Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-08-23
Capitalization OF Govern
ment Scored by Con-
qreSsman Mccall.
TREND OF THE TIMES
Cites Rate Bill as Measure De-
signed to Give ExeCu-
tive Power.

Marshf1eld. Mass, Aug 23.-In an ad-
dress delivered at the Marshfield fair
here yesterday Congressman Samuel
w. Mccall discussed what he termed
the tendency of the times to central
ize all power at Washington and urg-
ed strongly adherence to representa-
tive government. Thomas w. Lawson,
president of the Marshfield Fair asso-
citation, and General Charles w. Bart
lett, democratic candidate for the gu
bernatorial nomination in Massachu-
setts, also spoke.
Mr.. Mccall said:
"One of the United States court
judges has just imposed fine of such
proportions that it probably is not
greatly exceeded by the aggregate of
all other fines imposed by our federal
courts since the establishment of the
government. The offCnse was the re-
ceiving of a discriminating rate from a
railroad company
Under Old law.
Three years ago congress was asked
to confer upon an executive department
the power to fix railroad rates as
remedy for railroad discrimination. At
that time there repOsed upon the stat
ute books the very act against rebates
and discrimination under which this
$50. 100000 fine has been imposed. The
question suggests itself, why were not
old laws enforced rather than new ones
demanded? The practice in govern
ment of expending the maximum
amount of noise and disturbance to Sc
cure the minimum of good may be di-
verting. but it is costly. 1t obliterated
a great foreign trade in packed meats
in order to get legislation which every
packer wanted. AS to the improve
ments in meat, they are mainly seen
in the removal of the defects existing
in the imaginatiOns of some sociOlo-
gists and in the consequent silence of
those gentlemen. And then, too we
have with us the noble army of we'll
paid federal inspectors.
DisIikes Rate Bill.
This procedure has been followed in
securing the railroad legislation. | do
not refer to the Elkins statute, which
is doing business today, but to this
rate bill. | believe that the populistic
Ctn
legislation which resulted, has finan-
cially and industrially injured the
country. Railroad building has been
effectively stopped. If similar public
sentiment had been aroused 60 years
ago many of our great commonwealths
would today be unsettled areas, still
under the domain of the buffalo and
the wolf
"The effect of the rate bill will be to
augment the executive power beyond
all rational limits. Hear what Web
ster says upon this very point of execu-
tive power: The contest of the ages
has been to rescue liberty from the
grasp of executive power On the long
list of champions of human freedom
there is not one name dimmed by the
reproach of advocating the extension OF
executive authority
Give All to One Man.
"'The tendency of the times appears
to be first to centralize all power at
Washington and then TO have it all ex
eTCiSed by one man. But | say, let the
people keep all the governmental pow.
ers not necessary to national unity and
safety, and let them adhere to repre-
sentative government by representa-
tives chosen with reasonable fidelity
you will have a government by the
people. The extreme views of one
representative in one direction will be
Offset by the extreme views of another
in another direction and the result will
be safe and rounded government.
adhere, then, to the representative
government of the fathers, to the only
kind of government which from the
foundation of the world has cherished
human freedom"