The San Francisco call., 1905-01-31
GOVERNMENT MUST CONTROL
RAILWAYS, SAYS PRESIDENT
If Necessary He Will Advocate
Constitutional Amendment
to Make It Possible.

man who controls it's use can not be
permitted to control it in his own in
terest alone.
Every important railroad is engaged
in interstate commerce. Therefore,
this control over the railroads must
come through the national Govern
ment.
The control must be exercised by
some governmental tribunal, and IL
must be real and effective. Doubtless
there viii be risk that occasionally, II
an unfit President is elected, this con-
troll will be abused: but this is only
another way of saying that any ade-
Quate governmental power, from the
power Of taxation down, can and Will
be abused If the wrong men get con-
troll Of it.
DETAILS FOR CONGRESS.
''The details must rest with the. law
makers of the two houses of Congress,
but about the principle there can be no
doubt. Hasty or vindictive action
would merely work damage; but in
temperate, resolute fashion, there must
be lodged in some tribunal the power
over rates, and especially over rebates
whether secured by means of private
cars. of private tracks, in the form of
damages, or commissions, or in any
other manner-which will protect alike
the railroad and the shipper and put
the big shipper and the little shipper
on an equal footing. Doubtless no law
would accomplish all that enthusiasts
hope; there is always disappointment
over the results of such a law among
the over-sanguine, but very real and
marked good has come from the legis-
lation and administration of the last
few years; and now, as part of CO.
herent plan, it is entirely possible, and,
indeed, necessary, to enact an addi-
tional law which will mean further
progress along the same lines of def
mite achievement in the direction of
securing fair dealing as between man
and man.
I'm some such body. as the Interstate
Commerce Commission there must be
lodged in effective shape the power to
see that every shipper who uses the
railroads and every man who owns or
manages a railroad shall on the one
hand be given justice and on the other
hand be required to do justice. Justice
so far as 1t is humanity possible to
give and to get justice-is the founda-
ton of our Government. We are not
trying to strike down the rich man;
on the. contrary, We will not tolerate
any attack upon his rights. We are
not trying to give an improper advan-
tage to the poor man because he is
poor, to the man of small means be-
cause he has not larger means; but we
are striving to see that the man of
small means. has exactly as good a
chance, so far as we can obtain it for
him, as the man of larger means: that
there shall be equality of opportunity
for the one as for the other.
I'VE do not intend that this republic
shall ever fail as those republics of
olden time failed, in which there finally
came to be a government by classes,
which resulted either in the poor plum
dering the rich or in the rich exploit
ing and in one form or another en-
Shaving the poor; for either event
means the destruction of free institu-
tons and of individual liberty. Ours is
not a Government which recognizes
classes. 1t is based on the recognition
of the individual. We are not for the
poor man as such, nor for the rich man
as such. We are for every man, rich
on poor, provided he acts justly and
fairly by his fellows, and If he so acts
the Government must do all it can to
see that inasmuch as he does no wrong,
so he shall suffer no wrong.
TALKS TO THE CADETS.
ANNAPOLIS, Jan. S0.-The Presi-
dent delivered the commencement ad-
dress to the graduating class of the
Naval Academy to-day The exercises
were in the new armory, which was
well filed with the midshipmen, the
officers of the academy and their rela-
tives and. friends. Although speaking
directly to the graduating class of the
Naval Academy, the President spoke
to the nation as well as to the mid
shipmen. Addressing the cadets as
fellow midshipmen, the President
began by saying that he was unable
to see how a good American could fail
to be a better American by coming to
Annapolis and seeing what the navy
was and what it was soon to be.
More than any other people in the
country he said, except the men OF
your sister service, you owe a peculiar
care for your interests to the repre-
sentatives of the people.
NO DANGER OF MILITARISM.
"Of all the baseless alarms in the
country" the President said, the cry
about militarism was the most foolish
and most baseless.
mo nation is as free from the dan
ger of a growth of militarism as we
are, ne added. The danger is lest
we do not take sufficient thought to
prepare our men and material. If this
country Intends to do its duty on the
side of law and order, then it must
see 10 it that II is able to make good
should the necessity arise.
1T is idle to talk of our faith in the
Monroe doctrine if we are not able
to make that faith evident. 1t is fool
ish to remain permanently in the Phil
ippines unless we provide a base OF
military action for our fleets and army
should it be necessary to defend the
PhiIippinas in time of war, 1t is un-