Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1907-11-01

sist in getting more railroad facilities.
So it is evident enough that there is no
deep seated hostility to railroads in the
minds of the people. They may get
some radical notions in their heads at
times but they mean to be fair and will
be fair whenever they get correct in
formation.
One trouble with the railroad mag
mates and other capitalists is that they
have gone on the assumption that the
people were hostile to them and second
ly that the people are mostly an ignor-
ant class. incapable of understanding
anything about how to run railroad.
If the railroads will discuss the business
Of running the roads in a fair, candid
manner they will find that most of the
people are willing to come across half
way
But there doesn't seem to be any
good and sufficient reason for this de-
preston of spirits on the part of Mr..
Ripley. There is no indication at the
present time that the people are going
to quit doing business in this country.
On the contrary the volume of business
is constantly increasing and there is
every reason to believe that it will in
crease. The tendency is all the time
toward better living, better clothes,
better houses and greater luxury.
People are not going back to the style
of living in vogue 80 years ago or even
25 years ago. And there is lot of
them. AS the style of living is raised
and the population increases the busl-
ness of the railroads must of necessity
increase. 1t will take more cars next
year to haul the freight of the country
than it required this year and year
after next more cars will be needed
than next The railroads constantly
require more tracks, more cars, more
men. Instead of two men hunting for
one job the prospect at present is that
there will be a greater demand for labor
next year than now.
Scme of the railroad legislation en-
acted within the past year or two may
be unreasonable but Mr. Ripley knows
that law which viii not permit the
railroads to do business at a profit will
not stand in the courts for minute.
Not only that but the people do not
want laws that will hamper railroad
building. They know that they need
more and better railroad facilities in
stead of less. What they want is a fair
deal and whenever they understand all
of the conditions they will be willing by
a very large majority to give a fair /
deal.
The railroad managers have been re-
sponsble for most of the popular pre-
JUDGE and hysteria that Mr.. Ripley
about. Let US cite one case
that has caused this feeling by way of
example: Up to the time that the
Standard Oil company had its pipe line
to Kansas City, from the oil
fields, crude oil was being carried by
the roads to Kansas City for less than
10 cents per hundred. AS soon as the
Standard pipe line was completed and
that company had no further need to
ship crude oil the rate was raised to
about three times the former rate and
all Independent shippers of oil were put
1ut of business. Does Mr.. Ripley
blame the people for getting warm
1nder their several neckbands? Does
ne blame them for reaching the imme-
Hate conclusion that the change in
freight rate had been made in order to
favor the gigantic monopoly? Of course
here was no other conclusion to be
This is only ono instance; plenty Of
,thers might be cited to snow that the
were being run primarily in
he interest of the multimillionaires,
he giant monopolies ard to the disad-
rantage of the small shipper. Now it
happens that the small shippers who
we're getting the hot end of the propo-
ILlOll dtt III lily iAte%J Ivy !
hey always have been and always viii !
,e. They have the power whenever
hey see fit to exercise it, to bring rail
Dads or any other corporations to time. :
)nce arouse a storm of popular wrath
nd it moves as resistless as the cyclone /
r the earthquake that rocks the earth
nd shakes the best built structures as
they were but card houses fashioned r
Y hands Of children.
What the railroads managers ought h
, do instead of going about bowling 9
alamity like lot of old time Populists f
to get busy convincing the people a
nat they intend to do the fair thing. o
nd when they adopt that policy, mark Il
the people viii meet them half way. e
Mail and Breeze, Topeka, Kansas. T
xcuTsiOn TO GOOdins, November g
llth to 18th.