The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1910-11-26
TO GET OUT OF POLITICS.

'The railroads have got to throw the politicians
overheard and go straight to- the plain people with
reasonable requests"
That sentence appeared in an interview given
by prominent New York fnancier who was in the
west last week. The inference of course, is that
the railroads have been riding the politicians until
the politicians have ride the railroads The
politicians must be thrown overheard, and reason
able requests must be made of the plain people
Now the plain people are perfectly willing to grant
any reasonable requests, whether made by the rail
roads or any other interest. There might be diff
ference of opinion to what constitutes reason
able request, and the plain people might have few
reasonable requests to make themselves. The plain
pOple required to do their business through
elected representatives One request of the plain
people would undoubtedly be that these representa-
tves be not interfered with in the performance of
their duties; that railroad Hobbies" be dumped
overheard with the politicians; that railroad con-
gressmen" and railroad senators" and railroad
Legislators" announce themselves before they seek
the positions to which they have been elected There
can be reasonable doubt that the railroad inter-
ests entitled to be heard in all matters affecting
their business, and believe the plain people are
willing and anxious that the railroads should not
suffer by legislation, but the way to get fair play
is to come out in the open and have all questions
affecting the roads settled in public. The plain
people recognize that the country was built up
largely by the railroads, and they know that the
prosperity of the country depends very largely upon
the prosperity of the railroads They are willing
to submit anything to competent board for adjust
ment and live up to the decision of that board-if
they know that board is not made up of politicians
who ought to be dumped overheard. The plain peo
pie have been convinced that they have not been
getting square DEAL Whether that conviction is
based on legitimate reasons it is for the railroads
to show. If they have been giving all they can for
the money they get and the plain people have not
been robbed, let us have that fact brought out |
Then when we are told that coal costs so much be-
cause of exorbtant freight rates we will all know
that that is lie And the freight rates cannot be
made the scapegoat for every other i'll from which
the body polite suffers.
Observation of the undertaking of the past half
dozen years leads one to believe that the railroads
are not all bad they have been painted. There
are defects, doubt, which should be remedied
and will be remedied when the plain people and the
railroads understand what each other wants The
great trouble in the way of adjustment is that the
railroads have looked upon the plain people lot
Of anarchists who would destroy what they have
built up, and the plain people look upon the rail
roads as lot of pirates who would rob them of
their last penny But both of those views are some
what overdrawn The railroads got into politics
shortly after the civil war, and they have been in it
ver since probably very much to their disgust at