The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1908-05-21
STATE CONTROL
Of RAILROADS
SUBJECT OF STRONG CRITICISM
BY PROF. YOUNG OF UNiVER-
SITY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
TO MISSOURI BANKERS
Says States Should Keep Hands OFT
and Let Federal Government
Make All Regulations
For Roads.


Missouri bankers he'd their eigh-
teenth annual convention Of their
state association today. Pref James
r. Young of the University of Penn
sylvania, spoke upon "Goyernm mt
Regulation as Conservative lnfiu-
ence." He said in part:
one Of the chief foundation stones
of business prosperity is stability. On
whatever side we look we find tn
utmost precaution taken to prevent
those sudden and disastrous iuctua
tons that work irreparabie loss to the
business world. But there still re
mains one great source of disturbance,
from which we are utterly unprotected
the relations OF the people and gov
eminent to the great corporate in
terests OF the country. Whether or not
the present outburst of popular dis
trust and Indignation subsidies, We
must inevitably have a recurrence of
the same feeling unless something
is done to inspire confidence in cor
pcIate methods of organization. re.
organization, finance and management
The bankers and business men OF the
country and in fact the entire people
are utterly at variance as to what the
policy of our government should be.
Our present national policy is to have
no policy at all, until things grow so
bad that there is a great explosion,
4. To-. oh Ntftfh q
shillelah on the Irish principle where
ever you see a head hit it, We have
now reached a point where instead Of
the explosive" policy we must have
some plan of regulation that will per
nit of the steady, continuous growth
of corporate enterprises.
Government Regulation Needed.
The first step in this direction is to
gather together the scattered elements
of public opinion on some definite pro
gram of government regulation Regu-
lation there must be. From these meas
Ures we must select those that best
meet the judgment of the business
community and then conduct an active
campaign of public discussion and edu-
cation until a satisfactory outcome Is
reached. This plan has been used in
the settlement of the greatest queS-
tions in American politics. This ques-
ton of government regulation cannot
be settled until the business men OF
the country agree on some definite
program of regulation and the voters
of the country have studied and az
cepted this program.
Such "A program must be positive,
constructive and conservative. It's
fundamental purpose must be to re-
store public confidence in corporate
methods by bringing back the corpor-
alton into harmony with the popular
sense of fair play-fair play both to-
W ards the public as a consumer and
the public as a stockholder in the cor
poration. Such regulation must not
be animated by a spirit of revenge
revenge is not constructive. Nor may
it be designed to block or obstruct
the government or render 1t powerless
for such a policy in the present state
of public opinion would be far from
conservative in its results.
State Regulation Unwise.
Finally, the program when drafted.
must be entrusted to the federal gov
ernment and not to the states. Of all
the destructive fanatical and confisca-
tory measures undertaken In the last
few years, the most dangerous and dis
astrous, have without exception, eman-
ated from state legislatures and state
commissions. The purpose and form
of federal regulation are almost invar-
iablv conservative and constructive in
tone. On the contrary, tbes tates have
TO their credit many ill-advised and
hasty measures. In short, state action
too often means some violent out
burst of public Indignation, some gust
of popular wrath or the semi-fanatical
vaporngs of a temporary local ma
iority. On the other hand the feder-
al government in the wide sweep of its
powers. its slower procedure and its
broad territorial expanse, represents
the public opinion of the great bulk of
the people. The safety and stability Of
our business interests require the re
striction of stae activity. The future
program of the business man must be
Let the National government regu
late"