Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1905-05-18
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular oorrespondent,)

reply to the striking teamStefS, the
absolute lack of anything sugges-
tive of demagoguery, his insistence
that the law must be preserved,
and his assertion, made at the lro-
quois Club of Chicago; that the
State was behind Mayor Dunno
and the Nation behind the State,
the President has disarmed his
enemies and made a giant stride to-
ward the accomplishment of that
legislation which he regards as es-
sential to the proper control OF
the railroads of the country. He
has left no opportunity for men to
say that he is revolutionary, or
that he is "playing the effect, "
and his recommendation must be
received as the sincere belief of a
man who is honest and fearless
beyond all question. AS there pre-
walls considerable confusion re-
garding the reforms which the
President hopes to effect and the
evils he seeks to remedy, a some
what detailed explanation of the
situation seems appropriate for
these letters particularly, as most
of this information has been gain
ed in personal conversations with
the President himself.
There are two distinct evils
which the President seeks to rem
edy. The greater is the absolute
domination by individuals or cor
porations. or combinations of cor
porations, of the great highways of
commerce, those ironed highways
commonly called railroads. Only
an exercise OF the authority of the
State Cor government) makes pos
sible the requirement of rights of
way and the condemnation of pri-
vate property under the legal prin-
ciple of eminent domain. When
constructed these railroads consti-
tute natural monopolies and only |
by the exercise of governmental
regulation and supervision over
these monopolies can they be pre-
vented from working injustice to |
the people from whom they derive |
their right to exist They are not |
private property, such as wages,
bread or other commodities, as has
been been claimed by prominent |
railroad men. If they were the |
government could not properly |
seek to supervision and control |
them. Such supervision over pri-
vate property would be socialism
pure and simple. In essence the
right of way of railroad belongs |
to the people, can never properly
become the property of an individ- |
ual, and it's administration is mere
ly delegated to those who manage
the railroad, always with the re-
served right on the part of the gov
ernment to exercise over it such
regulation and supervision as may
be necessary to protect the peoples
rights. The right to fix maximum
rates for freight and passenger
transportation which the President
advocates, would amount to con-
crete assertion by Congress of the
right Of the people to control their
own.
The railroads will gladly accept
any regulation which will effect
ually prevent all the forms of dis
elimination which curtail their |
profits, but they will oppose to the
better end any legislation which
will more completely establish the
right of the government to regulate
and supervise their business. 1t
is the desire Of the President that
Congress shall frame law which
will remedy all these evils and es-
tablish, for all time, the rights of
the people, as exercised by their
representative, the government,
over the ironed public highways. I!
For Rent.
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