Gloucester County Democrat., 1911-10-26
One Means Business the Other Means
Nothing.


Nothing.
This year, as last, the terms of the
Democratic platform are much more
explicit than the terms of the Repub-
Hcan platform. There is one matter
/ wish to use as an Illustration, be-
cause / know that it interests you.
Take the matter of the abolition of
grade crossings. The Republican
platform pledges the party. to abolish
all grade crossings at the expense of
the railways.
/ wonder if the men who drew up
that platform know how many grade
crossings there are in the State of
New Jersey, all through the extended
rural districts of this commonwealth
And do they for one moment want you
to believe that they are going to un-
dertake to abolish all the grade cross
ings in this State, and at once, at the
expense of the railways. You know
they are not; you know they cannot
have intended to do so;you know their
close alliances in the past with the
railway companies, and you have
every reason to- suspect that they
made these big promises, these inn
portant promises, with the knowledge
that they could not be carried out
In the first place, it would not be fair
to carry it out We are supposed to
be arrayed, as they are supposed to
be arrayed, against corporate inter
ests, and if you undertook to abolish
at once all grade crossings in the
State you would propose something
which was financially impossible for
the railway and therefore, very unfair
Il do not hold any brief for the
railways, but | do hold brief for
justice. / want to call your attention
to the plank that corresponds with
that in the Democratic platform 1t
poposes to do perfectly feasible
thing, to put into the hands of the
Public Utilities Commission the right
to abolish every railway crossing
which it is Immediately imperative
should be abolished for the safety of
human life. That is perfectly feas-
ible; that is workable plank, and
the other is not. Moreover, it is put
upon this footing of fairness-that a
semi-judicial tribune can set upon it,
with full knowledge and hearing of
the facts, the Public Utilities Commits
sion has to determine which grade
crossings are to go at once
Now | know some of you are con-
cerned as to who is going to pay for
this. The Public Utilities Commits
sion has no power, and so far as the
men in my counsels are concerned,
there is no purpose to give it the pow
er to impose expenses upon any muni-
cipality. Those who try to deceive
you in this matter are proposing
something that the Democratic plat
form does not propose 1t does not
propose to give the Public Utilities
Commission the right to saddle these
expenses upon the communities af-
fected.
Speaking of political conditions in
the State Capitol prior to last winters
legislature, he said:
am not going to mince matters
in stating facts" he said. "The fact
was that we had neither Republican
nor Democratic manage
ment, we simply had private manage
ment in the interests of special groups
Of undertakings. This could not be |
explained upon the stump, this could !
not be acknowledged by those who
strutted the stage as party leaders. /
They could not in one breath tell you
that they we're leading their party, /
and in the same breath tell you they
were taking orders from those who
had not been asked to lead their
parties. i
Grouped III Political Gloom.
They could not tell you that what