The pioneer express., 1903-01-16
ISSUES OF THE DAY
GRAVE QUESTIONS ABLY DEAN.
WITH BY DEEP THINKER.
President ingalls, Of the Big Four Rail
way System Points Out Dangers
Which He Considers Confront the
People Of the United States.

Which He Considers Confront the
People Of the United States.
q, .
An article written for the Social
Service Magazine by one of the great
railway magnates of America, Mr.,
Melville Ezra ingalls,, president of the
Big Four" system, advances views
so fundamentally clear and discusses
with such deep thought the great
problems of the day, as to draw forth
the highest praise from the Louis.
vile Courier-Journal, in it's issue OF
Dec. 8.
Mr. ingalls, first points out the dan
ger in the Overwhelming political as.
tendency Of one party, showing that
the only safe condition is to have two
parties, strong and evenly divided. On
the subject Of expansion" he says:
The great danger as to our foreign
possessions is that, with no colonial
policy we shall drift along until in a
fatal hour we will admit these diff
Ierent countries and islands as Ter
rltories." and then it is easy to make
them States Then where will our
republic be, when Presidents arc
elected by votes in Cuba, Porto Rico,
Hawaii and the Philippines? You
may say that this can never be; that
am. supposing an impossibility, but
let me assure you that the danger is
already with us.
Hawaii has been admitted as a
Territory, and if by chance some par.
ty in power should conclude that it
needed an electoral vote, it is very
easy to admit it as state, and then
your presidential election may be de.
clded in Honolulu. Do you dream
that our republic will last under such
a condition as that?
| Our mistake will be in drifting
along without providing safeguards
against the danger I have alluded to,
We should at once provide by consti.
tutlonal provisions that 20 state could
be admitted to this Union unless it
was composed of contiguous and ad.
joining territory. This would cut out
Cuba, Porto Rico, Hawaii and the
Philippines. Then we should create
a system of colonial government-or
a protectorate, as you please-so that
we may hold our trade and commerce
in the Caribbean Sea, on the Pacific
and in the Orient. For the sake OF
extending our trade, we cannot trif1e
with the life of a republic"
i
Turning from international issues
Mr.. ingalls, shows how we are con
fronted with a further serious ques
tloE-the struggle between capita
and labor-a struggle brought promi
nently forward by the organization o.
the most immense trusts and com
binations ever known. He says:
"Has the danger to labor increased
by the organization of the vast com
b1nations Of to-day? The trust is nc
new danger. 1t is an aggregation Of
capital under a new name How tc
control it is the question.
Publicity and taxation, all agree
is one way of controlling and keeping
the trusts within the limits. Let the
full light of day be turned on all thel,
actions, all their statements and
all their accounts, and provide either
by franchise or license tax that they
snail pay their fair share of the bur.
dens of the people. The tariff to 8
certain extent is used as a protection
for the corporations, and the great
danger to our institutions is tina,
these great aggregations Of wealth
may endeavor to control legislation
and do things that smaller bodies
could not attempt"
The Courier-Journal says:
| These are pregnant words. The3
touch the marrow of the question
treated. Here is another passage
which is full of wise suggestion. Again
we quote:
AFTER all, this danger must be met,
as all danger in the Republic must be,
and must be overcome by the virtue
ofthe people. We must, so far as DOS.
sible, protect our small landholders.
InStheir hands is the future of the Re.
public. Large ownerships of land
should be discouraged and pre-.
vented"
Mr.. ingalls, criticises our present sys.
tenn Of taxation, and declares for a
franchise tax as one of the ,fairest
ways Of raising revenue. He goes on:
have always believed in an In.
come tax, and have thought that the
decision of our Supreme court against
the constitutionality Of such tax was
one Of the most unfortunate occur
rences Of the age. We should have 4,
tax on all incomes, large or small, ex.
empting q moderate amount Of prop.
erty from execution and levy. This
country IS SO rich that with a fair sys.
tenn of taxation and economy in ex.
penditure, the tax. rate will be SO low
that It will not be oppressive, and thus
we Will encourage and protect our
small property holders" ss
Horo 10 AR Tvnuo lJsu "a -.