Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1907-08-01
1T IS NOT AN ISSUE.

AS the campaign approaches it be-
comes more and more evident that of the
economic questions, three-the trust
question, the tariff question and the rail-
road question will share public attention,
and these three really present the same
issue between the general public and
the privileged classes. Shall the govern
ment be administered in the interest of
a few? This is the issue presented by
the trust question, the tariff question
and the railroad question. Government
ownership is not an immediate issue. A
large majority of the people still hope
for effective regulation, and while they
so hope, they will not consider ownership.
While many democrats believe-and Mr..
Bryan is one of the number-that public
ownership offers the ultimate solution
of the problem, still, those who believe
that the public will finally in self defense
be driven to ownership, recognize that
regulation must be tried under the most
favorable circumstances before the
masses will be ready to try a more radical
remedy. Regulation can not be sufici-
entity tried within the next year, and
there is no desire anywhere to make
government ownership an issue in 1908.
MI. Bryan fully agrees with those who
believe that it would be unwise to turn
attention from regulation, on which the
people are ready to act, to government
ownership, upon which the people are
not ready to act. To inject the govern
ment ownership question into the next
campaign would simply give representa-
tives of the railroads a chance to dodge
the issue of regulation and deceive the
public. So far, the railroads have been
successful IN preventing effective federal
regulation, and state regulation has, as
a rule, been restrained by the United
States courts. 1t is about twenty years
since the interstate commerce commits
sion was created. 1t required about ten
years for the courts to find out that the
powers conferred were insufficient. and
then it took about ten years tosecure an
amendment. The railroads fought the
amendment at every step, and the presi-
dent was finally forced to compromise
with the railroad republicans in the
senate in order to secure their support.
Even that amendment, secured after
tremendous effort, falls short of what it
should be. 1t aims to stop rebates and
passes-and the railroads profit Pc
cuniarily by both the stoppage of rebates
and the prohibition of passes-but ex-
t%ortionate rates still exist, and state
legislation for the reduction of rates has
resulted in an agitation on the part of
the railroads for legislation which will
deprive the state of authority and CEN
tralize all regulation in congress. The
democratic party must meet the issue
presented; it must resist the encroach-
ments upon the authority of the states.
1t must insist upon the exercise of fed
eral power for the regulation of inter
state commerce, and it must insist upon
the exercise of state authority fora the
exercise of all of the power vested in the
state. This question has grown in i'm
p%ortance during the past year and its.
prominence will be increased if any at
tempt is made to impair state authority.
The republican party is as impotent to
regulate the railroads as it is to exter-
inmate the trusts and to reform the
tariff. The democratic party has in
three national campaigns demanded
effective railroad regulation, while sthe
republican, national platforms haYesHeen
silent upon the subject. The president
has partially adopted the democratic
view on this subject, but SO far the re-
publican leaders have resolutely opposed
it. The president is helping to educate,
the people up to the need of railroad
regulation but his party, under its pres
edit leadership, is powerless to accom-
'plish this or any other important reform