The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1903-01-22
ADVOCATES NEW ISSUE
Judge Van Wagenen Speaks Favor.
ably of Government Owner
ship of Railroads.

snip OF RAILROADS..
In an address before the Boies Jack
sonian club banquet at Waterloo, Janu-
ary Sth, Judge Adam Van Wapenen, of
Sioux City, responded to the toast,
"Class Legislation Privileges, an ad-
dress that has attracted considerable
attention. After speaking of the dam
ger of favoritism in legislation and ad-
mlnistrstion, Judge Van Wagenen took
up what he considered the best remedy
for the evil. He said in substance:
The remedy which appeals to me is
government ownership of the railroads.
There are but two great departments of
industry, production and distribution.
The railroads control the latter. Trusts
control tue former. Production is de-
pendent on distribution, every trust is
dependent upon the railroads. Without
corrupt alliance with the railroads no
trust today could exist. With fair rates
private coal mines would now be pour
ing their product forth to relieve the
suffering people; the grain elevator sys-
TENS could not strangle the individual
buyer, Standard Oil could not destroy
the value of new oil fields and stamp
out com petition. Without favoritism of
the railroad, the steel trust could not
exist, and the packing companies could
N ot 1iotot To ,rioou IF nrouio;oos
The railroads are the warp in the
trust fabric, they ar Re S&ews of the
lobby, the most potent agehcy in, ma
nipuiation of elections and Legislatures,
the great ,benefciaries of class legisla-
ton.
Government ownership of railroads is
not radical or untried. What France
car. do, what Switzerland did in 1898,
what Australia lis doing, what monopoly
ridden, aristecratlc Chill ls doing, what
most Of the countries of Europe are do
ing, We can do.
Constitutional lawyers admit we have
the right to build and operate railroads.
We are soon to build an Isthmian canal
to encourage competition with the rail-
roads by water. Why should we not
CARR the same policy further, and adj
vance interests Of the islands as we'll as
coast statess An.expenditEe of only a
fraction of as'muoh money would build
and equip a railroad from the Atlantic
to the Pacific, with.charges SO low as to
compel the reduction of rates one. half.
Before the government has tsken one
step toward actual building, and as
soon as the purpose was we'll settled, it
could purchase such line at its own
price.
There are those who hesitate because
of the roads enormous debt, which
would be placed upon the people. But
idA is there now. The people are now
paying 5 per cent on this inhated valae,
whereas they could purchase the rail
roads with bonds issued at 2 per cent
and save over so per cent in fixed
charges. We are not without the light
of experience. Little Switzerland in
1898 purchased its railroads at watered
stock prices, and have made them
wonderfully profitable.
Look at our postal system. We are
on the verge of SO per cent reduction in
letter postage, and face to face with an
increase Of 25 per cent in freight rates!
How better illustrate the gulf between
public and private ownership?
have little faith in restrictive legis-
lation or amendment of the Interstate
law. No adequate remedy for trusts
has been proposed. By taking the
power which created these trusts, the
government would arm itself with the
weapon for destroying the trusts.
Where government ownership exists
it is rock rooted. 1t does not present
difficulties which should give us pause.
It would come smoothly and would not
cause ripple of excitement. Freed
from the burden of exorbitant rates and
trust prices, the country would grow as
never before.
Government ownership, even in
new and untr:ed field, would present in
6nitely less to fear than the future un-
der existing conditions. We must soon
choose between government ownership
of railroads or railroad ownership of the
government.
new Sleener RetWeen Des Molnes