The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1907-06-12

the railroads. This line Of reasoning,
as applied to your business or ours,
would strike US as self-eyident
proposition. Then why does it not
apply with equal force to the business
Of railroading?
But the point in Mr.. Phinizy's tele-
gram to which we had intended to
give particular stress was the sugges-
ton that if the government is to con-
troll the railroads, it might not be
bad idea for it to attempt to control
labor as well.
We do not even assert that such
thing is possible; but had You ever
before thought of its direct applica-
! ton to the subject under discussion?
Indeed, the suggestion has a very i'm
porrant bearing on the business Of all
public service corporations. as at
present conducted. For instance, the
government. national, State and nau-
n:cipal-and when the government it,
self is silent, the public is outspoken
IN its demands-says to a public ser
vice corporation, whether it be steam
or electric railroad lighting or water
plant. keep your business going or
we will penalize you; perhaps even
take your charters away from YOU;
you must perform the public's SER
vice daily, nightly, hourly, come what
may"
A case in point was furnished By
the city OF Macon not long since. The
street railway company's employees
went out on strike; the company
made every effort to adjus! the diff
Guilty and then, as a last resort. TO
supply the places of the strikers. Sud
denly. just as the strikers seemed TO
be losing ground, the city council
steps in and says to the street car
conpany: "Reg:n to run all Of your
cars at once, or we will revoke your
franchises" The same thing has
happened elsewhere. time and again.
It may happen any day. with any
public service corporation II the
country.
And what are these corporations to
Go? Their men may quit work on
days notice-but the public service
must be continued, just as though
nothing had happened. or the compa-
ny Will hear from the public.
Inasmuch as we have been speak
ing about Government control of one
branch of public service corporations,
let US make an illustration that
serves to emphasize the point made
in Mr.. Phinizy's telegram. Perhaps
the largest branch of the Government
service is the army, employing some
thing like $4,000 men. Where would
the army be without the three-year
enlistment clause? N other words,
what would the Government do for
standing army if its men We're free
to leave it on an hours notice; to
form unions; make arbitrary demands
for wage increases or shorter hours;
order strikes-and then picket" all
army posts and recruiting stations in
an effort to prevent the employment
Of other men?
And, yet, the standing army is
small affair compared with the rail-
roads of the country Many times
smaller in the number Of men en-
ployed, and infnitesimal compared
with the regularity and importance OF
the service rendered from day to day.
The great army of railroad employees
has a stupendous duty to perform
every minute of the day and night
year in and year out: the standing
army has its most vital duty to per-
fern only once every twenty or thir-
ty years-and then it has to depend
largely on volunteers.
But imagine a standing army with
out an "enlistmeno" clause 20 insure
its stability and numerical strength?
And, then, imagine the much larger
railroad army of the country-either
under government control or other
wise-left entirely free to tie up this
Infinitely greater and more complex
branch of the public service .,pcn a.
hours notice.
Mr.. .Phinizy, in his brief telegram
tc the New York World, has made g
point in connection with the industri-
al progress of this country that is go
ing to command the attention Of
statesmen and economists before many
more years have elapsed. And the
suggestion is, we repeat, no more rad
ical than was government control or
ownership Of railroads ten Or fifteen