The Cairo bulletin., 1908-02-26
FOLK DISCUSSES
PUDL|CC0NSC|[NCt
REMARKABLE AWAKENING DUR.
ING LAST HALF DOZEN
YEARS.
SERVICE CORPORATIONS
And Liquor Traffic Made to Feel the
Weight Of POPULAR speasure-
Care Urged to Protect
the Innocent.

New York, Feb. 25.--"The Era o
Public Conscience" was the subject o
an address by Gov Folk Of Missouri
tonight, before a large audience a
| Carnegie hall in this city. 1t was one
Of the strongest addresses heard ii
this city In many day Following
is the NEST striking portion of tn.
| address;
Conscience is the faculty In man
whereby he distinguishes right from
| wrong, and which imperatiyely com
mands and obligates him to do the
right and abstain from the wrong.
When that faculty Is lacking the man
is said to be conscienceless. con.
science is needed for the public as
well as for the individual. whereby
the right is approved and the wrong
condemned. Conscience in the sense
we speak of it now, is the moral
sense of the public---it is educated
public opinion. Up to a few years
ago the public was considered as ii
stupid, ignorant creature, void of un.
derstanding and incapable of protect
ing Itself. That the public has eyes
that can see, and ears that can hear,
and a conscience that can tell right
from wrong, is a thought of compara-
lively recent origin. Slime flnanciers
and many professional politicians do
not understand it even now, and with
strange blindness fail to perceive the
strength of a moral idea. What re
markable change has come over the
Amesican people during the last SIX
yearsl Things are not Tolerated for
4 moment now that half dozen years
age were submitted to in silence. Then
hing all over the land; not that all
men gave bribes, but II was generally |
either with Indifference or |
despair. Men gave bribes and thought |
md boasted of the fact; legislative
alls were made dens of thieves. while
he conscience of the people was
sleep. Then came the revelations
nd the people awoke to a realization
f the fact that no government can
)ng exist where official acts can be
ought and sold like merchandise
hey realized that a government b.
was not a government rep ,
sentative of the people, but was
overnment by the few with wealth
nough to purchase official fayors
rom one end of the land tc the ether
lere has been a civic awakening, an
stern demand to stamp out the of
,nse that strikes at the heart of
ec government
Public Servant Corporations.
Take the case of public service
railroads, street car
'mpanies and lighting companies
II instance. A few years ago the
ea that they had the right to charge
hatever they could get was not Sc
ously controyerted. Now 1t is gen @
ally conceded that the public has
ghts which must be respected In
e case of the ordinary corporation :
,mpetition fixes its charges upon q =
asonable basis Where a corpora
,n has a monopoly of some public =
iity. as a public service corpora
IN must have. the people must eth
pay the rate fixed by the monopoly
do without the service. IL there Is -
regulation by law In such in =
,nces the law should step in and
pply the regulation which ordinarily "
done by competition. II is trust
Z human nature too far to expect n
r treatment and just rates where "
ither competition nor law compels
I'm. The right of the public =,
-ough law. to regulate upon a rea- "
lable basis the charges of such cor
rations can no longer be seriously
and this regulation should
upon the basis of the cost Of the
vice. not the value Of the service. al
n this era Of conscience the people 81,
realizing that the government OF th
y. state and nation belongs to thecI no
that they can take It into their of
n hands whenever they wish to do ou
and make the government just a. ad
ID as they desire. or just as bad su
they permit it to become. wi
The Liquor Traffic. -e
The liquor traffic affords another ID,
king illustration Of the growth of VI
public conscience. Not many years
the saloons felt themselves above
+. they defed the authorities Of the
/ or state. and II an official became
bold as to demand that they obey So
Law Ike anyone else sueh was a7
ir political power that they re- -
ced him al the next election uith iats
more subservient % their yin afi
y are nov learning that they mus lsi
business according 4 law. or they ~
fof
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