The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1905-02-25
BE CAUTIOUS.

vided expression in the press Of the
country and among opponents Of ma
tional thought for the passage of the
railroad Freight Bill, which has al.
ready been favorahly acted upon by
the Lower House of Congress, and is
now pending in the U. s. Senate. We
have not read the proposed bill, and
are not competent to pass upon it in
detail. 1t may be exactly the meas
ure to meet conditions as outlined in
the Presidents speech before the
Union League Club at Philadelphia.
But the principle it seeks to establish
is OF such momentouS Importance, and
is so far reaching in its consequence,
that We feel that we must sound a
note OF warning to our national legis-
latorS to be cautious. Let not the
spur of public opinion and the inspira-
tion of that sentiment which has been
foStered by many elements in u poll
tics for the past several years cause
them Il. infiict a serious blow upon the
commerce Of the nation, and perhaps
make an inciSion into the vitals of one
OF the greatest industries.
Wise heads, who suggested the bill,
should look carefully into all the bear
ingS of its passage, and into the effect
of every clause of it upon n of the
greatest promoters and vehicles of our
civilization. The spirit to smite all
corporations is not so pregnant in the
land today as it was a few years ago.
But somehow, whenever a proposition
is made or discussed Of abridging the
prerOgatives of corporations, railroads
are among the first subjects of discus
sion and attack. We presume the
reason for this is because they operate
under the eye and under the obser-
walton of all classes and all on
ditiOnS of people and penetrate the
remote corners of the land. No in
duStry has contributed SO largely to
the development of the country and
is so indispensable to society and
commerce as the railroads, and so
far as our observation goes, they
q MO NC ap6oovor +O o,oot tbo ,oocop
able demands of the public and to
give their patronage satisfactory SER
vice. Aside from this, they pay their
just proportion of taxes into the pub
lie treasury, which is many thousand
dollars. The pockets of Grenada cOun-
tvs treasurer would be very much
lightened if railroad taxes were with
drawn from us. These, and many
other reasons, could be assigned for
saying to our national legislators in
reference to pending railroad legiS-
latiOnS to be cautious, lest what we
are proposing for the railroads return
as a boomerang to atflict us where we
do not TO- suspect. Immediate ex-
pediency is not always discretion.
There should be a fundamental prin-
ciple underlying every law upon the
nations statute books. What we
measure out to "Smith" today he may
desire to measure to us tomorrow. 1t
therefore behooveS us to tread eau
tiOuSly.
So many voices are crying out for
this bill, that, in some respects, the
nation presents the picture of gather
ing around some great giant that is
about to be manacled, each one to say
his say or smite him upon the cheeks.
The Democratic party is almost a
unit for the bill. This shows that old
things pass away and new things
new conditions must reign supreme.
To our mind, as we understand the |
creed as taught not many
years in the past. it is a severe stroke
at the underpinning of what that
party has almost regarded as sacred
its creed and is a signal triumph of
the advocates Of paternalism and those
who have advocated a more centralized
governments
We are not unmindful of con
ditions as they exist, and that in
order to guard with jealous care the
rights of the weak and to stay the
hand of aggregated wealth and COM
bined corporations, the national prun-
ing knife is sometimes necessary to
place limitations upon the exercise of
their rights in dealing with the single
or firm.
1t is necessary that they be hedged