Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-08-09


sues of this campaign. The reactionaries
desire to repeal it. loud cries: They
can't do it!O During their administra-
ton they haven't been able to change 1t
because we have got a magnificent body
of men in the legislature that they
couldn't control.
my fellow-citizens, Progressive De-
mocracy believes in popular government
and in the dignity of being citizen OF
Georgia. We believe in maintaining the
highest standard of patriotism of every
voter and would drive the use of money
away from the ballot, and let each and
every Georgian understand that his vote
counted for something ana could not be
killed by fraud or corruption. If we are
to protect our rights from the power OF
the political machines and illegal trusts
we must preserve the ballot sacred ana
hope the tine will nc~-e when Geor-
gian would spurn the thought Of takins
money for his vote as he would the
thought of robbing a bank. There the
issue stands. They would degrade the
ballot box, we would exalt 1t; they would
destroy popular government, we Woulo
strengthen and purify 1t.
THE next issue is the protection or the
rights of the public where the great
corporate interests are involved. we had
no war to wage on the corporations
themselves, we wanted to see them pros
per lawfully, and all we asked was equai
Justice between them and the people. the
great transportation companies are nat
ural monopolies. They are the arteries
of trade. These arteries of trade are
essential to commerce, though they do
not make commerce.
Their charges are naturally a buroen
on commerce. When the charges are just
the burden is Just, when they are eX-
cessive the burden is unjust. 1t is abso-
lutely necessary for the preservation OF
fair competition that the railroads De
subjected to supervision. Otherwise any
business or any town or any LOCALITY
could be made or ruined by unjust dis
elimination in rates. A good deal has
been said about running money out OF
Georgia. but the truth is nobody would
want to invest in a state where the
interests were not properly protected by
railroad supervision.
eft is an established principle of law
that the state has right to regulate
rublic service corporations. We prepared
bill enlarging the power OF your rail-
road commission, a bin similar In It's
scone To the law in Wisconsin and to
that introduced by Governor Hughes into
New York. We extended it's powers OF
supervision to include electric and pow
er companies and other public service
corporations. The result was that we
not only threw a safeguard around all
commercial interests but we reduced
fares and increased taxes where II was
just to do so. z~~,
WOULD WEAKEN COMMISSION.
"Iow our opponents want to take all
the public service corporations except the
railroads out of the power of this COM
mission. BY implication the governor IN
his message also wanted to take away
its power to. supervise STOCK ana pohu
issues They further wanted to reduce
the commission by abolishing two OF It's
places And what places. 1 ask you, dld
they want to abolish? They named the
two held by Murphey Gambler ana George
Hillyer. There is the milk IN the cocoa
nut They want to eliminate the two
men who stand directly for the interests
Of the people and leave the commission
where the people will have certainly not
more than one representative. Oells OF
appreciation and applause)
'"Tbere is the issue. Shall the railroad
commission, which is an absolute ne
cessity to the commerce OF the STATE DC
torn to pieces by these men who control
the reactionary party in Georgia?
'They argue that we have crippled the
railroads. but as a matter Of fact the
railroads have prospered under 1t. since
the change we inaugurated became ef-
fectiye the Central of Georgia has made
5000 OOO the Western and Atlantic SlOOWO,
the Louisville and Nashville $To,OOO, ana
the Georgia railroad between $4,000 and
$4,000 Every one of them made more
than they did the year before.
Mr.. Smith next took up the port rate
question. He said the reactionaries had
tried to muddy the waters by declaring
II is so complicated nobody could under
stand 1t, but that any man with grain
of sense could understand 1t II he wanted
to- The whole matter was based on the
principle that haul that is part water
and part rail should be cheaper than
rail transportation. He explained In de-
tail the application of this principle to
conditions in Georgia. and said:
WHAT HE ASKS.
"An I have asked is that the rates to
and from ports in Georgia should be fixed
upon the basis of a proper charge for
that particular haul. The rate, for In
stance from Savannah to Macon should
be fixed on the idea of just compensa-
ton to the Central OF Georgia railroad
for that particular haul, and not for the
purpose OF causing the haul to go by
another and longer route. l have simply
asked and insisted that the rates to and
from ports in Georgia should be fixed on
their merits, and that nothing should be
considered but a fair compensation to
the carrier for the particular haul in
voved. They have contended that 1t was
all a scheme to benefit Atlanta at the
expense of the rest of the state. They
have even charged that I was hired by
tn Atlanta Freight Bureau to work for
II. l will not use the right language to
tell you what that charge vast would
not be proper in the presence of the
ladies. There wasn't a word of truth
in II.
81 did go before the commission, but
urged them not to make special rates for
Atlanta, but to fix all the rates fairly.
1 am going down to Macon next Friday
to explain that where they publish a
they? They were the very men who are
newspaper whose name 1 don't know,
but which I do know will publish next
morning a statement that 1 said some
thing I never said. 1 have had to quit
reading that paper, for II continued 1
would be kept busy every day correct
ing the falsehoods that appear in Its
columns.
MY fellow-citizens, If I had given
Georgia nothing but the disfranchise-
ment law I wouldn't begrudge the II
months of my first race nor my two years
of service nor my defeat the second time.
But now we come to another measure
that gives me almost the same gratifi-
cation. I refer to the abolition OF the
disgraceful convict lease system, to the