The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-10-25

way finances made public. Thus int vestment in railway securities wouid be brought within the reach Of people, and the present complaint on the part of railway management about tne a,r. r,, ficulty of getting money for necessary extension and Improvements would all
 -lfhe people. along the lines of the roads would buy their securia,es' nS sS national bank stock. A large volume of national bank stock of the United States is now held by widows ana orr phans, by sanction of the courts, Wnas tia permit the money of widows and orr phans to be invested in railway seeur- ities. or to remain invested, even where the deceased husband and father had already bought them?
 ConstitutfOnal Right.
 The question of constitutional rlgnl for such Government control, regula- ton and publicity IS amply prSya1su Ssfsara ent counts. The Constitution provides for the control by the Federal Gov ernmeut of interstate foreign com merce. This Is ample authority alone, but the Constitution also provides for the control by the Federal Government of the mail service and post roads. I've are prone to forget, in de- and that carries the mails. The railway people themselves sometimes remember rhis in case of strikes, but they do not remember it when it comes to discrimination, rebates, combina- tions anet the issuance Of watered se- curities.
 1t is idle to complain of drastic State legislation, until some remedy has been found for the railway evils. It is self-evident that no state leg islation can accomplish a remedy Tor railway evils. except by harrassment' and this 'harrassment is very danger ous to commerce It is idle 10 talk about the railways reforming them selves. They will never do 1t until forced.
 of an evil, on one side against an evil on the other side. The roads com plain about too drastic legislation, while the people of every State are complaining of railway evils, ana ma nat, investments have been put by specu- lation and fraud wholly beyond the reach of the people themselves IT only, the State might we'll undertake it's remedy.
 Regulation and Publicity.
 '"rhe best legislation any State could make would be to request the Federal a system of control. regulation and publicity for all the railways of the country upon precisely the same lines EQ2t the general government hOW Cou- trolls, regulates, and makes public the affairs of national banks.
 50 far from State rights being in- fringed, any State would be exercising one of it's highest rights to appeal to the general government to remedy an evil with which the State itself is un- able to cope. and precisely as the State would appeal to the general govern meat in case war was declared against
 'srhe usurpation by the general gov ernment of the control within State of anything which the State could ham, dle by itself would be an infringement of the States rights. The reference by State of a matter beyond it's con- trol to the control of the general gov ernment, is one of the highest and @ost impoEtant of the t6 rights snar,dae pr sae Union. and while none could be more opposed than I to the surrender of any States rights. none could appre- loiate more than the right Of state to call the general government to It's aid to help 1t in connection with a matter that was beyond its power of handling and cOntrJi.
 The address of MT. Tomplxins was followed by that of William J. Schief- felin of New York. whose subject was unreasonable Agreements Beneficial to Commerce"
 The next speaker was Herman Rid der of New York, who spoke on 'Printing and Publishing. the Only In- dustry that Tends Toward Diffusion"
 At the opening of the afternoon ses- sion Prof. F. ". Taussig of Harvard University spoke on the subject What Next?" His speech related to the poll icy of the Federal government toward corporations.
 The address of Prof. Taussig was followed by that of Thomas c. Spell ling, who spoke on "The Trust Ques- tion."