Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1911-02-10

politics--prOperty and patriotism. The
conflict between special privilege on
one hand and equality of power and
opportunity on the other is as eter-
nal as the ages. 1t has marked every
period in the politics of America.
! There is nothing else to politics to-
day. For proof one need not look be-
yond the Legislature of 1911.
In past political epochs this pro-
perty power in politics manifested it.
self and maintained its advantage over
, the people through such crude means
| as the colonization of voters, the bri-
berry of election officials. the purchas-
ing of law makers and executives. In
these later years sentiment has be-
come aroused and uncompromising in
it's condemnation of such practices.
Accordingly the corporations have
been compelled to change thier me-
thods. The predatory interests no
longer depend solely upon boss and
boodleism for the continuance of their
commercial supremacy. Instead they
go directly to the people and through
the subtle, insidious misdirection of
public opinion shape Legislation as
they desire. It would be impossible
to find a better illustration of this
than in the fight over the eastman dis
lance tariff bill. A decade ago the
railroads would probably have accom-
pllshed it's defeat directly by bribery
or blackmail, or both. Today the
transportation trust is attacking the
measure Indirectly through the agen-
cies of publicity which are controlled
by selfish interests and obviously used
bv them to misdirect the public mind
and dull the public conscience.
First. word about the bill. Every
informed person knows that the rail-
roads have corrupted politics; that
through their control of conventions
and commissions and legislatures and
executives they have compelled the
public to pay dividends on stock that
is at leasthalf water. But exhorbitant
rates are not so evil in their influence
upon individuals and industrialism as
discirminative rates. Because they
have been permitted and do today fix
rates almost at will, discriminating
as they choose, the railroads are able
to coldly decree which communities
shall flourish and which decay and die.
The map of America has been made
by the transportation trust. The ebb
and flow of population has been deter
mined not by the character and indus
try of people. or by the natural ad
vantages of one section over another.
but by the desire of "empire build
ers' to so manipulate the relative
growth of communities as to make the
maximum of business for the rail-
roads.
There are two transportation theor-
les, which great railroad minds under
stand and to be fundamentally diff
erent. One deals with the smallest
possible number of large centers.
This, in a word, means that both the
producer and the consumer have to
pay the maximum of transportation
taxes.
The other theory deals with the
greatest number of small manufacture
ing and distributing centers, each
serving its surrounding territory.
This would mean the minimum of both
freight and passenger business for the
railroads. and a corresponding saving
for the people.
Through discriminative rates the
railroads have built up one great cent
er-St. Paul and Minneapolis at the |
expense of every other section of the !
state. They could not keep Duluth
from growth because of it's lake port
advantages. so that enterprising city
was given the same rates as the Twin
Cities: But hundreds of country towns
in the state have not been permitted |
to grow beyond the Importance
of little retailing villages. AS
a direct result it can safely be said |
that Minnesota has transportation
tribute not only extraordinarily high,
but for an aggregate distance at least
twice as great, and consequently twice
as burdensome as it would have been
had not the railroads arrogantly direct
ed the population and industries of the
state into great centers.
The eastman distance tariff bill is
aimed at discriminative rates. I'm
der its provisions a manufacturer or
wholesaler in tho smallest town would
pay the same freight charges as his
competitor in the largest city. 1t
would operate to distribute population