The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1899-08-15

man roads, the arteries of the. amnire
had been owned by private companies of
milliOnaries; that not a wheel could roll
nor a man move along them, nor even
the legions except IN terms dictated by
the corporations; would not those cor
pOratiOns have had the empire by the
throat! Would they not nave appointed
conSuls and prO-cOnsuls, every Senator,
every general and every Judge? They
would have been the government.
a greater than Rome is before you.
In these United States the 10000 miles
of iron way are no less the life arteries
of the Republic. Along them pours a
tide of travel. of freight, of wealth far
beyond what the Roman ways, even
those nearest the capital, ever witnessed.
Indeed, though our railway system dates
back only seventy years, over any one
of our many great through lines, the
volume, of freight and travel exceeds
that of the entire world a century ago.
1t is needless to say that the control Of
this immense power must be in the gov
eminent, that is in the people, for with
us the government is still in theory at
least, the people.
RAILROADS AND THE PUBLIC.
The Supreme court of the United
States held in the Granger cases Mum
! VS.. Illinois, "a u. s. and has reiterated
in many Il case since that time out of
mind the control of common carriers and
their regulation as to rates and in all
other matters, rested in the government.
Though in this country transportation
by railroad is carried on by private cor
poratiOns." said the Interstate Com
merce Commission in their last report
= CnnN - T,-L~-.- 80 - ,--nnFinll- ~
government function. This appears from
the necessary conditions of railroad con
structiOn. 1t is a universal maxim that
private property can not be taken for
private uses, but only for the public use.
Yet no railroad can be built without the
appropriation of private property. 1t
equally appears from the relation of the
carriers business to the community. A
merchant may sell to one customer for
one price and TO another customer for
another price, as best SubServeS his IN
terest, without violating any sense OF
right and wrong. but it is universally
felt that the rates of public transpor-
tatiOn should be uniform to all. Inc
railway is, from its very nature In re-
Spect to the greater part of It's
business. a virtual monopoly. If the
business of transportation is essentially
y government function, then the Soyern'
ment must see that it Is properly us
charged. If il is in essence a monopoly,
then it must be regulated. The tw"
things, of necessity, go hand IN hari.
THIS PUBLIC IS SOVEREIGN
This is a very clear statement "f the
proDosition. Railroads can only he con
structed by reason of having rights of
way condemned for them rs = pu1llc
use, and being aepublic use, they are
necessarily subject to public regulation
Indeed. the fact that You sit nS:', thai
We have an Interstate Commission and
that thirty-fOur States or more nave
their Railroad Commissions, is %cOnCiu-
sive that the sovereign, of whom tie
Supreme Court of the Union and of
every State. is merely an agency
the sovereign ~peOple-have decided once
for all that these iron horses shall ne
bittcd and bridIed. The sun will pot.
cannot. go back a single degree on tie
dial at Ahaz: Mr. Ingalls, President
Of two great systems, in his address
to YOU last year. frankly said: "Regula-
ton by the people has come to stay
and Il railroad manager who does NOT
recognize that fact is a back number.
He further said that the mass of rAll-
way managers fully recognized the perm
anence of public control and regulation
and were earnestly seeking Il solution
of the difficulties attendant upon it.
. No one can doubt that if all railway
managers loyalty accepted the yoke OF
the law. all questions of differences pc
tween railways and people would be
fairly settled by these boards provided
by the law for that purpose. 1t Is be-
cause many managers do NOT accept II
but resort to injunCtiOns tOften issued
by their former attorneys, promoted to
t~he-bench) to set aside rates, regula-
lions and tax assessments made by your
commissions that the present unsatls-
factory condition of affairs exists.
OWNERSHIP VS.. CONTROL.
II results that the real questiOn-and
we are fact to face with its whether
if is practicable to control these great
forces. these immense aggregatlonS or
capital. 10y Commissions and by statutes,
or shall it be necessary to take the abso-
lutte ownership Of them over IN the gov
eminent.
In all the countries of the world save
Great Britain and the United states
the answer has been that government
ownership is Indispensable to Il safe and
inst control. Accordingly in almost all
DINER countries llINlAull1S ONNH
traIian and other British colonies, the
railroads. or at least the controlling lines
are owned by their respective govern
ments. In the United States and the
contracted territory embraced IN the
British Isles. the experiment of govern
mont control, without government own
ership, is on trial
There are evils in government owner
-b;D Tbnrn are difficulties in govern
ment control, unless it has ownership.
Ii is those difficulties which you have
had to face since the creation OF your
respective Commissions. You Know
their magnitude. The history OF your
various bodies. and the publlshed pro
ceedings of your meetings in these JOINT
sessions for ten years past, show how
fully you have grasped the situation and
with what ability you have discussed the
problems it presents.
ASPECTS OF THE PROBLEM.