Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-09-20
SHAW ANSWERS BRYAN.

AS usual 1t has remained for Secre.
tary Shaw to accept Bryan's challenge
and show up his scheme of government
ownership of railroads. Others have
denounced 1t as visionary" 'imprac-
tlcal,' and Revolutionary" while a
still different class have appealed more
TO the prejudices of the southerners
by mention of their Jim Grow cars
and what would become of them but
Secretary Shaw in that way OF his own
has torn to pieces the arguments. If
arguments they may be called. set
forth by Mr.. Bryan.
In his speech at Memphis, Tennessee.
Saturday, Mr.. Shaw went into detail
IN the discussion of various portions
OF the New York speech of the Nebras.
kan. put owing to the nature of the
subject he gave more attention to the
question OF government ownership of
railroads. In series of queries, which
need no answer and which he leaves
unanswered, he makes the subject ri
diculous, although they deal with only
one phase of it, that of Improvement
as follows:
Ii the trunk lines once were placed
under the direct supervision and con
troll OF congress, does any one suppose
that one line could be double tracked
and rock bailasted until facilities on
every other line were made equally
good?
Would one road like the New York
Central be given four tracks and CO.
ment and steel bridges and the Rocl,
Island, with more mileage, touching a
territory having more votes in the
house and several times as many more
votes in the senate, have but single
track and cross streams or BRIDGES
with wooden piers?
Would it be possible to have an
hourly train service between New
York and Philadelphia and between
Chicago and Milwaukee with parlor
cars and dinner service, and have on
~ two trains day between the homes
OF several times as many senators
scattered between Seattle and st,
Paul?
would it be possible to have a
through fast trains pass any town with
out stopping, and especially the home
town OF congressman or senator?"
Full of facts and figures woven in
with anecdotes, as the Iowa man al
ways is, he had numerous practical il.
Illustrations of government work. which
shows that while Uncle Sam is good
employer and paymaster he is not a
good business man when 1t comes to
construction.
Taking up Bryan's observations that
with 1t lying in the power Of the Presi-
dent to name commission which can
make or lose millions for the railways,
there would be a great inducement for
the railroads to take hand in the ell
ect1on Of the executive of the nation,
Secretary Shaw answers:
Unless Colonel Bryan's fears that
some chief executive may abuse the
discretion lodged with him under the
rate bill are groundless, then what
might we not fear should the nearly
ten thousand officials and nearly mil
lion operatives of trunk lines of road
be made either subject to executive re-
moval for captious cause, or retention
regardless Of ineficiency?"
All Of Bryan's twistings and turn.
ings on the matter of when or how the
matter shall become an issue, the sec
rotary passes up with the observation
that Bryan says it must come to an
issue some time, and he says: II ac-
cept the challenge now"
That is the only attitude in which to
fight such propositions. This is the
time to fight them out, not when the
people are driven desperate by panic
or other economic ills. The republi-
can party has made the mistake in the
past of trying to hold off such issues
by compromise. 1t took over the pro-
hibition elephant in Iowa, it found it.
self badly mixed on the silver question
and now it is urged that something
be done to placate the tariff rippers in
the party. 1t is but natural that there
should arise body of men in the
party who will demand that something
be done to head off Bryan. that the