The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1909-04-08
WASTEFUL AND
EXTRAVACANT
E. H. HARR1MAN'S OPINION
OF NATIONAL AND STATE
OFFICIALS.
Railroad Magnate Says Government
is Greatly in Need of Regu-
lations.

+. II. Hartman stopped in Chi
cago on his way east and in an inter-
view said: Regulate the government;
it needs regulation far more than the
railways. Prevent the recurrence OF
an anaichistIc attorney general
| Don't elect demagogue house OF
representatives, see to it that the
senate is not filled with a lot of in
ebrcates."
| These staccato sentences were
spoken deliberately, convincingly,
without venom. vindictiveness or ran
cor; almost, indeed, without feeling;
like judge who had taken the case
under prolonged advisement.
Then you believe the government
more than the transportation lines
need reformation" Was the next
question.
II do absolutely. The past admin
istration was extravagant, inconceiv-
ably extravagant. In fact, it has been
a case of maladministration for years
from the national capital down to our
town councils Economically it has
been VIGOROUSLY waste OF the peo-
pies money. There has been no hon
est representation of taxation. What
We need is a business administration
not a wild extravagant government
that takes no heed OF depressions.
that has, or had, l repeat an anarchis-
tic attorney general, house IF dem
agogues and a senate OF inebriates.
Regulate the corporations? Yes, GER
tainly. But begin by regulating the
government We commenced at the
wrong end But now that the cor
porations have been pretty we'll reg
ulated let us attend to the govern
ment which has misrepresented the
people"
DO you include state legislators
as well?"
Il do. And at that, mind you, l
do not believe in the concentration of
the supervision OF corporations; of
the railways in especial AT bottom
am state rights man-which may
sound heretical these days. State
commissions are all right if you have
the right kind of state commission
ers. But the trouble in the states has
been about the same as at Washing
ton-the wrong kind OF representa-
tives are sent there.
People Are Short-Changed.
The people do not get what they
pay for. 1t is waste, waste, waste OF
the peoples energ and their money
see no reason why a government
should not be run the same as rail
roads are run-on mile tonnage bas-
is. The government should do the
same when its revenues decrease. /,
should retrench and not fall back on
inc reased taxation"
Then you are not a tariff reform
err"
II am what you might call hex-
ible proteotionist The tariff is an
economic, not government question.
1t should change with a country's
change. A great, rich nation Ike the
United States with its enhancement
| of population and mutability of con-
| ditions cannot have a rigid impost.
While | do not believe that cheap
| man necessarily wears a cheap coat,
| It is a mistake to assume that pro-
tective tariff protects wages In some
OF the most tariff protected nations
OF the world, Russia and Italy, for
example, wages are the lowest"
| when the government is hard up.
no matter how hard up the country
at large, the first thing thought OF is
the tariff. l tell you all economic
distress comes from the thoughtless
extravaganza of the government"