Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1908-05-29

Railroad development Is not COM
plete, it is but in its infancy, and the
surrender by the state of all power
to regulate means an enormous extern
sion of the powers of the federal gov
of the state. Jefferson presented an
unanswerable argument in favor OF
the dual form of government and the
argument is even stronger now than it
was in his time for the dangers OF
Capitalization are even greater than
they were then.
Instead of saying that efforts at
state control are sure to be nullified
in one way or another sooner or later"
the president should join with the
Democrats in demanding the enact
ment of legislation which will protect
the states from the gradual extension
Of the power of the federal courts. He
refers to the Minnesota and South
Carolina decisions as illustrating ''how
impossible is dual control of national
commerce" The Democrats propose
a remedy. They say that the district
and circuit courts of the federal gov
eminent should not have Jurisdiction
to suspend state laws. Let the rail
roads deal with the state courts first.
If the state courts deny justice they
can have their appeal from the highest
court in the state to the federal court.
1t is not the attempt to separate the
control that results ''in grotesque alb
surdity." The absurdity is in permit
ting federal judge to suspend a state
law while he looks up the question OF
it's constitutionality. 1t is absurd that
the railroads should be given the pre-
sumption as against the people of a
state.
The jurisdiction of the federal court
has been extended on the theory that
it was necessary to protect vested in
terests, but that Is q false issue. The
| property rights of the citizen are pro-
tected by the state courts, and no one
can complain that the protection is not
complete. The corporations have
gone into the federal courts in order
to secure an advantage over the indt-
vidual, and the real question is
whether the man-made giant, called a
corporation, shall exercise rights de-
MED to the God-made man. 1t Is not
hostility to corporations that leads the
Democratic party to oppose the de-
mands now made by railroad corpora
tons. The Democratic party believes
in the corporation as legitimate or
ganization. The great majority of the
corporations are advancing the public
interest and contributing to the public
welfare but few of these corpora,
lions have asserted rights that are In
imical to the public and these corpora
tons must be restricted, restrained
and controlled. 1t is enough that the
corporation-a creature of law
should be equal to the individual who
makes the law; it should not claim
superior rights. The presidents posi-
ton is not only an untenable one, but
1t Is one that menaces the welfare oil
the nation.
In submitting this criticism The
Commoner does not reflect upon the
| good~intention Of the president, but at
| tributes the presidents error to his
leaning towards the Hamiltonian idea
of government. Hamilton distrusted
the masses and favored centralized
government. The president is Hamil.
tonian rather than Jeffersonian in his
IDEAS. He has never advocated the
election of senators by the people al
though even the Republican party in
congress has declared for it three
| times He must know to what extent
1 predatory wealth controls the United
States senate through the present
method of election, and yet he has
never raised his voice in favor of the
popular election of senators. Unless
| the rank and file of the Republican
party is strangely blind to the infu
ences which are at work, there will be
an Overwhelming protest against the
presidents plan for the absorption Of
power by the federal government.
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