no justification for such
a scheme could be found in the pow
sions of the Federal constitution. Pre-
sent railway regulations were dis
cussed. Finally, it was claimed that
the doctrines underlying the proposed
IL oil
to the form of our government.
After Mr. Simms' speech each OF the
debaters had a 10 minutes rejoinder
and by their ready wit and happy hits
kept the large audience in constant
uproar of laughter.
AS Is usual after the debate was end
ed the question was re-read and the
audience asked to decide which side
had produced the best argument,which
was decided by a vote of lS8 10 o IN
favor of the affirmative
THE oRATIoNs AT NIGHT.
At $50 D. m. the crowd reassembled,
increased by large number who came
by private conveyance and on the
south-bound train, to hear the ora
tions of a number from each society.
Mr.. A. G. Cree, of Vance county, rep
resentatiye of the Philomathesian So
ciety, took for his subject 'Specialism.
1t is just to this speaker to state that
he was only elected to perform this
honor Just q month ago, but to those
who heard him / am sure no eXplana-
ton is necessary as he measured up to
TO the full expectation of his friends.
He said: This is an age that de-
clares and establishes the social, po-
litical and spiritual rights Of citizen
ship, that recognizes the soul Of hui
manity, crowns the populace and con-
socrates the individual. An age in
which every energy PUSHES to the sur
face as hot blood to the cheek, of action
and progress SO rapid that no one man
can keep up with many Of its phases.
Briefly, an age that demands special
men for special work The increase of
productive energy, the differen-
tiation of productive processes, the spe-
cialization of arts, trades and profess
sions all combine to contract the field
of individual labor and force men in
self-defense to seek that line of work
for which he is peculiarly fitted.
"Speeialism is not the creature Of this
age-not the child of this century 1T
existed in the past. 1t lay dormant
behind the great mountain range of
ignorance, But all the streams of
scientific influence, all the trends Of
philosophic thought, all the drifts of
individual progress converging in the
dawn of this century have hurled them
selves against the great barriers Of
ignorance, swept aside the stubborn
rocks of superstition, and united their
mighty force in the current stream of
specialism that is one of the most
marked characteristics Of this age.
''The need Of the specialist. in art,
science and industry is almost uniyer-
sally recognized and acted upon; but
when we come to the highest art, the
most intricate science, the widest range
for the talents of men, our nation
shuts its eyes to the opportunity for
and the need Of specialists, and blindly
declares that anybody and rybody
can run the government. To procure
the purest system of government Is
then not as great a need for the spe-
cialist as in art, science and industry.
The greatest menace to popular gov
eminent, the greatest fault in demo-
cracy, is that it SO often presumes to
decide upon questions which in their
very nature can be decided upon only
by experts. Only the fully disciplined
mind can grasp and solve the peculiar
problems of political science, and the
opinions of the inexperienced, em-
bryonic statesman has about as much
weight as his opinion would have on
the intricate problems of biology
chemistry or physics.
THE competitions of business, the
Celebrations Of art, the entanglements
of economics, the intricacies of science,
the labyrinths of literature, and the
tangled meshes of legislation by their
knotty complications demand the at
tention and active science Of the
highest scholars, the deepest thinkers,
in a word, the most skilled specialists"
MIR. HOWELI1s GRAFTON.
Mr. Jasper Howell, Jr., Of Caldwell
county, was the orator OF the Euzelian
| Society and had for his subject:
christian and Patriotic Citizen
| ship" The speaker said: