The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-05
From the Augusta Chronicle.

From the AuguSIa CnfOnlcle.
 @ HAT was a striking point made by (CD Hon. Jacob Phinizy, ex-mayor
 of Augusta, and president of the Georgia Railroad and Banking company, in reply to a telegram from the New York World, asking for his opinion on President Roosevelt's declaration in favor of federal control of railroads.
 Mir Phinizy's telegram to the World, as reproduced in yesterdays Chronicle, was as follows:
 of President Roosevelt is properly quoted in his Indianapolis speech he cer- tainly advocates absolute control upon the part of the government of the rail- roads.
 q am strong believer in proper reg ulations by the government, but if they want absolute control they should buy the railroads, paying for them fair and equitable price.
 GIT WOULDN'T BE A BAD IDEA FOR THE PRESIDENT TO ADVo- CATE IN THIS CONNECTION THE REGULATION OF LABOR UPON THE PART OF THE GOVERNMENT"
 Government regulation of labor. rev. olutionary suggestion, you will say at once. And yet, 1t sounds no more radical, than did the suggestion of government ownership or control of railroads ten or fifteen years ago. We may well stop and ask ourselves, whither are we drift ing?
 But government control of labor would interfere with personal rights and indi- vidual liberty. Certainly-but is 1t not equally true that government control of railroads interferes with the rights of capital and the freedom of legitimate in- dustry?
 Mind you, we are not discussing gov ernment regulation of railroads, any more than we are discussing laws gov- erning the personal conduct of individ- uals; but absolute, complete government "control' the assumption of authority to direct the management of all the rail- road properties in the United States with out assuming either moral or financial responsibility for their proper and suc- cessful conduct; the taking out of the hands of experts-men trained throughout their lives In this particular branch of CA the country and turning them over to government officeholders-men who know no more about managing railroads than you or me. But that, too. without mak- ing the government or It's agents re- sponsible to anyone in case such man. agement proves a faiiure-as is almost inevitable.
 Mir. Phinizy, speaking as a practical business man. well says--if this is to be done, the government should buy the railroads. This line of reasoning, as ap- piled to your business or ours, would strike up as self-evident proposition. Then why does 1t not apply with equal force to the business of railroading?
 But the point in Mir. Phinizy's telegram to which he had intended to give par ticular stress was the suggestion that if the government is to control the rail- roads. it might not be a bad idea for 1t to attempt to control labor, as well.
 We do not even assert that such a thing is possible; but had you ever before thought of it's direct application to the subject under discussion? Indeed the suggestion has a very important bear ing on the business of all public ser vice corporations as at present conduct ed. For instance, the government, na- tional. state and municipal-and when the government itself is silent, the pub lie Is outspoken in its demands-says to public service corporation. whether it be steam or electric railroad, lightning or water plant, keep your business go- ing or we will penalize you; perhaps even take your charters away from you; you must perform the public's service daily, nightly, hourly, come what may"
 A case In point was furnished by the city os Macon not long since The street railway company's employees went out on striSe: the company made every effort to adjust the difficulty and then, as last resort. to supply the places of the strikers. Suddenly, just as the strikers seemed to be losing ground, the city council steps in and says to the street car company: Begin to run all of your cars at once, or we will revoke your franchises" The same thing has hap