The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1907-05-03

The following in reply to a lette
addressed to Mr.. Bryan appeared il
a recent number of the Wall Stree
| Journal:
Journal: 1 find your favor upon m!
return to the city and take pleasure
in answering your questions, and yol
are at liberty to publish the letter i
| you so desire
If you will carefully read my Madi
son Square Garden speech, you will
| find that 1 did not discuss government
| ownership as an immediate issue,
| but as an ultimate solution of the
controversy.
l prefaced my remarks by saying
that l did not know whether the coun
try was ready to consider the ques
ton or whether a majority of the
members of my own party agreed
with me.
For some fourteen years after my
entrance into national politics l hop
ed for effective railroad legislation
and was brought reluctantly to the
belief that government ownership fur
nished the only satisfactory remedy
for the discrimination, rebates and
eXtortions practiced by the railroads
and for the corruption which they
have brought into politics.
My first public expression on this
subject was after the national convel
tion of 1904. Two reasons led me to
discuss the subject at that time. First
the triumph of the reactionary ele-
ment at ST. Louis discouraged the
more radical members of our party.
Feeling sure, from contact with the
rank and file of our organization, that
the asceldancy of the so-called con
servative leaders would be temporary
l appealed to the radical democrats
to remain with the party, secure con
troll of the organization and make
the party an effective instrument in
securing needed reforms.
To encourage these progressive de-
mocrats to remain with the party, !
announced the conclusion which l had
reached in regard to the final leces-
sity for government ownership.
My second reason for bringing the
subject forward then was that feder
al ownership of all the railroads was
the only plan discussed by the advo-
Gates of government ownership and |
thought it worth while to present the
dual plan which would, in my judg-
ment, give the country the benefit
of government ownership without the
naturalization involved in the plan
which puts the federal authorities in
control of all the railroad systems OF
the country.
The dangers of Capitalization are
real dangers, however, difficult it
may be to get the people as a whole
to consider theories il advance of
their application.
Beginning of Railroad Development
We are not at the end of railroad
but rather at its begin
ming, and 1 feel as l have always
felt, that the ownership and opera
ton by the federal government of al
the railroads, now constructed ard
to be constructed, would go far 60
ward the obliteration of state lines
and l regard the preservation-ef orr
dual form of government as neces-
sary to the perpetuity of the republic.
The plan according to which the
federal government is to own only the
necessary trunk lines and the several
states the remainder of the roads is
consistent with our form of govern
ment and instead of leading to central
ization promises to build up he
states and thus offer a sure bulwark
against Capitalization l have been
surprised that this plan should be
opposed On the ground that it would
lead to Capitalization when it was
the fear of this that led me to present
the plan.
While the plan was proposed before
/ knew of its having been tried in
other countries, l have since learned
that it has been successfully employ
ed in other countries, notably in Ger
many, where nearly all the railroads
are owned by the several states.
When in Germany last summer, l
was told by a member of The reich
stag that as a result of this system
the credit and influence of the sever
al states had been greatly strength
ened.
That the dual plan is practicable
must be evident to any one who has
seen the manner in which the small
states of Europe handle their tlterna-
tional traffic.
SYSTEM SHOULD BE
TNAUGURATED GRADUALLY
Having set forth the plan and my
reasons for setting forth at the time
I did, will now answer your ques-
tions
It is not necessary tnat there should
be many trunk lines Some have as
sumed that every line which runs
through two or more states is trunk
line, but this does not necessarily fol-
low. Only enough trunk lines ase nee
essary to give each state an outlet
for the merchandise shipped over the