The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1908-01-03

That feature Of the Seaboard Air Lines
financial difficulty directly traceable to
an unreasOning and suicidal anti-COrpoTa-
ton crusade throughout a large section
Of the South should give that mighty
section pause just now, and set it 10
studying seriously the trend Of events.
Here is a great railway system Of i'm
mense usefulness to the South. It's freight
business is large. its ramihcations ex-
tensive. Like the great veins in the
human body. this system spreads itself
over a large portion Of the South, and
feeds its every industrial enterprise. 1t
has done a great deal for Dixie-iJ may
do a great deal more If II isn't wrecked
in the meantime. II has just spent con-
siderable sums for improvements and eT-
tension. 1t has furnished employment
for thousands of people. It has done
and well-that which every other great
railway in the South has dOne-developed
the wonderful resources Of that section,
and put it In touch with the great mar
kets Of the world.
We presume the Seaboard Air Line
has committed the sins Of other like con-
Germs incident to operation and construc-
ton For the sake Of the argument. we
will assume that II has done a great deal
that is wrong. Very well; let it be regu-
lated reasonably. and along sane lines.
Too far already have designing dema-
gogues been permitted to use 1t for their
personal advancement and aggrandize-
ment The same is true of the Southern
system. If the South permits its flannel
mouthed demagOgues to turn back the
progress set in motion by these two
giants, the South will regret 1t but once,
and that will be forever.
It is to be hoped that the Seaboard
may emerge from its present embarTass-
ment sound and we'll. If It does, the
South may well congratulate itself that
1t escaped by the skin Of its teeth a
great calamity. We doubt, and have al
ways doubted, the wisdom or the fairness
Of a 2-cents-a-mile passenger rate in the
far SOuth-or even a 2I5-cent rate. Pas
senger traffic is light in the South com
pared with what it is in the East or the
Middle West. All things considered, the
splendidiy equipped service rendered has
been astonishing. It has latterIy been
quite the proper thing, of course, to ridi-
cule the service, both as to efficiency and
schedule Now that depression and bur
.densome regulations are Gripping the rail-
roads. however, and these superb ac-
Communications are being forced into the
catalogue of things that were, a rather
different tune is going up. In many places
double daily service has become daily
service. and in others daily service has
become thrice-a-week service. It makes
a difference-blessing brighten as they
take their fight.
Let the South have done with the cheap
demagogue. once and for all. Crowd him
out of prosperity's way! No section can
pound capital over the head with maui
persistentIy, and prosper simultaneously.
The thing is impossible. Red-hot spell
binders, imprisoned appeals for the wei
fare of the pee-pul," torchlight process
sions, and railroad batting, especially
when they result in inimical legislation.
may be great fun for a while-but gen
orally hurt woefully in the end. The
South is too great, too pregnant with pos
sibility to tolerate longer a riot of peanut
politics. Abas the demagogue. Let the
South be it's own manly self again before
further damage is done. There are signs
that this is what the South is preparing
to do Every one viii hope so-must hope
so-who honestly has at heart the welfare
of that section.