The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1899-03-03
EVILS OF PRIVATE OWNERSHIP.

EVILS OF PRIVATE OWNERSHIP.
Writers on the transportation Ques-
ions frequently rail at the railroad
corporations for the many evils that
private ownership of this public func-
ton bring upon us. l wish it distinct
ly understood that I have no quarrel
with the railroads except when they
break the law, which they frequently
do. My complaint, and my quarrel, il
you please. is with the man who is
now reading these lines. You want a
government of, by and for the peo-
pie" and then you neglect your busi-
ness! If every citizen would give one
hour a day to intelligent and patriotic
study, thought and effort in the pub
lie interest, we would soon have a
very different condition of things. If
this had been done since our govern
ment was established, there would not
now be a tramp, a pauper, a hungry
child nor an ignorant man or woman
under the stars and stripes. II every
voter would keep in close touch with
his representative councils. legi5la-
ture and congress, that alone would
do much good. The system @: Direct
Legislation the Initiative and the Ref
erendum) would make it possible for
us to AXE matters into our own hands
whenever we wish, but If we want this
system we must work for it.
The private corporations-the rail-
roads, telegraph companies, express
companies, etc.-have rendered a great
service to the people of this country,
because the people were too busy with
their little affairs to give attention to
their great affairs-too busy with pri-
vate interests, with personal selfish
ness as the motive, to give attention
to public interests, with desire for
the general good as the motive.
Yet, as the selfish man usually finds
land deserves to tind), our greatest
personal interests lie in the direction
of the great public utilities that we
have so unwisely neglected for smaller
affairs.
Please think about this awhile, and
talk about it with your neighbour.
Don't depend SO much on newspapers.
blu read some good books on public
questions and then pass them around
among your neighbors. / have in this
department mentioned several su:h
books. If you have read them, I win
cheerfuly mention o The CID
fashioned doctor was a leader OF
thought in his community. I hope
that this good old fashion will never
go out Of date. Then the question
naturally arises: Are o 8. worthy
leader OF thought in your community?
Q cant be unless you have given at
tention to the vital questions discussed
in these Talks" do not wish to
intimate that you should ALWAYS agree
with what ! say, for | am not SO ego
tistic as that; but I do say that these
questions are vital to the best good
of every citizen; andI urge that cit
liens should not be satisfied with what
the newspapers say, but that they
should read good books on every side
OF these questions. / Imagine some
M saying: What shall we do II we
can't rely on the newspapers? " Nv
answer is that a large proportions of
newspapers-and this includes i
greatest ones-must, for various rea-
sons, serve certain interests. They are
not SO free as you are accustomed to
think, nor SO free as they would Ike
to be. 1t is a w~ell-known fact that
newspaper men, particularly those 81
cur great metropolitan papers. I
for freedom, and if they were to get IL.
what revelations would astonish the
stupid populace! What an unmasking
Of wrong and hypocrisy!-Dr. G. Il.
Taylor.