Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1904-06-16
THURSDAY, JUNE Is.
DEFENDS NATIONAL AID.
Col. Browniow, the Tennessee Con-
gresham, Replies to Attacks
of the Washington Post.

ri seldom attempt to answer
newspaper criticisms," said Colonel
Brownlow of Tennessee when asked
for some reply to the persistent at
tacks of the Washington Post on
his road bill; "but as the Post is an
influential and well-edited paper
perhaps l may be justified in say
ing few words in response to the
charges The Posts principal
charge against the National aid
plan Is that it is 'stupendous pater-
ma ism But have watched in va n
for any serious attempt to substan.
tate the charge. The advocates of
National aid to road improvement
have consistently argued that the
question of road Improvement is
only part of the larger question
internal improvements which cut
such figure in the politics of the
early part Of the last century. The
right and duty Of the government
to undertake and carry through at
it's own expense great works of in.
ternal improvement was then thor.
o ighly discussed aud definitely
settled in the affirmative. The Post
claims that the South. on sober Sec
ond thought will eventually oppose
National aid; but il should be re.
membered that such Southern
statesmen as Calhoun and Clay
were the ablest and most persistent
advocates of internal Improvement
including the building of National
highways. If the building of pub.
lie .ads entirely at the National
expense was a proper function of
government in the days of Calhoun
and Claw, why should the proposal
for the government to aid in road
improvement by paying half the ex-
pense be dnounced as 'stupendous
paternalism' now?
an a recent Issue the Post cites
the fact that the South few years
ago opposed the Blair bill for Fed
eral aid to education But the Post
ought to know that this opposition
arose from the more or less definite
connection between that bill and
the race question. The Post is in
deed unfortunate in bringing up
the question of Federal aid to edu-
cation for this is the basis for one
of The strong arguments for Nation
al aid to road improvement. If the
Post editor will get one of the re.
ports of the Office of Experiment
stations. Department of Agricul-
ture, he will find long volumes of
6gures headed Federal aid,' and a
glance at the bottom of the page
will show him that these figures
foot up to nearly two million dol
lars aneually. This Federal aid is
distributed among the states for
use in maintaining agricultural
colleges, and this aid is given only
on condition that the states appro.
pirate money for building and
equipment for these institutions.
Here then 10 species of co-opera-
ton between the states and the Ma
ton very similar to that proposed
in my bill for aid to road improve.
ment. Has the South opposed this
Federal aid to education's Not that
I ever heard of.
"Only a few years ago another
measure very similar to that just
referred to was brought forward by
that great and patriotic Southern
statesmen, Hatch of Missouri, for
Federal aid to the states in main
tanning experiment stations; and
under the Hatch act the govern
ment is now spending nearly $780,.
600 annually for its share in the CO.
operative work of maintaining their