Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1898-06-03

the balance of the country not feel IT.
Forty millions Of dollars were paid out
for public tAxts., over three thousand
millions Of 1pllars that have ,beenrtdvq1t-
ed In railways have earned no dividend
for years. This is not water. As some
populist orator will say. but good. honest
money. These securities are held all
through the land. and their failure to
pay any return has brought disgrace up
on as abroad and suffering and want in
many family and community a. home.
zone Of the chief difficulties with the
law as II stands today Is that the pun
tshment for private contracts and rebates
10 entirely out of proportion to the offense
The Imprisonment clause was put In az
an amendment to the interstate COM
merce law, and believe the commission
and everyone who has watched its work.
ings will agree with me that II has been
a failure; more than failure. that IL
has caused perhaps more Generalization
than anything else. The public has not
believed In It; 1t has been impossible TO
secure conviction: 1t has prevented the
railway official who desired to be honest
from complaining Of his competitor whom
he thought was dishonest. In fact, II mas
been what every law is that Is not sup
ported by public sentimental failure.
ing business today? The railway official
who desires to be honest and law-abiding
sees traffic leave his line and finds the
freight that he was carrying hauled 10
the warehouse of his rival, the earnings
OF his line decreasing and complaints
from the management of loss OF earnings,
ard in the distance he sees looming up
the loss Of his position. At the same
time, the shipper who desires to obey
hal ,x avtx. NJ oil mi NJ
disc to his customers at prices he cannot
meet. and he knows very well that he Is
securing concessions from some railway
to enable him to do this. The railway
agent and the shipper who wish to obey
the law sit down together and look II
over. What relief is there for them!
They can complain of their rivals, posi-
bly, convict them under the interstate
commerce law and send them to the PEN
itentiary. but such action would bring
down upon them the condemnation or the
public and would ruin their business: for.
as stated before. the public does not be-
lieve in this severe feature of the law.
and will not support anyone who enfofces
il. The result is, these men, In despair,
are driven to do just what their opponents
are doing-they become lawbreakers
themselves. 1 have drawn no fancy pic
ture; 1t is what is occurring every day
around you.
us it wise, is it broad craftsmanship.
to leave a business as large as that OF
the raiways-one in which one-fifth, at
least, of our population is engaged. one
which affects the comfort and happiness
of nine-tenths of the people-is 1t wise'to
leave it outside of the law? 1t Is SAID
that the most expensive occupation TO
the community is that of the burglar, he
has to spend so much time and destroy
so much to get so little. Is 1t worth while
to force the great railway interests OF
the country into the same position?
who opposes this legislation? First,
certain people who desire the government
to own and operate the railways. Sec
ond, others who wish that the interstate
railway commission should make all
rates. Third and lastly. certain railway
managers who are opposed to any and
all legislation and who object to any con-
troll, and believe that they should be left
entirely alone.
"All of us who have any interest in our
country. who desire its prosperity, are In
terested in the solution OF this great
question. 1t is not time for the dema-
gogue to howl about corporations. 1t is
not time to talk about the wrongdoings
of railway managers. There are always
some. in any business. who will not do
right, and there always will be- but the
great mass Of railway managers to-day
assure you, are as honestly seeking a So
luton of this question as are you or any
member of the legislative body. be-
ueve I voice the belief of very large
majority of them that the two provis-
ions I have mentioned are necessary and
will lead to the settlement of this ques-
ton. If this body will join and heartily
indorse this course and work for it, its
accomplishment can be attained. We
have unwittinsly in this country applied
to railway laws that 1t was never in
tended should be applied to transporta-
ton companies of this nature. We have
gone back and taken decisions that were
wise a hundred years ago. when civiliza-
ton was in its infancy and when the
masses needed certain protection, and
have endeavored to apply these same
principles to the great transportation in
terests of modern times. The courts, I'M
fortunately, have followed In that line.
Every business man. every statesman.
knows that 1t Is a mistake. that we have
here an immense interest such as tho
world has never seen, and the principles
which should govern 1t must be worked
out in harmony with the age and the
needs of this country. There should be no
friction between the interstate commerce
and the railways; there
should be none between the state COM
missions and the railways. There has
been too much of a feeling with these
bodies that the railways were against