The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-19


 that have escaped tax charges. No eff fort has been made to secure from any property an undue or unjust tax We
 have attempted to bring about an equal ization of taxes, and this is right and just.
 Tt has been the democracy of the state that has diminished the railroad dominance and control of the state. It has been the democratic party that has | taken the making of your laws from the agents of the railroads and placed it in the hands of the people; it has been the democratic party that has limited and decreased passenger charges, freight
 charges; that has capitalized demurrage
 charges; has secured prompter settle
 ment of claims and has secured more equitable business transactions in all the relations between carrier and shipper |, as governor, and the legislature that en- acted these laws, have been criticised as unfriendy to the business corporations; i; as unfriendly to the public service cor porations. Nothing can be further from the fact. have here tonight the hand book of the national democratic cam pagn committee, issued by them for the guidance of all democrats. in which are set forth the tenets of our party. Everything which the recent legislature did toward equalzing taxes, toward elim- mating the control and dominance of the people by the public service corpora tions and limiting their charges, is made a part of the foundation principles of the national democracy, and every solitary thing that the recent legislature tried to do along these lines has their indorse- ment I mean by their indorsement that 1t is the policies and principles incul- cated in the people by the great demo- | cratic party and which we all recognize | as rightly meaning that the people must l be kept free from the unjust exactions of trusts and the dominating control of tax l ing power of any combination, no matter | of what form.
 unfortunately at the beginning of this administration and of these progressive statutes there was a semi-panic in Ala bama, in the United States, in the world, and some partisans on the other side clamored that the panic was caused by our legislation. Of course, every thinking
 man knew that that statement was non- sense, and today, after four years of these laws, the public service corpora tions are prosperous; the Louisville and Nashville railroad, the road that did the
 most objectlng and made the greatest row, has just advertised the largest net earnings they have ever had, the most prosperous year in their history, and here in Birmingham, Jefferson county, properties are of such value as unknown before, and everything indicates the most abounding prosperity
 Democracy has given the state the most extensive school system, not only to the colleges, agricultural schools and high schools, but has sent greatly in creased facilities into the rural districts, and now more than half of the states
 money now goes to the public schools, and there has been such increased build ing of school facilities and houses, not only in the rural district, but in the high | schools and colleges, as never before. To every family a school is accessible; high | schools are within reach of all; agricui- tural and normal schools are rendering | service never dreamed of before Ine Polytechnic and the University are com mensurating with the demands of our young people and the require ements of ad- vanced education. The Girls school at Montevallo is justly the pride Of the state The system of education provided | by the state is panoramic, beautiful, ex- cellent. Mark you, these things were ac- | complished by the democratic party and through democratic principles. l l commend the work MT. Roosevelt has done and the great regeneration he has
 wrought and tried to engender in the re-
 publican party but I have never seen any marty more in need of reform than | the republican party. The special inter | ests nurtured and fostered under repub- lican dominance and control have TOT
 many years been writing our laws and writing them In their own interests. Think of a tariff schedule on wool made | by men who raise sheep; thlhk ol 'aiiil III 1 schedule on woolen goods made by men
 who manufa cture them; of tariff sched-
 ule on iron and steel made by men who | manufacture them; of tariff schedule | on agricultural implements made by men | who manufacture them: of schedule on | boots and shoes made by men who man. | ufacture them; of tariff schedule on | sugar made by sugar manufacturers. l That all these tariffs were made In the Interests of the men who got the beneht of them has been abundantly proven, | and is now acknowledged on all sides. | Think of a dominant party controlled by | men who had the laws made in their own interests; had taxing laws made under | the guise of protection by which they | could get money, your money, my money | and anybody's money and not render
 any equivalent whatever. Think of the | thousands of milionaires made so by
 tariff schedules; think of the people of | America so long submitting to laws l which eventually enables. one man to get your property without giving you any | equivalent whatever The farmers of the
 United States all sell everything they
 make on the free trade markets of the
 world. To them there Is no protection.
 "The farmers of the United States buy
 everything tbey get, no matter what
 by paying a"tariff tax, or a benefit to
 the maker of the article We pay a tariff
 tax on bagging and cotton ties; on all
 woolen goods On any agricultural i'm
 plement, no matter what, we pay a great
 ly increased tariff. No wonder that Sen
 ators LaFollette of Wisconsin, Cummns
 and Deliver of Iowa and Beveridge oi
 Indiana and others, representing great
 farming states, have formed an insur-
 gent party within the republican party
 and say those things are wrong and
 should not be- No wonder that MT
 Roosevelt, with his eminently correct ideas of fair deal, should call within