Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-09-15
ing intelligence, whether of one man
or of a group Of men.
MANY Interests to Consider.


or of a group of men.
Many Interests to Consider.
There are, therefore, several sets
of interests to be considered Each
must receive proper consideration,
and when any one of them selfshly
demands exclusive consideration the
demand must be refused. Along GER
tain lines all of these groups have
the same interests
1t is to the interest of the shipper,
farmer, wage worker, business man,
honest shareholder and honest mana
ger alike that there should be econ
omy, honesty, intelligence and fair
treatment Of all.
To put an effective stop to stock
watering would be benefit to every
body except the swindlers who profit
by stock watering; it would benefit
the honest shareholder because hon
est investments would not be brought
into competition with mere paper; it
would benefit the wage worker be-
cause when the money earned does
not have to go to paying interest on
watered capital, more of it is left, out
of which to pay wages; it would bene-
| fit the shipper, because, when only
honest stockholders have to be paid
interest, rates need not be improperly
raised; it would benefit the public
because there would ''e ample money
with which to give efficient service.
Prevention of Favoritism.
Similarly, the prevention of favor
| itism as among shippers does no dam
age to any one who is honest and con-
! fers good upon the business man and
| farmer whom it relieves of oppression.
| Again, such supervision of accounts
and management as will prevent
crookedness and oppression works
good directly or indirectly, to all hon.
| est people Therefore everything that
can be done along these lines should be
| done, and no mans legitimate interest
would thereby be hurt.
But after this point has been reached
great care must be taken not to work
| injustice to one class in the effort to
show favor to another class, and each
class naturally tends to remember only
| its own needs. The stockholders must
receive an ample return on their in
yestments or the railroads cannot be
| built and successfully maintained. and
| the rates to shippers and the wages tC
employees. from the Highest to the low
est, must all be conditioned upon this
| fact.
Excessive Profits Harmful.
! On the other hand, in a public serV-
| ice corporation, we have no right tc
allow such excessive profits as will
necesstate rates being unduly high anG
wages unduly low
| Again, while in al! proper ways rates
must be kept low. we must always re-
member that we have no right and nc
justification to reduce them when the
result is the reduction of the wages OF
10 Of i1,f,o n A fD
working arrangement must be devised
according to the needs of the severa
cases, so that profits. wages and rates
| shall each be reasona BILE with reference
to the other two, and in wages | in
clude the properly large amounts
which should ALWAYS be paid to those
whose masterful ability is required fol
| the successful direction Of the great
enterprises.
Should be Strictly Supervised.
Combinations which favor such al
equitable arrangement should them
selves be favored and2not forbidden b.
law, although they should be strict!
supervised by the government through
the Interstate Commerce Commission
which should have the power of pass
ing summarily upon not only the ques
ton of the reduction, hut the raisn!
of rates,
This railroad problem is itself on o
the phases of one of the greatest ant
most intricate problems of our civiliza
! ton; for its proper solution we nee'
rot merely honesty and courage, bu
judgment good sense and entire fair
mindedness. Demagogy in such a mat
ter is as certain to work evil as cor
ruption ITSELF.
Promises the Impossible.
i The man who promises to raise tn
i wages of railroad employees to the high
est point and at the same time to re
duce rates to the lowest point is prom
Using what neither he nor any one elst
can perform and if the effort to pre-
form it We're attempted, disaster woult
result to both shipper and wage work
er and ruin to the business interest
of the country.
The man to trust in such a matter al
this is the man who. like Judge Taft
does not promise too much. but VIII
could not be swaved from the path o
duty by any argument, by any consid
Grafton; who will wage relentless wa
against the wrongdocr among RAILROAD
men as among all other mon; who viii
10 all that can be done to secure legit
imately low rates t. shippers and alb
sOlute eVeneSS among the rates thu
secured; but who Will neither promis
nor attempt to secure rates so 1oN
that the wage Garner would loss hi
! earnings ana TIE SlldIttlOluSI, NIipS
money built the road. his profits.
Government Ownership Ruinous.
He will not favor a ruinous expert
) ment like government ownership c
, railways; he will stand against an
: kind of confiscation of honestly &C
quired property, but he will work eff
fectivey for the most efficient type {
government supervision and contrc
. of railways, so as to secure inst an
fair treatment of the people as
whole.
What is here said as to his atttud
on the railway question applies to tn
whole question of the trusts. He wi
j, promise nothing on this subject unles
he firmly believes he can make n
promise good. He will so into n
: chimerical movement to destroy a
; great business combinations; for TIL
can only be done by destroying a
j, modern business; but he will, in prac
teal fashion do everything possible
secure such efficient control on be
: half of the people as a whole, owe
t these great combinations as will dc
/ prive them of the power to work evi
Taft's Decision Proves Wisdom.
Mr. Taft's decision in the Addystor
| xt-l,i hn oh,