Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1904-02-10

with the aggregations that control
production, such as the coal trust
and the beef trust.
Some time during last month, a
resolution was offered in the House
of Representatives by Mr.. Tawney,
a Republican from Minnesota, and
it ought to pass. / know Jim"
Tawney well, and / know that he
is a big-hcarted, honorable gentle
man. He offered this resolution in
the interest of humanity, but his
party is not inclined to sustain him
in his position. The resolution
offered by Mr.. Tawney was in re-
ference to the rotten railway pos
tai cars, to to which have been due,
IN large measure the loss of life
TO the railway postal clerks in the
past dozen years. Even last year
there was not less than Is brilliant
young men, who take their lives in
their hands every time they enter
a car and start on their run, killed
and cremated, simply because these
cars were old, ram-shackle affairs,
become a box of matches i'm COLI
sion and burn like tinder wood
thereafter. The preamble to this
resolution offered by Mr.. Tawney,
and which recited the foregoing
facst, was striken out when the
resolution came up on Jan-27. In
striking out this preamble, it easily
will be seen that nowhere in the
RecOred' appears the reason
contained in the request for the in
formation and that was the inten-
ton of the resolution. Instead of
this preamble, which was an at
tempt to get this information be-
fore the people of the country,
they simply add a request for
knowledge of the condition of the
cars on June |, last. This will
be used as wall to hide behind
and an attempt will be made to
place the blame for bad equipment
on the clerks themselves. as it will
be claimed that they have neglect
ed TO report the bad cars. The
truth of the matter is that the pos
tai clerks have learned from long
experience that such reports on
their part only secures a new coat
of paint and other subterfuges to
hide the real character of the cars.
Ii would seem that with so many
demolished cars and so many men
killed and burned up that there
would appear To be some necessity
for action on the part of Congress
in the interest of humanity. The
railroads, however. are still strong
enough to prevent Congressional
action and hoodwink the people,
which will continue so long as there
Is party in power controlled by
the railroads,
The railway postal service and
It's efficiency are matters of impor-
tance to every business man and
every newspaper in the United
States. Hitherto, the work of
these brave young men has been
hidden under a bushel, simply be-
cause railway influences have con-
trolled the position of Second AS
sistant Post Master General, which
has jurisdiction over this depart
ment of the service.
The people have necessarily been
in Ignorance of the real situation
concerning it. This service is fill
ed full of labor unrequited by dol
lars, of herOism, and it is real
tragedy. 1t will be my pleasure
and my province in the near future
to expose the methods and de-
nounce the machinery, engineered
by the Republican party, rom
Justice and decency to the manly
young men who still live and work,
and to the hundreds who have gone
to their death through the cupidity
and avarice of cold-blooded corpor-
ations controlling the machinery
of the Government.