The new enterprise., 1905-07-13

very men whom 1t had MADE rlch'
What would Dallas, Texas, be today
without her railroads? Coming
home. what would Bessemer be II
/ there were no railroads touching her?
What would this mineral district, the
richest in the world, be without the
railroads that penetrate it and carry
the rich ores from the mines and the
/ finished products TO the world at
large? Can the thinking man stop
one minute and try and answer these
questions without giving all praise
to the men who have been behind the
movements that brought these rail-
roads TO this district. Then why
this sense,ess war on rates Of long
and short hauls?
Take the printers, for an example.
GO TO any Job Office in the United
states and ask the price Of 6x9 cir.
culars for one &ousand, then for
fifty thousand on the same form, and
you will be astonlshed at the differ
eace per thousand. The explanation
is, that the cost Of type setting and
distributing must be paid for over
and above the cost Of paper, press
work and profits for one thousand
and for the additional forty-nine
thousand only the cost Of paper
press WORK and PROFITS are considered,
Did anyone ever hear Of a sap
1EeFfg1aFizp
enactment 10 regulate the prices OF
the long and the short run in a Job
printing once? Then in the name
of common sense, why this howl
about long and short hauis Of a rail.
road? 1t costs just as much TO load
and UNLOAD a car Of freight to haul
1t one mile as 1t would TO haul 1t five
thousand. Therefore has not the rail
roads a right 10 say how much they
should get per mile just the same az
the job printer has the right to say
how much he shall receive for each
additional thousand he may run of?
The cause of this fight is prejudice
engendered and encouraged by polit-
ical aspirants. Just let a man get a
desire for a state Office and he begins
at once to wage a war on the rail.
roads ana fan the fame Of popular
prejudice among the farming class,
and he is solid.
Would Mr. Conner be president Of
the railroad commission had it not
been for this prejudice? Was he
elected upon his merits or upon his
popularity, in spite Of the Jim
Dandy" meal affair." and will ho
eventually be elected governor on
this popularity or will 1t be this same
prejudice against the railroads by
the farmers, who have never given
the matter a serious thought, that
will secure him enough votes TO be
elected TO the chief executives
chair.
The RIstler stands for railroads
and more railroads, and to each one
that penetrates this section we bid
hearty welcome and ask others to
follow, and just so long as there is
competition in railroad circles, the
country has no cause to kick. There
has never been a law passed com.
pelling anyone to patronize any rail.
road. Every farmer in Jefferson
county has a perfect right to haul
his farm products on his wagon to
any place on earth and no one will
molest him, If he prefers to haul
his products TO Mobile he can do so,
and IL he can do It cheaper than the
railroads will do It for him, it will
pay him 10 go to hauling, but If the
railroads will haul the same goods
for about one.tenth Of what 1t will
cost him to take 1t himself, then
business horse sense would tell him TO
patronize the railroads and be thank.
full for the chance.
What we need is education along
these lines among the farmers so that
they can see that the great agltators
of these questions are only playing
upon their prejudice in order to get
into Office and nothing else and after
Office seekers win they care nothing
about the financial condition Of the
men who placed them in office nor
do they ever think Of them again
until their term of Office is about to
expire and they want another term.
Then 1t IS that they get down their
last campaign literature and read up
so as to forth upon the hustings and