The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-01-11

Governor John A. johnson last eve
ming laid down the lines for the next
democratic state platform, and stated his
position on the railroad and municipal
ownership issues, which he will take
in the coming state campaign.
quet of the Municipal and Commercial
league in st. Paul. The great part Of
it was devoted to the railroad-rate
problem. He took the ground that
there must be effective regulation Of
rates Or there will be government own.
ership; and to prove the need Of regu.-
lation he cited instances of unequal
some Interstate, but with some straight
comparisons between rates on the same
commodities in Minnesota and in Iowa.
The governor said in part:
There are vast numbers OF people
in this country today who believe that
the government Of the country should
own and operate its common carriers.
government ownership, but want to
say now that if the right Of the gov
Iernment to regulate and control COM
mon carriers in the exercise of their
functions is too stubbornly resisted by
those who control the corporations, the
pendulum will finally become loosed
| and that, when it swings, it is apt to
|
far to the other side.
81 cannot believe that the chartered
right Of a corporation is greater than
| the constitutional right of the citizen,
and I do not think it is American poll
cy to tax the American people into
| poverty in order that great dividends
can be paid to the English and Ger
the stocks and bonds of the secudities
Of this country. It is a settled prin-
ciple of the common law Of the coun-
try that all railroad rates must be rea-
sonable. No uniform rule has been
adopted yet, and in my Judgment no
rule will be adopted until the power
is conferred by the government in itself
to tx rates that are reasonable and to
establish thosesrates and maintain them
until q court Of Justice has declared
that the rate was an unreasonable rate
Railroad operators claim that in the
operation of railways, railroad mer
should be allowed to. fix their own rates
Of transportation, because the matter
OF railroad rate. making is such an intri
binary individual does not understand
it. Perhaps he does not understand it
but the ordinary individual does under
stand that between human beings, be
tween the citizens Of the state, between
capital and labor, between the business
| ludu duu Guc HAL NuO WUThS, Gu0Tt
should be q community Of Interest
which makes the rights of one citize1
as sacred and important as Of the other
That there should be that fairness be
tween us all which is absolutely neces
-sary and imperative in order that there
should be domestic tranquility within
the country. :. go !.
"Today the Canadian farmer trans
ports his produce 600 miles for tn,
I same price of transportation charged
= the Minnesota, producer and shipper t,
transport his wares 400 miles, At tn
south of us, a great empire state ha
provided by law system by which III
rates of transportation are controlled
Suffering by comparison with Can
ada, we also suffer by comparison wit
. Iowa, and lying between these two,
seems to me that there should be n
discrimination against our own fai
state and the villages and cities whic
in part comprise it. y.