Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-09-15
POLITICIANS FEAR
RESULT OF ISSUE

DO NOT KNOW HOW WIDESPREAD
GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP
OPINION is NOW
Bryan's endorsement of Proposition
Makes 1t Matter for Discussion In
Both Partles-Questlon Of Effect on
Business Situation.
Washington, D. c., Sept. Att is
easy discernible here that the utter
ances Of Mr.. Bryan since he returned
to America are causing great uneasi-
ness. This is not confined to one par
ty nor to one class of citizens. Bust
ness men are equally uneasy with the
politicians This latter class fear that
should his radical ideas prevail all
business would, for many months, If
not for many years, be paralyzed and
disorganized This feeling is shared
by both republican and democratic
so outspoken as Senator Daniel of Wiz.
l
cially with members of their own par.
ty, freely say the peerless leader" has
opened up vortex that will In all
probability engulf their party.
\ The republican politicians are I'M
easy, for they cannot tell yet just how
4 strong hold on the mind of the pub
lie the doctrine of government owner.
ship has taken. 1t is readily acknowl-
edged that at first it is very catching
cry. The mass Of the people are al
ways restless, ready to welcome al
most any change, anything that prom.
ises brightly, and the republicans are
disposed to take rather gloomy view
of the situation and to fear the popu-
lace will run after the pot of gold said
to be hidden at the end of the rainbow.
This doctrine of government owner.
ship Is not new one by any means.
1t sprung into active existence under
the whig leadership Of Henry Clay and
| all over the country a great rage for
internal improvements" as 1t was
, called In those days, spread from state
, to state and was burning issue In
, more than one polit cal campaign. The
general government undertook to In
augurate the system Of constructing a
great highway from the Atlantic tc
the Mississippi river. The opponents
Of the scene based their opposition on
| two grounds; first, the government
had no constitutional right to enter In
to the building Of highway; second
road building was matter wholly
within the jurisdiction of the states. II
was some time before the states Of
!. Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia
! would give consent for the government
to undertake the construction Of the
Y road through those states.
The doctrine spread through nearly
all the states, but did not get a very
strong foothold in any except those
! states in the west, now known as the
middle west. Several Of those states
: especially Indiana, at once entered up
e on an elaborate system Of railroad
turnpike and canal building. In ever,
: instance the experiment proved disas
trous in the extreme. 1t drove some o
. the states into bankruptcy and entire
e or partial reputation.
Indiana did not recover from the eft
fects Of Its experiment until after tn.
= close of the civil war Two elements
e entered into all of these experiment.
u that helped to render them disastrou
party politics and extravaganza il
q the construction and management. T,
procure the money to pay the cost 0
: construction the Introduction of Evil,
6 cat" currency was resorted to, and re
n suited in unsettling values and demon
alizing business of every kind.
e All these things are now being dis
: cussed, and the lessons taught by his
hot T~ xrys1
days of internal Improvements tn
democratic party everywhere stood al
: rayed against the scheme, and it is on
a of the startling commentaries on pal
/ tyism that the same scheme, only i
another form is now brought forwar
: and advocated by the leader of tina
same democratic party A prominen
4 treasury official has been making som
calculations as to what it would cos
y and as to the prospect of the ultimat
payment for the government to pu
chase the railroads alone, and he say
the purchase Of the railroads would NJ
cessitate the purchase Of all vessel
engaged in interstate commerce c
transportation, and all pipe lines. H
points out that it is now forty year
since the close of the war between tn
states, and that they have been year
of unexampled growth and prosperit.
yet the government has not been abb
to pay off one-half the debt contracte
during that war. In round number
the civil war debt amounted to tw
billions of dollars. To purchase tn
railroads would cost at least ten bi
lions. He says it would be utterly in
possible for the government, great an
rich though it is, to float anything ill
such debt, but, supposing the del
could be floated at three per cent, tt
annual interest charge would be $500
100000. eff it has taken the COVER
ment forty years to pay one billion
debt, at the same rate it would requi
four hundred years to discharge tt
debt created by the purchase Of tt
railroads But that would not he q