The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-09-13
MOST DANGEROUS pRorosrrIoN

to make a tour of the South. He is to speak in States where racial peace and quiet would be utterly wrecked by the application of Federal principles to the management of trunk line railroads. We assume that he will carry with him on this tour the full courage of his convictions. that he will not compro- mise, or eqnivocate. or deny, We as- sume. therefore. that he will make his railroad policy a prominent feature of all his speeches, although he will be aware that his audiences are not in sympathy with him. How will it be possible for Southern Democrats to fol- low MT. Williams's advice and magni- fy the things upon which they agree with MT Bryan. while MT Bryan him. self continues to project an issue which is to them a peculiar ahomination and offense7 The Southern tour should H. lustrate anew MT. Bryan's phenomenal genius as a splitter"
 It Is one of the anomalies of modern statesmanship that a man of MT. Bry- an's intelligence should seriously and consistently advocate such a doctrine, and it is still more surprising that he should undertake to convert the South to such an impracticable and undemo- cratic policy. Much praise and glori- kfieation has evidently unsettled him.
 So far as we are aware neither Mir. Bryan nor any of his supporters has explained how his plan is to be carried Into effect. We presume he will hard ly hold that the general government and the State governments will under take to eonfiscate all the railroads of the country. Nor will he. we imagine. 1 argue that the governments can con- demn the roads. fix price on them and take charge of them. Either man per of obtaining possession will hardly appeal to any fair -minded person. If they cannot be obtained in either of these ways the only alternative is to purchase them, and the owners would have the right to fix the price. Does Mir. Bryan even imagine that these great corporations, or the little ones. for that matter. would sell their prop
 
 uation? Is 1t noe certainty that they would put a price of two or three times their value on all the lines? Has Mir. Bryan ever figured up the proba- ble amount that it would cost the na- tional and the State governments to buy the roads at the prices the owners would fix?
 1 And he is not in any better position when he throws as. :, to the Southern Democrats by saying that the general government should own only the trunk lines. He we'll knows that both our devotion to thu doctrine of States Rights and our racial questions would prevent Southern Democrats from ae- quiescing in his ownership theory. so he proposes that the States should own and control all their own roads. By this concession he expects 10 pia- cate Southern sentiment and win over the support of Southern Democrats.
 What is a urunk line? Who is to define it satisfactorily Suppose 1t is defined as line passing through any of the States. we fatl to see how that would mend matters If a State can only control a road which lies entirely within it's borders and does not cross any S,-,Ie line there would be little good accomplished. When a train of cars from the East on one of the trunk lines passes West Point it will be in Alabama but Alabama cannot control or regulate IL because II will be run ming on trunk line and amenable only to the general gevernmet Ii Alabama makes laws or rules TOT rail- roads while in the State--which are through Iines-and those laws coLtilct with the Federal laws the latter would control. of course. But even if a railroad only operated m two adjoin- ing States and was not considered a trunk line in the meaning of the law, , Is it not almost certain that there } would fail 70 be harmony in the regu- lations of the two States and that trouble would ensue?
 This idea of Mr. Bryan's is not only q long step towards socialism, but, what is perhaps worse, iG would be tue longest step towards paternalism that has ever been taken. or even thought ! of in our government. As matter of course. if the government at Wash ington owns all the trunk lines it will have the right to employ all the em- ployes, from track-walker to the high
 est position in the service. We do not , know how many new positions the government would have to fill but tht
 number would run up into millions r The party in power would be able tc build up a political machine nevel
 eGUalled in the government and coulc
 by this means retain the retns of gov, ernment indefinitely. It would be an oligarchy such as our coutry has never
 seen aud which we pray may never cxIsL
 We do not know what Southern Democrats may do, bat Tor the credi
 of the party and of the South, and fol the protection and maintenance of oul institutions we hope there will be bu
 few Democrats iH the south who vii
 endorse the position. Not only woHlG , it be a violation of the dearest prin,
 ciples and traditions of the party bu
 would form q serious menace to oul |, peace and quiet We want no Con gress or President or other Fedora
 .rtbarir,. tn ,ra1xa Iovrys op1 fort,, Ia,