Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-07-21
STATEMENT BY BRYAN
Government Ownership Not an
Immediate Issue.
IT NEEDS TIME FOR TRIAL
To Regulate Railroads the Important
Requisite.
THE DUTY OF THE DEMOCRATS
Must Insist Upon Exercise of Federal
and State Powers to Secure Effective
Railway Regulation.

LINCOLN. Neb, July 2o,-Wlliam J.
Bryan today issued the following state
ment:
Government ownership is not an lmme-
date issue y large majority of the people
still hope for effective regulation. While
they so hope they will not consider govern
ment ownership. While many democrats
believe, and Mr.. Bryan IS one of them,
that public ownership of railroads is the
ultimate solution of the problem, still those
who believe that the public will finally in
selfdefense be driven to ownership, recog-
nize that regulation must be tried under the
most favorable circumstances before the
masses will be ready to try a more radical
remedy.
Regulation cannot be sufficiently tried
within the next year. There is no desire
anywhere to make government ownership
an issue in 1908. Mr.. Bryan fully agrees
with those who believe that it would be
wise to turn attention from regulation, on
which the people ready to act, to gov
eminent ownership, which the people
are not ready to act To inject the govern
| ment ownership question into the next cam
pagn would simply give representatives of
the railroads a chance to dodge the issues
| OF regulation and deceive the public.
Railroads Successful So Far.
$50 far the railroads have been success
full lin preventing effective federal regula-
ton, and state regulation has as a rule
been restrained by the United States
courts. 1t Is about twenty years since
the interstate commerce commission was
created. 1t required about ten years for
the courts to find out that the powers con-
ferred were insufficient, and then it took
| about ten years to procure an amendment.
The railroads fought the amendment at
every step, and the President was finally
forced to compromise with the railroad re-
pubcans in the Senate in order to procure
their support.
Even that amendment, obtained with
tremendous effort, falls short of what IL
should be. 1t aims to stop passes and re-
bates. The railroads profit pecuniarily by
both the stoppage of rebates and the pro-
hibition of passes, but eXtortionate rates
still exist. State legislation for the reduc-
ton of rates has resulted in an agitation
on the part of the railroads for legislation
which will deprive the state of authority
and centralize all rate legislation in Con-
gress.
Democrats Must Meet the Issue.
THE democratic party must meet the is
sue presented; 1t must resist the encroach-
ments on the authority of the states. 1t
must insist upon the exercise of federal
power for the regulation of interstate com
fneFCe, anu II must lHSlSC upon the exercise
| of state authority for the exercise of all of
| the power vested in the state. This ques-
ton has grown in Importance during the
past year, and its prominence will be in
creased If any attempt is made to impair
state authority. The republican party is
as impotent to regulate the railroads as it
is to exterminate the trusts and to reform
the tariff.
THE democratic party has in three
tional campaigns demanded effective rail-
road regulation, while the republican ma
tiohal platforms have been silent the
| subject The President has partly adopted
| the democratic view on this subject; but so
| far the republican leaders have resolutely
opposed it. The President is helping to
| educate the people up to the need of rail-
| road regulation; but his party, under its
| present leadership, is powerless to accom-
| plish this or any other important reform. If
| the democratic party will clearly and I'M
| eQuvocally demand: First, the ascertainng
| OF the value of all the railroads; second, the
| preventing of apitalization, and, third,
| the reduction of rates to a point where
| they will yield only a reasonable return on
| the real value of the roads, it will COM
| mend itself not only to democrats, but to
| those republicans who have been led to
| study the railroad question. The railroad
| situation presents a vital issue, and the is
| sue should be SO stated that every one can
understand the partys position"