Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1905-1906, 1906-03-09
GAYNOR DECLARES OIL MAN
NO BETTER THAN INSUR-
ANCE LOBBYIST.
HAS NO SUPERIOR GENIUS
No Amount of Money Can Make
Such Character Decent in any
Country" He Says.

New Rochelle, March S.-(Special)
Speaking of John d. Rockefeller,
Judge William j. Gaynor, in adj
dressing the New Rochelle Forum on
Corporations, Uses and Abuses"
said:
"No amount of money given to
charity, no amount of church or
Sunday school teachings, no amount
Of money given to found colleges,
which was the unpaid wages due to
labor, can make such a character
decent or respectable in thi country
or any other country on earth, I'M
less it is an absolutely degenerate
community.
"He is no better than Andrew
Hamilton, insurance lobbyist, who
ran off to France to escape hxamina-
ton before legislative committee.
elias Rockefeller made his money
by his superior genius I should say
no-by the superior rascality of the
railroads, which Disseminated in his
favor"
Referring to President Roosevelt.
Judge Gaynor added: 81 honor the
President of the United States. God
bless him! / honor him because of
all this talk, this cheap political talk
this humbug talk on the subject of
rate legislation. He had the man.
hood and integrity to put it up to
Congress in such q manner that they
have to pass this law or go home in
disgrace. If Congress dares to adj
journ without doing it, wait and see
what happens. Oh, they are debat-
ing it up hill and down hill to see if
they cannot lay it to the courts to
regulate railroad rates.
"We know all about the courts
and the delay. We have at the pres
ent time spectacles of courts trying
to bring railroad and insurance and
other officials before them. I be-
lieve in this matter that one ounce of
executive prevention is worth more
than a pound of judicial cure.
People Will Take Action.
eff I had my way would have
Congress pass the railroad freight
bill and place government freight
agents on every railroad, with the
government in charge of the freight
departments. We would then see if
the railroads would charge one man
more than another for hauling his
freight to market.
eff the present famous discrimi-
nations cannot be stopped by law,
then the time will come when the peo-
pie will compel the government to re-
sumo these franchises.
"Every time I am reminded of the
Rapid Transit Commission it makes
my blood boil. That such a great
city like New York would tolerate
such an autocratic istitution is more
than I can understand. You may
search every statute book and you
will not find such an Representative
and unresponsive bdy as this COM
mission.
"We claim to live under a demo-
cratic government and yet we cannot
control this commission. Their APP
pointment was in perpetuity and
their powers are unlimited. They are
responsible to no one and they have
the RICH to grant franchises, and yet
we cannot get these Commissioners
out. .--
"The railroads. continued Judge
Gaynor, "lease for 900 years, and if
this leasing business is allowed to
continue heaven knows where it will
end. But there is a question if the
public will put up with this outrage
for 900 years. There is a question
now whether the public will even put
up with it for nine years.
Got Lease for Nothing.
"What a bowling wilderness they
must think New York is when these
corporations think we stand for such
violation of the peoples rights
Who built the subway? Whose mon
ey was expended 1t was the peo
Piles money. 1t cost $35,00O,O00 and
Belmont got lease on it for seven
ty-fve yeas, just as though it were
only for seventy-fve minutes. THAI
means forever, for all practical pur
poses, for the tunnel will be obsolete
in seventy-fve years.