The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1906-09-08
THE RAILROAD QUESTION,
interviewer With the Trust ouestio,

interviewer With the Trust Question.
The railroad question is also interviewer
with the trust question. Nearly all the
private monopolies have received rebates
or secured other advantages over compel
itorS. Absolute equality of treatment a.
the hands of the railroads would go fal
toward Gripping the trusts, and 1 rejoice
that the president has had the courage tC
press the question upon congress While
the law, as it was finally distorted by the
senate, is not all hat could be wished, il
deserves a fair trial.
A New Danger
Rate regulation was absolutely neces-
sary, and it furnishes some relief from
the unbearable conditions which previous
the vesting of this enormous power in the
hands of the commission appointed by the
president introduces a new danger If an
appointive board has the power to fix
rates, and can, by the exercise of that
power, increase or decrease by hundreds
Of millions of dollars the annual revenues
OF the railroads. will not the railroads
feel that they have a large peculiarly in
terest in the election of a president friend
ly to the railroads?
Public Ownership Of Railroads
Experience has demonstrated that MIL
nicipal corruption is largely traceable to
the fact that franchise corporations de-
sire to control the city council and thus
increase their dividends If their man
ayers adopt the same policy. the senti-
ment in favor of the ownership of the
railroads by the government is likely to
~ AaBAoi AAIOOS lIoul Tile lln
try as the sentiment in favor of munich
pal ownership has increased in the cities.
Railroads Must Become Public Property.
Il have already reached the conclusion
that railroads partake so much of the
nature of a monopoly that the must uI-
tlmately, became public property, and be
managed by public officials in the inter-
est OF the whole community in accord
ance with the ~wen-oetined theory that
public ownership is necessary where com
petition is impossible. / do not know
lldI lNe country lG ready for th;r
change. | do not know that a maiority
or my own party favor il, but l believe
mat an increasing number of members
or all parties see in public ownership the
sure remedy for determinations between
persons and politics. and for the extor-
tionate rates for the carrying of freight
ana Passengers. Believing, however. that
the operation of all the railroads by the
FEDERAL government would result in a
GentIalization which would all but OBJ
tlefate state lines. L prefer TO see only
the trunk lines operated by the federal
government, and the local lines by the
several state governments. Some have
opposed this dual ownership as imprac-
ticable. but investigation in Europe has
convinced me that it is entirely prac-
tlcabIe. Nearly all the railroads of Ger
many are owned by the several states
the empire not even owning the trunk
lines, and yet the interstate traffic is
in no wise INSTRUCTED. In travelling from
through Turkey. Bulgaria, Servia, Hun
gary and a part of Austria without a
change of cars. and yet each country
owns and operates it's own roads,, ana
dltferent languages are spoken on the
different divisions of the line. Sweden
and Norway each owns its railroads, but
they have no trouble about interstate
traffic, although their political relations
are somewhat strained. TIL ownership
several state governments is not only |
feasible. but it suits itself to the condf- |
tons existing in its various states. In
those states where the people are ripe
for a change, the local lines can be pur-
chased. or new lines built, at once, While |
private ownership can continue in those
private ownership. Some states nave
been more careful than others to prevent
the watering of stock. and in the acquir-
ing of roads each state can act according
to the situation which it has to meet.
No Doubt Of Government Power
AS TO the right OF the governments, fed
eral and state. to own and operate rail-
roads there can be no doubt. If we can
deepen the water in the lakes, and builC
connecting canals in order to cheaper
railroad transportation during half of the
year. we can build a railroad and cheap
en- rates the whole year; if we can spend
several hundred millions on the Panama
canal to transcontinental rates, we
can build a railroad from New York to
San Francisco to lower both transconti-
mental and local rates. The United
States mail is increasing so rapidly that
on the cost of trunk lines out of the
money which we now pay to railroads for
carrying through mails. If any of you |
the propriety of my mentioning
this subject. 1 beg to remind you that
the president could not nave secured the
passage Of the rate bill had he not APP
remedy of government ownership. and
will so restrain the railroad
magnates from attempting to capture the
fear. The hig%hhanded manner in
which they have violated law, and ig-
nored authority. together with the cor
5,uption discovered in high places, had
done more to create sentiment in favor OF
public ownership h q the speeches
and arguments Of the Opponents of pri-
Vate ownership. 1 have referred to the
question because .ley are so interviewer
that it is difficult to consider one without [
the other. :
Trusts a Political Development. I
Just a word more in regard to the trusts.
defend them on the ground that
hey are an economic development, and
hat they cannot be prevented without
This may be answered in two ways. First, l
rusts are a political development, rather q
han an economic one; and. second, the 6
inue, even though it did result in q net t
economic gain. 1t is political, because it u
ests upon the corporation, and the cor V
rests upon a statutory founda-
ion. The trust, instead of being a natu-
al development, is a form of legalized
arceny. and can exist only, so long as
NC law permits 10 eAlSl. IudC tIleT0 Is -
n economic advantage in production on p
large scale may be admitted; but be- Il
ause a million yards Of cloth can be pro- =
uced in one factory at a lower price per =
ard than one hundred thousand yards Il
an be produced in the same factory, it =
OeS not follow that cloth would be pro- Z
uced at a stil lower price per yard If
II the cloth consumed in the United
tates were produced in one factory or
nder one management. There is a point
eyond which the economic advantage of
lrge production ceases. The moment an c.
approaches the position Of a mo- -
opoly it begins to lose In economic eff IL
for a monopoly ~discourages fnven- q
invites deterioration In quality, and "
a most potent factor in produc- g
on. viz, individual ambition. But the n,
official objections to a trust overcome VI
az acol omic ADVANTAGE which II eel nos. l p]