The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-09-22


the people up and exploits them. and we
| have been driven to municipal ownership,
! not because the people wanted 1t, but be-
cause they had to have 1t for their own
d. protection. (Applause) And as we have
J the same kind of people 70 deal with in
regard to railroads in municipal own
| ership, l believe the result will be the
same.
Democratic Plan.
Now, believing that the government will
have to own the railroads ultimately, and
| fearing as l had the Capitalization of ma
! tional ownership, l proposed as a substl-
tute democratic plan, and what is this
plan, that the trunk lines only, and only
so many as may be necessary. may be
owned by the federal government, and
the local lines owned by the state gov
| eminent. Tell me it is not democratic:
| it is the most democratic policy that has
| been proposed in the last century for
Strengthening the state as a bulwark
/ against the encrouchment of the federal
| government. In Germany nearly all of
| the railroads are owned by the separate
| states; only few by the federal govern
ment; the federal government wants to
| get hold of the roads. but the states won't
| give them up for these railroads have
| given the states a strength that they did
not have before, and there is no difficulty
about interstate traffic; they trade with
each other: their trains run across the
| lines because the people of adjoining
states are interested In the traffic. you
| can get on the train at Constantinople
an bride to Vienna, and you pass through
| Bulgaria, Hungaria and a part of Aus
| tria, and each country has its own rail-
roads, and own them and operate them,
| and you get your ride through nations
| speaking different languages, and you
never know when you pass a frontier line.
| l believe instead of giving you centraliza-
/, ton 1t gives you means of strength, pow
4 er and position of a state, and Ii not only
prevents Capitalization with its dangers,
and gives you advantage of government
| ownership, but my friends 1t gives each
state the chance to act as it pleases. If
| the state wants private ownership 1t can
F. have it under this plan; IL each wants
| public ownership it can have public own
ership, and what more democratic thing
than let the people have what they want
and do what they please, whenever and
wherever they please. (Applause)
If we oppose government ownership
until we are driven to national owner
ship, 1t means that the government will
take hold of the system all at once, when
ever a majority of the Americans decide
and in the south you have not quite
majority, and If majority of the Amer
| lean people decide In favor of national
| ownership. then your postmaster-not your
| station master. carpenters, track walkers
/ and bridge builders and freight handlers
will be appointed from washington.
don't want 1t and therefore l propose a
democratic system that let's you attend
to your own business, and attend to 1t
when you get ready and when you want
to. (Applause).
If we wait for national ownership, then
we have to try the experiment on a large
scale but II we adopt this plan, we
can try 1t on small scale, and by grad
ually increasing, we can have the benefit
of the experience, and II experience proves
II unwise, then the loss will be much
less than IL we tried 1t on a large scale.
That Is the simple plan that has been de-
nounced as so undemocratic and SO I'M
patriotic and so un-American. presented
It, because to me 1t seemed wise; 1t can
be accepted or rejected by the American
people but my friends. IL you watch the
trend of public affairs you VIII md tnat
every year gives more believers In the
doctrine than the railroad is such mon
onolv that IL cannot always remain in
private hands But pardon this DEPRESSION.
I repeat that I have said what l have
said not for the purpose of convincing
YOU or bringing you to believe as l do.
hut simply that You may understand what
7 stand for: what l advocate. and not
have ii misrepresented in your presence.
Mr.. Bryan closed his speech with dis
cussion of imperialism, pointing out what
the republican party had done in the
Philippines and what the democratic
policy was in regard to our new pos
sessions. The speaker was greeted with
prolonged applause.
Mr.. Bryan went from the Bijou to Gel
ders hall where he addressed a group of
wage-workers. After dining privately with
Colonel and Mrs. Tomlnson at o'clock.
Mr.. and Mrs. Bryan left at midnight fol-
Jackson MisA