The Advocate and news., 1898-06-08

II
ton, Watt, Whitney, Edison and Nicola
Tesla; with Ruskin, Lowell, Emerson
and Herbert Spencer; with Shakespeare,
Burns, goldsmith LOngfellOw, Tenny-
son and Walt Whitman, and thousand
more great philosophers, scientists and
poets, who have given to the world that
which elevates the moral and political
standing OF the nation, that which gives
the people pleasure and saves them la
bor and that which points out to them
the beautiful In order that they may en-
JOY 1t. Compare the man who makes
himself rich by making his fellows poor
with the man who has made the world
rich by his labOrs while he remained
poor, and made 1t possible for the for
mer to become rich. Which deserve the
greater favOrs from the people, and
which get the greater? Should not
wealth be measured by the standard of
service to the people? II one man does
for you twice as much as another, should
you not pay him twice as much for it?
But it will be said that the railroad
magnate has done great good to the ma
tion In projecting lines of railroads
which have built up the country. But
what part does the railroad magnate
play in this great work? Was he the
inventor Of the locomotive, the steel
rail, the car, or any Of the things which
make railroad possible? No Some
one else must have taken a prominent
part in this great enterprise. 1t was the
inventor. What part does the magnate
play? He has the road built as a money
making scheme for himself, many times
where there is no need of a railroad.
How Is this enterprise different from
and other? DO not all industries tend
to build up the country? Why, then,
should the railroad have the advantage
Of all others? Has the railroad mag
nate done more to build up the State
than the people within 1t? II not, why
should the people be compelled to in
sure him an enormous income when they
have but little themselves?
These spectators, however, are not
satisfied with having frozen out" the
small stOckholder and the municipali-
ties, but they must make much Of the
undue advantage which they have to
compel the people to pay exhorbitant
rates Of transportation, and when the
people object they call on the Federal
courts to help them. They find In them
willing helpers. They have Overruled
the well-established rules which govern
common carriers in their efforts to help
the companies in being unjust. They
have permitted the companies to fix
their own rates as against those fixed
by the people, thus making them abso-
Lutte dictator as to charges. This Is GER
tainly one OF the most threatening evils
Of the political situation. The rail-
road always favors the large shipper to
the detriment of the small one, thereby
building up other great monOpolles to
the detriment Of small dealers. This Is
fast proving the ruin Of our sO-called
free institutions.
There are yet, no doubt, some people
who believe that Governor Leedy
should have signed the railroad bill
which passed the Legislature a year ago
last winter. The citizen who is not q
lawyer nor especially well posted on
such matters, 1t might appear, on care
less reading, to be good bill There
were provisions in 1t which, had they
stood alone, would have been good, but
when taken in connection with the rest
Of the bill they were worthless, II not
in the direct interest OF the railroad.
Parts Of the bill were undoubtedly
drawn by some shrewd railroad lawyer
and by some artful means worked into
the hands Of the committee.
The decision In the Nebraska case
has, perhaps, discouraged many from
agitating railroad legislation. It ought
on the contrary to make the more deter
mined every lover Of his country. There
are many no doubt, who believe that,
were the bill proposed by the Governor
to be passed, 1t would be declared un-
constitutional by the Supreme court
But this is not necessarily so. It is very
different from the Nebraska bill. Il
will be very much more difficult to take
1 30 a "A n