The news & observer., 1905-08-11
WILL NOT ALWAYS BE AT THEIR
MERCY

The threat of the Armour Refrig-
orator car trust to compel the straw
berry shippers to pay more freight
next year, in order to recoup the trust
for the losses sustained by reason of
their not furnishing cars, ought to
arouse the people to the necessity of
compelling their representatives in
Congress to pass a law giving the In
ter-State Commerce Commission pow
er to protect shippers from the re-
prisals of the transportation trust.
I'm recent issue of the Charlotte
Observer the following comment was
made on the action of Armour:
1.-THE threat of the private car COM
panies to raise the rates on fruits and
berries from the South next season
probably means that this will be done,
for the truckers are absolutely at the
mercy of these concerns"
The above from the Charlotte OBJ
server, was copied into the Monroe
Journal. Taking it as text the
Journal said:
There's got to be a new declara-
ton of independence in this country,
and we'd as we'll come along with it.
That a greedy and raScally corpora
ton of Chicago should be able to say
absolutely what the people of this
great section shall receive for their
produce. if indeed they allow it to be
sold at all, is unlike what should be
IN this country. There are three
schools of so-called craftsmanship in
the United States now. The dominant
Tod l1xr tncr
principles of the Republican party,
which in substance is, Give the trusts
and frenzied financiers and all repre-
sentatives of large capital whatever
they want and let the people take
whatever the cormorants choose to
give" The school which stands next
to this is the one of ponderouS but OBJ
solete theory, represented by men OF
Mr.. Cleveland's kind. 1t can be sum-
med up in the idea of whatever is, is
right-vested interests-dont dis
turb them-they are as they should
be-thousands of people live in tene-
ments unfit for healthy dogs-they
have always lived there-that's the
place for them. The last school is the
militant crowd, like Tom Watson.
They are for something better and
don't know exactly what it is, but are
not afraid to move for fear the house
will tumble down on them When the
people have become sufficiently exas-
perated they are going to take up
with the latter crowd and something
will be doing. We dare not think how
long it will be before this time ar
rives, for the longer it is delayed the
more livel- will be the results"
There's got to be a new declara-
ton of independence in this country,
which the people must meet is this:
Will they submit always to the robbery
of entrenched monopoly? The Jour
nal correctly says when they become
sufficiently exasperated' there will be
something doing" but it is probably
mistaken in saying that they will
take up with Tom Watson's crowd"
which makes government ownership
of railroads, Mines and trusts the
remedy. 1t would be nearer the truth
plan demanded in the Democratic Ma
tional platform, approved by Mr..
Roosevelt in the Esch Townsend bill
and in the Northern Securities suit,
and with proper laws and proper en-
forcement, the evil can be remedied
without waiting for the long and tedi-
Gus process of government ownership,
if that were possible or wise.
One thing is true: Government
regulation of transportation COM
difficult to execute as it would be, can
be obtained a hundred times as easy
and as quick as ownership can be Sc
cured.
The fight is a hard one-it may be
a long one-but it will be won. The
truckers and the manufacturers will
not always be at the mercy of the
transportation trust.