The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1897-03-19

the people as they pleased. He re-
ferred to the railway corporations
especially, as follows:
There is another kind of a trust
Of which | want to speak. If yO
allow railroad to be built between
two points you bring into existence
a monopoly, because when a railroad
is built between two points it can eX-
tort to an extent Of double what is
reasonable rates for its service be-
fore another corporation can afford
to build a competing line. That
corporation being there prevents
another corporation from being
there until traffic upon the road is
sufficient to keep up two roads in
stead of one, and in fact until traffic
is great enough to put reasonable
earning upon two investments.
Therefore you build up a monopoly.
So | say when the Government
builds up that monopoly it is the
duty of the Government to so regu-
late and control rates as to preserve
the people from any eXtortion.
(Long cheering.) Now, my friends,
I am stating principle, and 1 am
not only stating principle, but l
am stating principle which no
advocate of corporation will dare
deny. There is not a representative
of corporation who has so lost his
self-respect that he would dare
to assert that his corporation could
better be trusted than any judge up
on the bench. No corporation dares
to state that it would be so unselfish
that it could be entrusted to take
care of the people without the peo-
pie paying any attention to what
the corporation was doing"
The speaker went into this subject
very fully and said that monopolies
should not be allowed to calculate
it's earnings and to estimate it's rea-
sonable income upon an investment
which is sixteen parts water and one
part money.
He spoke of their immense influ-
ence in politics and said that in some
states they stood as constant men
ace to any man who did his duty.
He impressed upon the Legislators
the great responsibility of their pc.
sitiOn and warned them against the
insidiCus wiles of the corrupt lobby
list, that a good name was to be
priced more highly than great rich,
es and more favored than riches anG
gold.
He told them that as the Demo
cratic party was in power in thi:
state, it would be held responsible
for legislation, and that there was
only one thing upon which to base q
hope of future political success, and
that was to prove that we are worthy
of it and deserve the confidence o
the people. He concluded as fol
lows:
"I am greatly Obliged to you fol
this privilege of addressing you.
am greatly obliged to the good PEG
pie who in spite of the defeat we
suffered have still given to me evi
dences of their confidence and es
TEEN. l appreciate it and shall not
if can help it, use the influence
which you have given me to thwar
any good cause. | feel that if by
your confidence my words are giveI
added weight it only makes it mort
important that those words shall a
all times be given on the side of the
cause of the people. If you, by you
kindness, have placed me in a posi-
ton where what say can have an.
influence, then, my friends, it is TIN
highest duty [ can owe on earth t.
use that influence for the advance
ment of those great interests of so
ciety in which interest has beel
aroused by the campaign just closed
My political philosophy teaches m
!; that the good of the nation come
!, from the people themselves and tina
, we are linked together in one com
mon brotherhood and that no mat
ter whether business or professional
: men or laboring men we can onl
find our own good by bringing al
the conditions of life up with lis
and | want you in every act of legis
lation, in every act of good govern
ment, want you to show the peopl
| that according to your judgmen
and your confidence that principl
T written by the great father of De
mOcracy which recognizes the quail
ty before the law of all men and i
everything is what Government de
mands to-day. thank you for you
| kind attention"