Bluefield evening leader. [volume] (Bluefield, W. Va.) 1906-1911, 1907-02-25

why should not some considera-
ton be shown the short line roads.
built in 10 the undeveloped sections
OF the state. whore business is but
little and traffic but light? Why
should not all roads be exempted for
a few years at least after they are
constructed and until they are put on
a paying basis? IL this two cent rate
will prevent new lines in sparsley
settled sections or prevent any line
anyway from earning fair rate
OF income then the law will fail be-
fore the courts. because the supreme
court OF the United States has time
and again set aside orders OF rail-
road commissions OF various states
where freight rates were made so low
that the roads we're unable To- earn
fair income on the Investment.
Take Senator Davis road from Ell
kins TO Charleston, the Coal 4 Coke
recently completed. through a sparse
settled and undoveloped country.
where one could hardly travel here
tofore on horse back. The house of
delegates proposes to step in and say
that It must charge a man only two
cents mile where It would have
cost him fifty cents. probably. toI
travel a mile and great inconveni-
ence prior to its construction. while
g., hA
cuts, through the hilly country which
1t traverses. has been kept open dur
ing the past winter only at a great
expense and loss. Are the people,
demanding this sacrifice from Sena-
tor Davis or from any one else? m
they are, they are demanding some
thing they ought not TO demand and
no honest man ought TO vote to con
hscate a mans property or to pro-
hibit him from making fairly and
legitimately "a reasonable income on
his investment. We think we know
something OF the people of this state,
the great mass of plain people, with
whom we have mingled for years.
and we don't believe they have any
desire to treat any corporation or
any company unfairly or appropriate
It's property to their own use. To
assert that they do is an Infamous
slander upon them. They are not de-
handing it. The senate should eN-
empt short line roads from the oper-
alton OF the two sent law, allowing
them to charge three cents. and al
so allowing all roads for a certain
number of years after they are con
structed to charge the same rate. The
reason Is that IL takes time to de-
yelop business and to reduce the
cost of maintaining the road to a
normal figure. To do otherwise
means to retard the building of short
and branch lines into undeveloped
sections Of the state, where they are
badly needed, because people are not
going to come from other states to
invest their money in proposition
here where they are not allowed to
get a reasonable income on the in
vestment Every dollar of money
that has gone into the building OF
railroads in the state has Invariably
come from investors in other states.
These are facts which are undis-
puted. There are persons who vot-
ed against the senate bill and I'm ia
for of the fiat two cent rate bill, ap-
plying 10 all roads, long and short.
old and new, but they are deferred
from recording their Judgment by
newspaper attacks such as we have
referred to and from the fear of be-
ing accused of having been corrupuy
influenced. individuals who have no
more moral courage than that should
be elsewhere than in the state Iegis-
lature. Men who, for fear OF the
lash of newspaper criticism or who,
20 win popular approval support
radical measures that have ten
dency to injure the state, and there
fore hurt the public, as we'll are
consciously or unconsciously playing
the demagogue and the demagogue
who seeks to make a record I'm a
legislative body not for good sense
and sound judgment, in the best in
terests Of the state and all its peo-