The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-12-03
LEADER WILLIAMS AND TIfE
IS-I r.

The election Of Hon. John sharp
Williams, Of Mississippi. as Demo
cratic leader in the House ~ Repre-
sentatives. continues the leadership in
the hands Of one Of the ablest and most
accom- plished men IN public life He
has the ability to make the issues. sup
ported b the Democratic membership.
upon which the next national cam
paign will be urged. The call - TOT
the Democratic minority 70 raise clear
cut issues upon legislation touching
vital Questions that viii in the public
MIND ~dinerentiate the position OF the
Democratic party from the Repubh-
can partr. The question OK whether
this or that district gets "A postoffice
building or a minor appropriation or
two j. too small for consideration.
and Democratic members, while voting
all proper sums 70. the proper con-
duct Of the government. should ret
themselves like a flint rock against the
growing reckless extraVagances which
give excuse for continuing the bur-
densome tariff taxes upon the people.
Economy needs 10 he cnthroned as a
virtue and Leader Williams will com
mand the approval Of the country If
he will lead against the extravaganza
which is growing apace.
The tariff schedules. protecting and
enriching trusts at the expense of the
many, is the mother Of trusts n cor
ruption. Just as long as any set of
men are allowed by law to tax other
people for private enrichment or take
from the Federal Treasury public mo-
ney for private purposes-just that
long will the government be a pro-
moter of graft and corruption The
reduction of tariff duties to q revenue
basis will not only work to the benefit
of consumers, but will do more to end
the corruption that mars our public
and private life than any other agen-
cy. 1t is well 10 prosecute and fine and
Jail the trust magnate, and it should be
done, but the vital thing to do is to
quit feeding these trusts by tariff boun-
ty and subsidy, so that you will not be
raising up giants able to cope with the
government itself and defy it. The Big
stick has been brandished over "sich
m~alefactors'' though not one of them
mas YET DteH puIllSiItu- II Gil
Gratis believe in using it and doing ex-
ecution inc Republican policies have
enabled trust magnates to be so pow
erful they can resist the government if
they are interfered with, but the tue
policy is not to enrich these trusts and
feed them public ratiOns and the ra-
ions that should belong to all the
people. That would prevent the grow
ing Of these giants who continually
say to the Government: Dare to touch
US and we will destroy commerce.
The Democracy will look to Mr.. Will
liams to make the moral, as we'll as
the economic side of the tariff so plain
by resolution and bill and debate GAA3
the country must see that the spirit
of Dingleyism is responsible for public
and private evils thu now curse the
country.
The Democrats do not desire gov
ownership of railroads.
Leader Williams is strongly opposed
to it. but Mr.. Bryan was right when
he said that if regulation failed ulti-
mately tn. government would own the
railroads.. At the last session of Con-
gress under the leadership of Mr.. Will
liams, the Democrats gave the chief
support t. legislation to regulate in
terstate transportation. But for their
united action in carrying out a decla-
ration of the National Democratic
platform, the bill championed by Mr..
Roosevelt would have been defeated
What good result has followed? Not
a single rate has been reduced and
the public has been disappointed, but
it is willing to be patient in awaiting
results if it sees that the Commission
is moving along the right line. I'm
fortunately the decision as to rates
from Southern mills for points beyond
the Pacific has given legal sanction to
the unfair discrimination in rates from
mills. The rate from a
North Carolina mill to San Francisco
is fifty cents higher than from a New
Hampshire mill, though the distance. ,
The railroads made that arbitrary and
unjust rate. The Southern mills
vainly asked to be given equal rates
with New England mills. This is no
sectional question, but one that is
purely business. There ought to be
some way by which Congress can
amend the law that VIII end such dis
ordinations. and it is to be hoped
that Leader Williams can frame an
amendment that will prevent such
determinations.
The Democratic victory in Oklaho-
ma was largely due to the wise and
determined and successful fight Lead
Williams and the solid Democratic
majority made to admit it as a State
after Speaker Cannon had determined
it should not be admitted and the
President had sided with the Speaker.
That victory and its good consequences
shows that a policy of right, raising in
bold relief great issues. and showing
UP evils of Republican policies will do.
samuel j.. Randall made Tilden's
victory possible by a policy in the
House that won the confidence of the
country. The Democratic hope for
victory in 1908. is largely dependent
the wise and aggressive policy
that the minority in the House pur-