The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-02-26
PLEDGES TO THE
PEOPLE SACRED
Senator Turner on Rail.
road Rate Bill.
DARE TO DO RIGHT
senators Undctcrrcd by h Efforts OF
1t Corporation
owe 1t to the state to Provide
safe Transportation and
Accommodations.

Accommodations.
Following are extracts from a speech
Iv Senator Turner, of P~aSquOtank
county, while the railroad rate bill wa.
under discussion:
Mr.. President:-Our forefathers lit.
tie dreamed of the priceless legacy
they were establishing for us, when
freedom of thought, and freedom OF
speech-and 50, Mr.. President, and
Senators, as / w listened with
pleasure I'M / trust with profit, TO the
many able speeches and wise utter
anccs that have emanated from the
various members of this body, II
seemed to me that we could be likened
unto a ship with White wings out
stretched to catch the Summe zephyrs,
the sun casting its golden rays across
he" pathway, while without chart or
captain, crew or rudder, she
stood alone q silent spectre Of the
increasing gloom, knowing not which
way TO go, but guided by an unseen
force. to an unseen end. And 50 Mr..
President and Senator's, it becomes our
duty to unfold his tangled web, To-
cate somehow, somewhere a guiding
star. and ever keep before US a CON
scious realization of our duty to all
things, and our individual response
biIity to ourselves and those whose in
terest are committed to our keeping,
let us with faith in our cause and CON
fidence in our people, solve this ques-
ton, with credit to ourselves, and JUS
tice to all.
Mr.. President and Senator'S, the
question of railroad regulation in
North Carolina is one of the most mo-
mentOuS questions hat ever absorbed
the attention Of this or any other Leg
islature that ever blessed a people, or
disgraced a State-I say important, yea
OF supreme Importance, for upon the
proper solution of this question in
q very large degree, depend the com
mercial and industrial progress of the
State We love so we'll and whose ira
ditions we revere"
In the course of his argument, Sen
ator Turner, of Pasquotank, said:
And right here, Mr.. President, l
wish to resent with all the emphasis
at my command the many reflections
and aspersions hat have daily been
cast upon this body by u certain
newspaper published in this city.
From the very first day of this Legls-
nature assembling together until this
hour we have been the recipients of
unfounded accusations and untrue
criticism at the hands of this paper.
they have attempted by all methods
known to such q paper to deter this
Legislature from ~discharging the duty
imposed upon it by The platform
of our party, and in accord with the
demand and needs Of our people. But
Mr. President. its efforts have beer
fruitless, its details have fallen short
and his body will solve the great
question with justice to railroad and
people. and in keeping with the plat
form upon which we were elected
and Will not be influenced by any
false and slandcrous ~utterance that
may emanate from a railroad organ
or Il d~isordered and subsidized press
like That paper.
On behalf, Mr.. President, of those
noble sons of North Carolina, who
ompo the bone and SineW of this
commonwealth, and in the name Of
those thousands who are not able to
appear in person and plead their cause,
for the sake of those true men whose
ancestry bid defiance to British tyranny
at Mecklenburg and whose hcroism
won the plaudits of an admiring world
for their magnificent career at Gettys-
burg, / wish to present their cause this
morning. From the mountain peaks
f Western Carolina, where the grand
old mountains pierce the very Heavens
and in language of silent grandeur
point one toward duty and Heaven,
to the glittering sands along the sea-
shore, in old Currituck, where the
50 an and the wild goose bid defiance
tt the skill of the hunter and in whose
bcptIS INC 1ISiiCS Spotl III SleC ana
from their watery home send a chaI-
lenge to catch them if you can-the
people have lifted up their voices in
universal protest against the present
high rates of travel, both passenger
and freight, and demand that we as
their representatives shall give them
relief.
Why aE this cry? Are the people
mad? Has fanaticism and anarchy at
last secured control Of the mind and
reason of men? Have the people been
led by false leaders and in their ex-
t"emity and uncertainty are they re-
p~udiatIng their only friends, and upon
Il Legislative cross are they seeking
to cruelty him? Nay. verily-Mr.
President, the people of North Caro-
lima are a true people, and just. Be
cause of injustice hedged upon them
by the British Government, our
fo~refathers declared themselves free
and independent. and that declara-
ton was made good sir, even though
it cost bloody footprints to mark the
sacred soil of Valley Forge, and men
made graves to dot about every hill
and valley through which these noble
heroes passed.
Our people are of long suffering,
Mr.. President, n they have patiently
waited n hopefully trusted that
the railroad companies in North Car
"1lna would realize the situation,
awake to the injustice that was being
dohe our people. How cruel their dis
appointment
freight rates have increased, rail
ROADS. at every opportunity, have broke
down opposition lines. created mon
opolleS, and the public have beer re-
clplelltS OF Just such as the railroad
company wished to give and no more.
Passenger service has gone to the
extent that half Of the time you pur-
chase a ticket. you cannot secure q
seat. Connections are seldom made,
trains are very nearly ALWAYS from
W to six hours late, and when YOU
enter a train and start upon a Jour
ncy, the hancc are about even that
YOU will arrive to your destination sa fe
and is it thought strange that the
people should demand that this cOndi-
ton change, has it finally got to the
point in North Carolina, when rail
roads are supreme, are men subjects.
mas Il become so that q railroad divi-
4ehd IS worth more than a human life ?
nave we arrived at such an hour. that
me voice of the people shall no Ion