The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1911-02-02

Estate. Nj. Morton was asked wheth:
er it was possible for both individual
and corporate rights to be properly
protected without injury to each other.
His statement follows:
Il would be sorry to think that
there was not some fair platform on
which individual rights and property
rights might stand with equality.
There is not any question but every
patriotic citizen considers the rights
of men paramount to the rights of
property, but that does not justify,the
public in ignoring the latter. My OBJ
| servation has been that where rail-
road or any other corporation or any
individual secures a franchise or any
thing else in the way of a special priv
| ilege aud which was unfair to the
public or succeeded in any way in
having laws construed that unreason-
ably favored property or individual,
sooner or later these special privi-
leges were taken away and that in
taking them away, the corporation or
individual who had enjoyed them gen.
orally paid very good interest for their
use
Il have always believed that the
railroads should not engage in poll
tics. / think it most important that
they should keep out of politics and
think it is just as fair that the poll
ticians should leave the railroads
alone and when | say leave them
alone, l mean not to bait them or use
them as means to get into office. 1t
is very difficult for the railroads to re-
frain from politics if the politicians
attack them. / think railroads should
be regulated but l believe they are
entitled to the same fair treatment
that individuals are. l believe that
the railroads mean to accord every
body fair treatment in return.
The railroads of the United States
are owned largely by the frugal peo-
pie of the country, the people who arc
economical and who invest their saw
ings either indirectly or through the
savings banks and trust companies, or
by purchasing life insurance. The
life insurance companies of the United
States are said to own nearly one
eighth of all the railroad bonds issued
by American railroads and this by it.
self Nscatters the ownership of rail
roads to an extent that is very little
understood by people generally.
Corporations are just as essential
to the welfare of this country as are
freight cars. They are merely agen-
cies through which the commerce of
the country is being conducted and as
said before | consider our great in
dustrial combinations the battleships
of commerce with which we are to
capture the business of the world
Foreign markets are most essential to
our manufacturers and in order to
reach them there must be the utmost
corporations between capital and la
Dor and the government should do
everything it reasonably can to pro-
mote harmonious relations.
Il believe that conditions have i'm
proved during the last five years and
that things that once We're thought to
be right are not now tolerated. | am
of the opinion that out of all the agi-
tatiOn which we have had in the last
five years, much good has resulted
and yet | believe if we had less agta-
ton and less legislation for a while
we would be better off. l have AL
ways believed that intelligent combi-
nation and Capitalization are much
preferable to unrestricted competition.
think it is better for labor, better for
capital, and better for the nation.
But all combinations whether capital
or labor, should be reasonable and
should have efficient service always
in view"