Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-10-21

81 Z 3 z e,a 81
And here may say that i know am
treading on tender ground but am
SO used to that sensation that am no
longer afraid. Those railroads that
have been constructed within the last
six years and will be within the next
ten years have been paying from Sc
to SIS per ton more than they ought
for steel rails. They have been pay
ing for the product of the mills of
Andrew Carnegie and the United
States Steel corporation S. more per
ton than that steel can be purchas-
ed for in foreign countries, in Mexico,
Canada, South America, Europe or
Asia. We have permitted that
wrong. / can hardly understand why
we should stand pat on this subject
any more than we should stand pat
on the other. want these steel COM
panies to make a reasonable profit
upon their product, but when they
sell abroad for a reasonable profit for
Sc less per ton than they receive for
the same product at home think they
can sell here for Sc per ton less than
they do and make reasonable profit.
"You say you are not interested in
this question? But you are. The rail-
road companies do not care what they
pay for their steel. They are not the
ones that lose the S. per ton. And
what do they care, anyway. The di-
rectors of the steel companies are in
a great many cases the same men who
are the directors of the big railroad
systems. For every dollar that goes
into the railroads you pay the inter-
est. You are the one that pays, not
the railroads. And in time you will
pay all the interest and the premium
too. Every time the railroads have
bought sixteen tons of steel rails you
have paid $500 more than you should
pay.
Farmers Pay the Profits.
And yet l am told that the farm
ers are not interested in this question.
Don't be mistaken. The railroads
take from the users of their property
every penny that is necessary to pay
the bills of the big corporations
While l believe more in the greatness
and the grandeur and the glory of the
future of this country than does any
standpatter who ever held up the flag
of this nation. and while believe that
this nation will yet be decorated with
the best and loveliest garb civilization
may ever wear, yet believe we have
a great duty to perform and must be
up and doing.
"You men of the Corn Belt Meat
Producers association meet together
for counsel upon the subjects that are
close to you. When you see that that
bill cannot pass through the senate
because the railroads prevent 1t, don't
you think 1t Is about time you were
doing more than planting your crops
and following the plow? Pillow, but
think about your country and her con-
dition at the same time. There is no
better time for you to think Of these
things than as you go about your beau
tiful. fertile farms, with nature all
about you in all her loveliness and pur.
ity I believe the farmer has fewer
temptations to do wrong than his city
brother. And believe that in time
the permanent solution Of every prob
lem (for we have them always with
us, and I believe It should be SOY,
shall come to the farmer. I like to
face problems, to solve them all and
sleep, awaking to find some new ones
ready for my consideration. And so
there will always be problems to solve
in this country Of ours and they will
eventually come to you. The duties Of
citizenship are higher and heavier
with you than with any other people
on earth. Eventually the prosperity
and destiny Of the country will be
more in your hands than in the hands
OF any other people.
"And now, bidding you God speed,
and believing that in the end the re-
public will fulfill not only the prophe.
cies Of the patriots, but even the
dreams of the enthusiasts, I bid you
good afternoon"
The Governors Busy Day.
Governor Cummins was busy man
during his visit to Ottumwa yester-
day. Before the meeting in the after
noon he shook hands with scores of men
at the Ballingall hotel and after the
meeting he held an informal reception
in the opera house. He received nu-
m erous callers at the hotel until sup
per time and at o'clock he was the
guest Of honor at an excellent dinner in
the hotel ordinary, given by j. F.
Kerfoot. In addition to the governor,
the guests were: j. R. Trigg of Des
Moines, w. L. Jones of Chicago, Hon.
F. M. Epperson of Eddyville, Senator
S. H. Harper, D. H. Emery, Sumner
Siberell, James X. Dysart, L. D. Bur-
ton, B. A. Hand and w. H. Powell
At o'clock the governor and Mr..
Trigg left for Des MOines.
We are simply great on overcoats
at the Hub.
C>oh,t:o CL.a~~ is not a