Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-07
TOC0RBTHE RAILROADS
JUSTICE GAYNoR SAYS APPOINT
GOVERNMENT FREIGHT AGENTS.
New York Supreme Court Judge Gives
His Views on How to Check
Relating and Other Evils.

NEW YORK, January addressing the
Peoples Forum in New Rochelle yesterday
afternoon. Supreme Court Justice William
]. Gaynor pointed out way which the
government could secure control of the
railroads. -
Mr.. Bryan" said Justice Gaynor, ION
his return to this country made a speech
in which he suggested that the government
take over all railroads on the ground that
they were private monopolies and that such
private monopolies should not be allowed
to exist. He is right about that, for we all
abhor a private monopoly, but railroads
are not private monopolies. They are pub
lie highways under control of the govern
ment, and the government can control
them.
The government needs TO do nothing at
all but appoint the general freight agent
Of every railroad and he, and he alone,
can see to- it that no one gets his freight
shipped cheaper than another, and thus
put an end to this discrimination which
means the ACKNOWLEDGMENT of a few and
the destroying of the many others
Justice Gaynor was greeted by a large
audience that filled the New Rochelle
Our Railroads: They Are Public High
ways Under Government Control and Not
Private Roads,.
Brisbane Presides.
Arthur Brisbane presided at the meeting
and in introducing Justice Gaynor paid a
high tribute to his character. When he
referred to Justice Gaynor as a great
judge, a judge who has the knowledge,
the courage and the character that a judge
requires, there a great outburst of
applause
Justice Gaynor began by saying that the
subject he was to speak on was not of his
IL c1i1 l,a bad oh
another, but that the members of the
Forums committee had assigned him the
one on railroads
What l have to say to you can be of no
interest to mere sensationaliStS," said JUS
tice Gaynor in prefacing his remarks. Il
have only facts SO dry that it is not worth
while setting them before any but the in
telligent mind, which counts in moving the
world. If you oppose monopolies created
by all of the rival manufacturing corpora
tions engaged in the same business unit
ing to control prices they say you are
opposed to the business interests
IF you object to the successive unions
or mergers of city railroads, for instance
accomplished by and made the excuse for
issues OF tens and hundreds Of millions of
bogus stocks and bonds that accompany
the combinations they conceal, If, indeed,
some of their sensational heads under
stand it all, then you are opposed to bust
ness interests. it is said.
Roads Under Federal Control.
"In place of opposing the union of con-
tnuous lines of railroads we would even
have them so united that we could ride in
the same car from the remotest outskirt of
Brooklyn to the remotest outskirt of The
Bronx, but without any bogus millions of
stocks and bonds to absorb the earnings,
instead of there being a reduction of fares
as earnings grow so large as to pay a high
er dividend than the public ought to pay
on honest capitalization.
The keynote of Justice Gaynor's remar ks
was that the railroads We're Just as much
under government control as the dirt or
tollgate highways. He spoke of the inven-
ton of the steam locomotive and the neces-
sity of building roads, or iron highways
for them. He pointed out that it was the
government that had to provide the land
for these highways, by means of 1egisla-
ton, and the government had power to
compel the landowner to release a section
of his land so that these highways could
be built. He said that the railroads had
no more right to discriminate against any
shipper in favor of another than did the
old tollgate keeper have a right to let one
man drive his herd of cattle under the
crOsSDeam free or at a reduced rate while
others had to pay uniform price