Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1902-02-15
"a nampIe 81 Pdns.Ilsrr,. .

1
= II the people party wzs ever more
cordially desptred and condemned foe
any one of its tenets THAI another it
was the one favofing the government
ownership OF railroads. That was
asserted To chimerial scheme pattern
| alism both unnecessary and dangerous
TO advocate it was calamity bowling
it meant the destruction Of vested
rights, and was vicious for several
other reasons. But pop0iistS must
now be both gratified and amazed to
see their bitterest aSsailants OF the
past in Congress assembled, vote.
with almost absolute unanimity, their
willingness to endorse and give prac-
tical effect to the principle that they
erstwhile so vigorously denounced.
And SO enthusiastic are these new
converts that they do not hesitate to
pledge 500, 600, 600 tosstart the new
principle on it's triumphant way, aad
they halt not at the possibility that
their sudden conversion may cost the
country S500,O00, coo before they are
through with merely one application
of the principle they formerly deeried.
Try to wriggie out oEit as they may
yet the fact will remain that COVER
nment built, owned and opera ted can
al does not differ whit in principle
from government built, owned and
operated railroad! yet the country is
nearly unanimously in favor of the
canal, or has gone over, body ard
breeches, TO a fundamental principle
of populiSm:
Now it may be we'll to briefly dis
cuss the two applications of the prln-
cfple, to see which would do the mass
of the people the most good. 1t is
conceded by everybody but railroad
owners that governmental control of
railroads is necessary, and the logic
of experience has now taught us that
| legiSla tive control is dismal failure,
But there is a possible control that
would be effective beyond shadow of
doubt: the ownership and operation
by the government of enough rail.
roads to control the rest, which would
require only small mileage, relative
iy. At $4,000 mile, which is more
than it would cost to duplicate the
railroads of the country, the $780,
coo, 600 that it is proposed to start the
canal enterprise with would build
1855 miles: of road, or a double track
from the Atlantic to the Pacific!
With such a road what would peo-
pie care about com binations of priva tie
owned roads, about courts, railroad
commissions, conferences of governors
ofstates, or any of the other contriv-
ances that have been crea ted Ostensi-
bly, to protect the people from railroad
extortion? Such railroad would
prove to be the greatest blessing that
d government eyer bestowed upon a
.peoplei
The proposed application of a popul-
iSt principle will take out of the
country very many of the millions to
be spent, they will go to alien labor
ers and traders, while if building a
railroad every dollar of expenditure
would remain in this, country, an adj
vantage so self-evident that itreduir-
es no comment. The suggested rail
road would be, an unmixed blessing to
the whole people, which cannot be
said for the canal, for practically NOV
ing the Orient with its millions of the
poorest. paid wage earners of earth
some 1000 miles nearer to our Allan
tic coast may not prove an unmixed
blessing to our Industrial classes. The
country'S conversion to cardinal
principle Of popuiism must highly
crafty the members of that party,
but the qualification must be mixed
with profound regret that the appli-
cation of the principle could not be
more wise and helpful.