The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1908-07-03

thereby compelling the owners OF cor
porate property thus Disseminated
against, to appeal to the broader jus.
tice OF the federal courts for their
rights under the supreme law of the
land"
Is II patriotism, or an appeal to the
unthinklng for support that impels
public man to condemn the federal
courts for their protection of tho
rights Of citizens Of this republic, un.
der its supreme law as against the
enactment and attempted enforcement
of laws as above referred to?
(Signed) READER.
The above communication has been
received at The Commoner office.
The writer afliXes his name to the let
ter but for publication signs the name
Reader" The Commoner is glad to
give Reader" space for the expression
Of his opinion, not only as a matter Of
courtesy to him, but as a matter of
information TO the public. He is an
assistant In the office of a railroad
president and represents the extreme
railroad view. The language EN-.
ploycd by him Is sufficient convict
him In any court Of being so warped In
his views that he holds the public In
contempt and considers the public
and their representatives as conspira-
tors against the railroads.
His position Is identical with that
taken by many of the railroad on.
cials in the past; they sent their lob.
byists to the national and state cap
ituls; they praised every man as
statesman whose ear was trained TO
catch the pulsatiuns OF a poCkctbook
and denounced every man as a dema.
gogue who was against Wholesale ex.
ploitation of the masses There Is evi.
dence however. that some OF the rail.
road managers have seen the error OF
this position and now recognize the
right Of the people TO be consulted In
matters affecting the railroads. The
railroad is a quasi.public corporation
and It owes certain duties to Its pa.
irons. These patrons can only speak
through Legislation and their right TO
speak is no longer denied
The men who are engaged in legiti-
mate railroading understand that we
are entering upon a new era and they
have no sympathy with the opinion
expressed In the above communica.
ton. Instead OF charactCrizing the
pcuplc as "unthinklng, instead OF de-
nouncing legislatures as mob: in
stead OF slandering state governments
and state courts the fair minded man
admits the iniquity Of the pass. the re.
bate and the discrimination between
people and places and proposes to
meet the public In spirit OF candor
and discuss the questions at issue In
an open and honorable way.
Let us hope that the number OF such
railroad men may increase and that
their influence may secure harmonious
cooperation between the railroads
and their patrons. The railroads are
necessary TO the country, but the coun.
try is no less necessary to the rail
roads. Tho railroads have helped 10
settle up the waste places, but the
settling IN of the waste places has
been Of great advantage to the rail
roads.
The honest railroad managers ought
to separate themselves from the eX
ploiters and take their place on the
side Of the public Anyone who holds
the opinions expressed by the Read
er" above or who looks at the subject
from his viewpoint cannot hope to
meet Legislators in the spirit that is
necessary for an amicable adjustment
Uf differences.
No reformer however violent his
remedies; no agitator, however unfair
his arguments has ever gone to great
cr length In abusing the railroads than
the railroad ompoye signing himself
Reader" has gone in abusing the pub
lie. II is fortunate for the railroads as
well as for the public that Reader"
represents the past rather than the
present, the departing rather than the
coming day The wise railroad OH.
cial cannot fail to recognize that there
has been a basis for past complaints
and that the public sense of justice,
which when offended has cried out for
reforms, will when satisfied protect
patron and stakeholder alike from in.
justice.