The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-08-27

came from Surplus occ8sso1@2 11
pr4~~ 4, these who have been watching
the general course Of conoast OF tHs
great Interests that are noS ssrfstnx
this way and that g a desperate Fa"fe
To change the force - pustfc oaao'@1
and to necioua the issue % .xSlahk
for the inroc<s1t
or. Following the Rockefeller inter
view and the broadly circulated ra-
mour hat the A. & l. is contemplaf-
ing a cut In salaries OF ten par cent
the S~outhern's latest move would aertn
10 be only IN lire wiki n predeteF-
rained policy Of intimidation n
grand circuit" OF railroad and trust
papers are now preaching horn1lies
upon di~sorEanixed business conditions
reckless hostility To corporations and
pending financial distress They viii
hail the Southern's radical action as
proof Of their contentious. In reality
il would appear To be that sort o.
proof" which is made To order,
Few men would have had the i'm
pulsive honesty 10 declare. as he
President did h other day. that IN"
panic" In Wall Street was h delib-
crate device OF powerful maief=ctors
to discredit the attempt TO punish
them for crime. He was made the
subject of abuse and held UP As an OBJ
ject of scorn for doinr SO. Yet the
thin~ he said was the thing that the
ordinary man believed. There WAS an
opera boure quality about the expires
sions of CONSERVATION and alarm that
a4s - ts~t, nall - Nan fha ayIdnnpSA@
are multiplying tina he WAS right, and
that the panic, the reduced dividends.
the threatened cuts In wages are all or
a ,iece with the one central scheme
and idea OF alarming the investing
public and exerting that Intangible
n yet potent influence upon the
Courts that must sit in Judgment upon
the cases pending before them. how
desperate a game this is. II would
seem that the experiences OF panscs
that were started for a urpo and
taught the powerful influences who
appear to be playin~ 1t
In the case OF the Southern Rail-
way. the statement ascribing As O
cause for the cut the legislation as 10
rates is as absurd as it is deliberate.
In the first place there has as yet
been no fair opportunity OF ascertain
what effect the rates Will work.
In the second place, 1t appears that.
DESPITE the water in the stock and
despite the expert character OF the
gentlemen whose business 1t Is to
write reports, the southern Railway
has actually been earning money. In
the particular rate case from North
Carolina, although the charge is con
fscation." there has vet been produced
nothing but the opinion OF men VINO
confessedlv know nothing of condi-
tons in the state tending to show the
truth Of the allegation. A gentleman
from Alabama gets on the witness
stand and swears that it costs over
cents to do q dollars worth
of intrastate business. He admits that
he knows nothing of the BUSINESS in
North Carolina or Of receipts or oper-
ating expenses. He merely reaches a
finger in the air and piucks an asser-
ton. And his-on top OF the shown
that interstate business has been
loaded with business within the state
that interstate business has been
reduced to local hauls. and that state
operating expenses have been padded
for improper purposes-is all the evil
deree that is adduced. In the extremi-
ty brought on by such an inadequacy
Of proof. the resort is to cut theedivi-
lend, embarrass the small holder and.
1umning the stocks on the market.
cause those who bought at a higher
price TO dump theirs also. In this the
hope seems to be that the people Will
become alarmed and sympathetic
and the large holders who have
temporarily thrown over their
NAV $780, them back with
to compensate many times
over for the dividends lost in run
the bluff And the great hope,
hat as a result of popular ~uneasiness
md clamor some echoes may reach
he ears of the Supreme Court of the
United States and SO unconsciously
prejudice the case and bia their
minds,
In the light Of such a ~denonstra-
ion. participated in by the railroad
and trust organs all over the country,
t is amusing 70 contemplate h hor-
-or with which these same interests
Invariably look upon straightforward
frank-spoken criticism OF the
Courts. When a Federal Judge
srasps at jurisdiction in order TO
help a railroad disobey the law and
30 ~unscathed, criticism Of the act is
In attempt TO destroy the judiciary"
)r else it is "open anarchy Yet,
beside such open criticism. the stealthy
cruel attempt to enlist popular
and to bring influences to
on the highest court in the land,
while infinitely more dangerous is
merely Conservative action or re
and business caution,"
There Is a sameness and a umuIa-
aptness about these separate and
ret similar incidents that robs them Of
idea of chance and points to their
psychological instead Of their com
nerciaI of origin. When the