The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-10-24

cially valued at nearly twice what +,
would cost to buy the southern Appa-
Iachian Reserve. The maintenance oil
your southern water powers is no
less important than the prevention OF
floods, because If they are injured
your manufacturing interests will SUI
fer with them The perpetuation of
II forests, which have done so much
for the south, should be one OF Tile
first objects of your public men. The
two senators from North Carolina
have taken an honorable part in this
movement. But | do not think tnat
the people Of North Carolina. CT II
any other southern state, have quit:
grasped the importance of this move-
ment TO the commercial development
and prosperity of the south.
The position Of honor in your pa-
rade to-day is held by the Confederate
veterans. They by their deeds reflect
credit upon their descendants and up
on all Americans, both because they
did their drGy in war and because thew
did their duty in peace. Now If tic
young men, their sons, will not o1"v
prove that they possess the same
power of fealtv to an ideal, but will
also show the efficiency in the ranks
OF industrial life that their fathers,
the Confederate veterans, showed tncy
possessed in the ranks of war, he
Industrial future of this great and
typically American Commonwealth is
assured.
The extraordinary developmentof IN
dustrialism during the last half century
has been due to several causes, bat
above all to the revolution III the
methods of transportation and COM
munication; that is, to steam and to
electricity, to the railroad and the tel
egraph.
NEW METHODS OF TRANSPORTA-
lion.
When this government was founded
commerce was carried on by essential
ly the same instruments that had been
IN use not only among civilized ,bu-
among barbarian, nations, ever since
history dawned; that is, by wheeled
vehicles drawn by animals, by pack
trains, and by sailing ships and row.
boats. On and this meant that com.
merce went in slow. cumberOuS, and
expensive fashion over highways open
to all. Normally these highways could
not compete with water transportation,
if such was feasible between the con-
Meeting points.
RAILROADS MUST BE CON
TROLLED.
All this has been changed by the de-
velOpment Of the railroads. Save on
the ocean or On lakes SO large as to
be practically inland seas, transport by
water has wholly lost its old position
Of superiority over transport by land,
while instead of the old highways open
to everyone On the same terms, but Of
a very limited usefulness, we have new
Observation-Disclosures are OWL
ed by private corporations, and which
are practically Of unlimited, instead
Of limited, usefulness. The old laws
and old customs which were adequate
and proper to meet the old conditions
need radical REIMBURSEMENT in order to
meet these new conditions. The car
dinal features in these changed condi-
tons are, first, the fact that the new
highway, the railway, is, from the COM
mercial standpoint, of infinitely great
Ell Importance in our industrial life
was the old highway, the wagon
road: and, second, that this new high
way, the railway, is in the hands OF
private owners whereas the old high
way, the wagon, was III the and or
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
fnitely more difficult, more delicate,
and more important than the primitive
ly easy task Of acquiring or keeping III
order the old highway; SO that there Is
properly no analogy whatever between
the two cases. l do not believe in gov
eminent ownership of anything which
can with propriety be left in private
hands, and in particular | should most
strenuously object to government
of railroads. But l believe
with equal firmnesS that it is out OF
the question for the government not
to exercise a supervisory and reSula-
tory right over the railroads; for 1t is
vital to the well-being of the public
that they should be managed in a spirit
of fairness and justice toward all the
public. Actual experience has shown
that it is not possible to leave the rail-
roads uncontrolled. Such a system, or
rather such a lack of system, is fertile
III abuses Oh cNcIN hllu, o"u
premium upon INSCRIPTIONS n ruth
less cunning in railroad management,
for there are some big shippers and
some railroad managers who are al
ways willing to take unfair
of their weaker competitors, ana they
thereby force other big shippers anu
big railroad men who would like TO
do decently into similar acts of wrong
and injustice, under penalty of being
left behind in the race for success:
Government supervision is neeoeu
Quite as much in the interest of the Dug
simmer and of the railroad man who
want to do right as in the interest OF
the small shipper and the
PRESENT LAWS ARE INEFF1-
GENT.
, Experience has shown that the pres
emf laws are defective and need amend
ment, The effort to prohibit all re-
straint of competition, whether reason
- -n--tcn What