Hattiesburg daily news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1907-1908, 1907-10-26

rights are not in the slightest de-
gree infringed, If subject is rele-
gated to the general government,
which is wholly beyond the control.
oof states. The constitution has wise
ly relegated to the control of gen.
eral government things which are
national in their character, and con-
corning which legislation by many
states leads to confusion, rather than
order Federal control, examination.
and publicity would, in my opinion,
have the same effect upon the rail-
ways that it has had upon the ma
tional banks. By this means it would
not only be that the operations of
the roads would be regulated, and
the condiaion of railway finances
made public. Thus investment in
railway securities would be brought
within the reach of people, and the
present complaint on the part of rail
way management about the difficulty
of getting money for necessary ex-
tension and improvements would all
be gone. The people along the lines
of the road would buy their securities
as the people in each locality now buy
national bank stock A large volume
of national bank stock Of the United
States is now held by widows and
orphans, by sanction of the courts.
What court would in the present sit
uation, permit the money of widows
and orphans to be invested in rail-
way securities, or to remain invested,
even where the deceased husband
and father had already bought them?
The question of constitutional
right for such government control,
regulation and publicity are amply
provided in the constitution, and on
two different counts. The constitu-
ton provides for the control by the
federal government of interstate fore
ign commerce. This is ample auth
GRITTY alone, but the constitution also
provides for the control by the fed
eral government of the mail service
and post roads. We are prone to for
get, in a degree that every railroad
is. a post road, and that it carries the
mails. The railway people them
selves sometimes remember this in
case of strikes, but they don't re-
member it when 1t comes to obeying
the general laws relating to discrim-
nation, rebates, combinations, and
the issuance of watered securities. 1t
Is idle to complain of drastic state
legislation, until some remedy has
been found for the railway evils. 1t
is self-evident that no state legisla-
ton can accomplish a remedy for
railway evils, except by harassment,
and this harassment is very danger
| GUS to commence. 1t is idle to talk
about the railways reforming them
selves. They will never do it until
forced. The controversy has come
to be one of an evil on one side
against an evil on the other side.
The roads complain about drastic
state legislation, while the people of
every state are complaining of rail.
way evils, and bitterly resenting the
idea. that railway investments have
been put by speculation and fraud
wholly beyond the reach of the peo-
pie themselves. If these railway evils
existed in one state only, the state
might well undertake its remedy.
The best legislation any state could
make would be to request the fed
eral government to Immediately in
augurate a system of control, regu-
lation and publicity for all the rail
ways of the country upon precisely
the same lines that the general gov
eminent now controls, regulates and
makes public the affairs of national
banks. So far from state rights be-
ing infringed, any state would be
exercising one of its highest rights
to appeal to the, general government
to remedy an evil with which the
state itself is unable to cope, and
precisely as the state would appeal
to the general government in case
war was declared against It.
i The usurption by the general gov.
eminent of the control within a state
of anything which the state could
handle by itself would be an infringe
ment of the states rights The re
ference by state of matter be
yond its control to the control of the
general government, is one of the
highest and most important of the
: rights of the states which are in the
. American Union, and while none
could be more opposed than to the
, surrender Of any states rights. none
CLOUD appreciate more than the
! right of state to call the genera
! government to its aid to help 1t Ii
J connection with matter that wa