The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1905-10-25
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 70, 1906.
ROOSEVELT AND THE RAILROADS.

1NOOScVcIt StIIl UcllcVcS Cudt lcOcCdl
control of railroad rates is necessary.
He took the drst opportunity 70 pub
licly express himself upon the subject
in his trip through the southern states,
and the remarks addressed to the citi.
zens of North Carolina were intended,
through newspaper reports of his
speech, to be read by American citi.
zens in all parts of the country. Here
is part Of the presidents clear and
concise statement of the railroad rate
matter, as presented in his North Ca
rOlina address,:
1.-THE extraordinary development of
industrialism during the last half CEN
fury has been due to several causes,
but above all to the revolution in the
methods of transportation and COM
m%unication; that is. to steam and to
electricity, to the railroad and the tel
egraph. Save or the ocean or on
lakes SO large as to be practically in
land seas, transportation by water has
wholly lost its old position of supe-
riority over transportation by land,
while instead of the old highways open
to every q on the same terms, but
of a very limited usefulness, we have
new highways, railroads., which are
owned by private corporations, and
which are practically of unlimited, in.
stead of limited, usefulness.
ttTNbo n11 1oyo ma ria ..-.
which were adequate and proper t
meet the old conditions need radical
REIMBURSEMENT in order to meet these
new conditions. The cardinal features
In these changed conditions are, first,
the fact that the new highway, the
railway, is, from the commercial
standpoint, of infinitely greater i'm
portance in our industrial life than
was the old highway, the wagon road;
and second, that this new highway,
the railway, is in the hands Of priv ate
owners, whereas the old highway, the
wagon road, was in the hands Of the
state. The management of the new
highway, the railroad, or rather of
the intricate web of railroad lines
which cover the country, is a task in
tinitely o difficult, more delicate,
and more important than the print
lively easy task OF acquiring or keep
ing in order the old highway; 80 that
there is properly no analogy whatever
between the " cases.
~ dO'snot believe In government
ownership Of anything which can with
propriety be left in private hands, and
In particular. | do most strenuously
object to government ownership o4
railroads. OBut l believe with equal
firmness that it Is out OF the question
for the government not 10 exercise q
supervisory and regulatory right over
the railroads.; for it is vital to the
well.being Of the public that they
should be managed in = spirit of fair.
ness and justice toward all the public.
Actual experience has shown that it
is not possiblelto leave the railroads
uncontrolled. Such u system is fertile
in abuses of every kind, and puts u
premium upon INSCRIPTIONS and ruth
less cunning in railroad management:
for there are some big shippers and
some railroad managers who are al.
ways willing to take unfair advantage
Of their weaker competitors, and they
thereby force other big shippers and
big railroad men who would like to
be decent into similar acts of wrong
and injustice, under penalty Of being
left behind in the race for success.
Government supervision is needed
quite as much in the interest of the
big shipper and of the railroad man
who wants to do right as in the in
terest of the small shipper and the
consumer.
what we need is to have some ad.
ministrative body with ample power
to forbid combination that is hurtful
to the public, and prevent favoritism
to one individual at the expense of
another. In other words, we want an
administrative body with the power
to secure fair and just treatment as
among all shippers who use the rail.
roads-and all shippers have q right
to use them. We must not leave the
enforcement Of such laws merely to
the department of justice; it is out of
the question for the law department OF
the government do what should be
purely administrative work. Justice
is to stand behind and cooperate with
the administrative body, but the ad.
ministrative body itself must be given
the power to do the work and then
held to q strict accountability for the
exercise OF that power. The delays of
the law are proverbiaI, and what we
need in this matter is reasonable
Quickness of action.
"The abuses of which we have gen.