The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1907-10-25


ri.its and interests off tn- minor
az. These and other abuses aNl Nt'''-
sr., of thc moral law and ihe liN obi
fhr land chat have caused i.t I'' O
Nursing against c0rp1rauon-, ana '.
public are determined lNa' '.'t
reform.
such word. from SO constf' ali'e "
newspaper as the Iimcs-psFa.en are
worth thcserious cons.dera.onoi NOSE
who control and manage large cor
norations and at This time are e-peci-
ally worthy of the consideration Oh
those who manage and control our
railroads.
The Times. Dispatch is right il has
nut its finger on the heart of the si'u"-
non. We do not believe and have
never believed that there is any hos-
ulitv against corporations, per- So ana
especiallv against railroads. among inc
Great body Of the people. The history
of railroads. and Of the attitude oil inc
neonle towards the railroads, prove
fbi, 1t proves that the people are
friendly To railroads, so friendly Ina'
tbev have voted bonds and money to
the extent Of tens of millions OF dol
lars. i'm order 90 encourage the building
of them.
The great mass of the people are not
FOOLS They can be reasoned with. I'D
the long run they get TO the bottom Of
things. And they are honest Ls-
peciallv is this true of our Virginia
people. We have raseals and scoun-
drels. The peuitentiary and Jails are
evidences oft. although not all the
rascals and scoundiels are behind the
bars. But the average man OF when
Mr.. Bryan speaks is honest, is capable
is slow TO anger, is patient
Why. then, this deep suspicion and
feeling against the railroads as at pres
ent conducted? The question answers
itself Ills because some OF them are
not conducted properly. Itis because
some of them are conducted dishon-
estlv. Iii. because some OF them are
in the possession. or under the control,
Of "hieh finance highwaymen who
are lauded as great captains OF indus
tryn when in reality they are captains
of robber bands who work after The
order Of sneak thieves.
And the people are at last "wise' to
the true situation. They were for
long time unsuspecting. Honest them
selves. they took for granted that 9th
ers were likewise. They lave been
patlept: have submitted to wrongs and
Inconvenience. thinking and hoping
that things would sometime right |
themselves. But things have not /
riehted themselves. Matters have |
grown worse instead Of better. Rail- /
road managers have not only wateied
stock and made the people pay di'id- /
ends on the water, but they have un-
dertaken TO control legislation have i'm /
many instances controlled Legislators,
governors. senators; aye, and the very /
Judges i'm the temples of justice. not /
satisfied with reasonable dividends on /
money actually expended, they have
soughttoget possession every branch
of our government, state and Federal,
with the foul purpose Of robbing the
people under the forms of law. 1t is
true picture, and adequate proof is at
hand to show IT,
And now the people have decided
definitely what they intend TO do
They have decided that the railroads
must get out Of politics; must conine
themselves to the railroad business;
must stop watering stock must stop
subsidizing newspapers TO chloroiorm
the people;must stop payingenormou
sums of money that belong TO the
stockholders-yea, to the widow and
the Orphan-in order tobuy the brains
aud characters of attorneys and lobby
lists, who, IN return for this money,
muddy or poison the springs Of justice,
or secretly enter the halls of leglsla-
ton and tamper with the statutes. All
these things are going TO stop-because
the plain, honest, every day man has
made up his mind that they shall stop.
Such are the facts-aud such will be
the outcome So evident is it, that tie
man, even though he be
duh and slow 10 see, can see IT, But
many of the railroad manag rs don't
see it. So long have they disregarded
the "fellern with the wool hat and the T
pants that bag az the knees, that they
think him the same old easy "come- Z
on" They have heretofore laughed, >
in their fat-witted complacency, at the =
'average man, now they grow red in
the face and pretend TO be indignant 3
at him because ne insists ON taking 'a ,
look at the books; they even cry o.
''c0nhscatiOn" and anarchy at him 81
In order to frighten him. And they d
think "all this agitation viii blow
over' as a gentleman recently remark n
ed TO US. Well, when it blows over, it Al
will blow the present highwaymen out T
IF power. and if the honest stockhold- n
Frs Of railroad and other public service Il
don't put better managers n
over their properties, the agitation will II
assume the proportions OF a hurricane, Il
here is no telling who and what will
be blown over.
For, as the Tmes-Dispaich truly IN
.ays, "the public are determined that "a
shall REFORM ~,