The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-11-16

EI6&lU6nt OlHAtM tNCtA RtooCtitC0 iltc nuaI address. Among other things Mr. ~ ssseeA - of yohn V. smith.
 To the Members of the National Asso- citation of Railway Commissioners: for the high honor honor conferred upon me at your last meeting in the city of Portland, Maine. I feel that 1t Is 2 duty which I owe you to make a few shall cover. briefly some of the mat ters of vital importance which will come before you for discussion. I should be more effectively felt than yours. composed of men from all sec tions of our common country, whose duty 1t Is to study these questions and become leaders in thought as well as of raiIroading in the United States. Time forbids that I should cover many | of these points, and I shall therefore soniine = myself to only 2 few of the which once prevailed in some sections. that the sole duty of Railroad Com missioner was to make war upon the sone msch wa to Sesy as Ss an mutual cooperation of the people and railroads in the development of the great resources of our country. It is missioners % are f fast @ Coming to under stand that they occupy quasi judicial capacities, and that 1t ts as much Q sworn. duty. to protect the railroads their duty to see that the people have their rights. and that the railroads shall practice no injustice or oppres- sion.
 you. are deserving of the closest and most conscientious study. The chair men of the Various committees will read papers upon the subjects assigned r hAx ngnA 4o n hA ho these papers will be listened to with profound interest. and fully discussed by the members of this Association. tion on Pn1nits nDiform n ciassicasion Rate Maa- ing and Assessment of Railway Prop critics. and Safety Appliances. especial ly, should be discussed at length. and all the light secured which Is possible Trusts and Combines.
 Much has lately been said and writ ten about trusts and combinations, and indeed the entire country has its eyes upon both the great political parties which together dominate our public arairs, to And and enforce some rem say sss ae ceemSness ev Ss uaw 1 combine or trust Is formed for the un- lawful purpose Of destroying competiy l tion and putting up prices beyond theff real value. and beyond the reach of the combine should be enjoined. and the combined power of the State and Fed erai government should be used to de- No tendency or favoritism should be | shown, yea. not even the quality of mercy should enter Into the enforce ment of the law againts such hideous methods so destructive to our free American institutions. It must not however, be forgotten that not every trust and combine is unlawful. In deed, to trusts and combines, lawful in their formation and purposes, this country is indebted for all the great and marvellous achievements which has placed America in the front ranks a was sne nasDons eo%binaton Gf the of woslS sa ital tha>: made 1t possible to spin across the continent in magnificent Pullmans with all the conveniences of modern travel. from New York to San Fran cisco, a distance of 3.562 miles, in the incredibly short space of ninety-sfx hours without change of cars, and to take your supper in Montgomery or Birmingham today and your dinner in Chicago tomorrow. It was a combina- earth to disgorge her, teeming mill lions of hidden wealth of iron, coal gold and silver ores which had been concealed in her bosom through count. less ages past. Destroy the power tc lcombine and the universe would crum- ble into ruins "amid the war of eie. ments, the wreck of matter and crash of worlds"
 Combination of capital makes youi cities, develops your, resources. and is l the foundation stone upon which hap. piness and prosperity rest; your mag lntficent street railways, your great iror furnaces. steel plants. rolling mills Frailroads, water works. sanitary sew craze, cotton mills. and even your churches whose proud spires touch tht | fieecy clouds, are all the direct and healthy offspring of combinations. Il Is the law of nature. The flower blooms and sheds its petals. and. ab. sorbing colors from its neighbors gathers combination that makes pos. sible the lily and the rose. The eyes feast daily upon the beauties of nature the result of combination. The innei
 man Is daily fed upon combination oi food. It takes salt. soda, lard, milk and flower. to make good biscuit, and in Southern parlance, the dearest nor. Ham ig a combination of cold ''possum and taters." It follows, then. that il is the abuse of the power of combina-
 ton and not the combination itself which Is unlawful or harmful. While salt, soda, lard. milk and flour prop erly combined make good bread. the staff of life. the same combination
 with strychnine added, would become the destroyer of life. The one would be lawful, deserving the support of all
 men. and the other unlawful, whose compounder would deserve a felon's death. Let us not. then, in our efforts to root up the tares, destroy the wheat
 Of recent years there has been much agitation looking to Governmental ownership of railroads If the combi- nation of all the railroads into one vast
 system under Governmental supervision
 is dangerous by reason of the centrali- zation of capital. how much more dan
 gerous would such standardization oi power be In the hands of the Federal Government? Let us pause a moment
 to consider the magnitude of this ques- tion. The total valuation of railroads in the United States is twelve billion
 five hundred and fifty-eight million
 nine hundred and ninety-nine thous- and, two hundred and fiftg-elght dol
 lars, ($12.559. .999,25S.) They have in
 their employment a total of one mil lion, three hundred and twelve thous- and five hundred and thirty-seven G.
 31253) persons. who at present owe allegiance to the different States and
 whose political complexions are as va
 ried as a leopard's spots. Think of itl
 A party already in power. with thls patronage, and the appointment oi
 more than a million employes couIo .l,,,
 not only perpetuate itself In power. put
 in a few years build up a monarchy | and our free institutions, now the | proud boast of every American citizen
 would become the laughing stock oi 1 ali the nations of the earth. Let the
 railroads combine and combine untll l every mile is under one vast system ana have sufficient confidence in ouI Government to believe that under prop. l CT supervision, these combinations could