The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-05-12
A DOUBTFUL PRECEDENT.

DOUBTFUL PRECEDENT.
 Some of the Texas papers are some- what severely criticising the partiali- " towards San Francisco shown by tho government In donating large sum to that city when it gave nothing 10 Galveston. As pointed out by the San Antonio Express. the loss of lie at Galveston was more than twenty times ss great as it was at Frisco, and the property loss. though actually not as heavy was really more serious because there was no insurance on the property destroyed by the waters.
 These criticisms are well founded and the action of the government ilius- trates in a graphic way the change which five or six years has brought about in It's policy. We are compelled to admit that our government Is rapid. Iy driftins--is being dragGed--from the safe and sound conservation of former days and is fast approaching that form of paternalism which fs near akin to pure Socialism. Tho tinwritten powers of the government arc being stretched to cover almost anything that may be desired.
 Ii great emergency. and In the face of . great catastrophe like that at San Francisco, human sympathy leads and govern human actions, and the heart does not walt for the head to decide deiicate questions Of risnt tho heart delicate questions of right or wrong. nor do governmental of'i- ciais scrutinize very closely the pow CTS and limitations of government. great city had been visited by an aw- fui calamity. thousands of human be- ings were suffering and the need or help wss urgent. IL is not strange that under such conditions Congress did not stop to debate tho matter but at once made liberal appropriation. we think there, are few who would con- demn the action or inquire too closeiy into the question of power or authori- ty.
 But whtn we come to inquire closely into it are we not bound to admit that the act vas extra-consti tutionai, ana that it was a dangerous precedeht9 Where can the authority be found TOT Conxfess to vote the public money to aid city and a people In need? Leaving out that phase of It. however how and where is the limit 10 pc placed. How much property In a city must bc destroyed. and how many lives be lost, to authorize Federal aid? What muat be the character of catastrophe to authorize the government to vote money for relief?
 We can hardly blame the people or Galveston if they feel that favoritism and partiaiity was shown by congress and the administration in so promptly coming to the aid of the California met ropolIs. If motion had been made in Congress immediately after Calves ton was destroyed to appropriate one or more million dollars for relief we can hardly doubt that 1t would have provoked debate and opposition, not because 1t is a Southern city, but be- cause the government and people had not advanced so far the road to pater- nalism as they have done since that event. We may fairly assume that the action in the San Francisco case will be taken as a precedent. but Is 1t safe one7
 And there is another result of thls incident that is somewhat disturbing to advocates of strictly Democratic form of government. Secretary Taft gives out the statement that in order to rush government supplies to the stricken city he used the express com panies, rather than walt for the slow freight trains, and that he had to pay those companies half q million dollars for the transportation. Now, whether he did right to send all these supplies by express may be doubted, but we learn from q recent issue of The New Orleans Item that Congress will start an investigation. and already a decided sentiment has developed to place all express companies under the direct charge of the government, It Is pro- posed that the government shall regu- late the charges and see to 1t in times of great calamities that the companies transport foods free of charge, or else at very reduced rates"
 We have nd defence for the express companies it they really took advantage of the exigency and practically held up the government as alleged. but the talk of the government taking control Of all these companies and forcing them to carry freight without pay, or ut the governments prices Is another step towards paternalism that can hardly be defended. If tho authorities can take control of the express business they can with equal right takes the railroads and steamboat lines. and if they can practically confiscste the express lines in case like the one under considera- ton they can do 1t at any other time. In short, this Frisco incident is open Ing the way for a great deal of talk Ing and acting. that Is not at all in accord with former Ideas of our gov ernment and It's powers.
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 Tho Manchester (N. H) Union un- der its present management may fair | ly bc called a Roosevelt organ. but there are some evidences of boot lick
 Ing toadyism that arc too much for it, and one has recently come to light in New Jersey. There Is n little town