The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-09-30
SHOULD KEEP UP THE FIGHT
/ REGARDLESS OF COMPROMISE
Address OF Dr. II. Y. Alexander, President of The North
Carolina Farmers Union, Before Freight Rate Mass
! Meeting in Raleigh, September "a.

mat they were being bIed To dea,b
YET unable to find where the disease
was: We have found it. Now. what
Is the remedy?
Our excellent Governor. whom we
rove, mas gone over the proposition
the compromise which has been offer.
eo oy the railroads. He has studied
IL very carefully and MINER
i's aooptlon. L hope il means relief
TO North Carolina. / would be nre-
suihptlouS to say that it would not be
wise 10 accept it, because | have not
stuoled 1t; but l cannot help feeling
mat since that is a compromise thai
has come from the railroads sitt;ne
as 1T were, a jury on their own case.
l cannot help but feel that we had
better make haste SLOWLY" Can
plauSe). l for n do not hesitate to
say this, that if the acceptance of that
compromise means that our MOUTH
are 10 be estopped and that his fight
must be given up and that we must
no longer attack the railroads for full
justice, then l for one say let us have
no compromise; lee us contend for
justice, (Applause). Because we
Know this, men, that No question is
settled until it is settled right CAP
plause).
AS has already been argued here,
the proposition of a long and short
1900 H. NC ICIulcu III IdCt In01
railroads charge more for a shOrt
maui n for a long haul, even when
the short haul is contained in the
long maui, is certainly undesirable
m no people Should tolerate it. Now
what would be justice to North Car
DINA? From my standpoint, repre-
senting the people who pay this bur
ueIisome tax (~because it is a taxi
and representing the consumer a Jus,
land eOulfAh1Q and riUhfooJS Cotflo
ment OF this question, and the only
one that will ever satisfy the peopl,
of North Carolina would be to Civ
to North Carolina the same rates tina
Virginia has. l submit, gentlemen
that since the mileage Of North Caro-
lima brings in revenue to those com
panies $11O a mile more than tn,
mileage in Virginia, there is no JUST
hcation, no reason under the sun VIII,
North Carolina should not have tn
same rates hat obtain in Virginia
t (ApplauSe). But since it is a cues
5 ton of interstate freight rates, owe
e which the sovereign people Of on
f commonwealth I'VE not control, l be
lieve that we should keep up thi
:. fight, eve though we accept the com
!: promise offered, that we should ket
up this fight with renewed vigor.
believe we should ask the Genera
Assembly to authorize the Governo
e to appoint a commission to TAX
charge Of the freight rate question
t (Great ~applauSe). 1t has been sal
u that the Corporation Commission
lalready OverwOrkvd, that it has nor
e business han it a really attend
s Uaughter). Perhaps it has; l do NJ
: know. Blu the point is this, men,
d all seriousness: Since these cond
n. lions have existed over inc | was
o little baby boy, earlier than that, al
II that has been sometime, and since "
IF have had a Corporation COmmissiC
l. for do not know how many yea
8, and they have not found a remedy
rs taken the people into their confiden'
IF to find out what would De a remed
rs then l think it is time to secure a sp
S. cial commission. whose special bus
ness it will be to obtain uSt freig
d rates for North Carolina. Great a
s. ~plause). That is. in my opinion, VIII
North Carolina should do now. Al
s. we should go beyond State bOu
nr and carry this fight to our nation
il CONGRESS and break the owe Of m
J. nOpoly. The people can do it VIII
ay YOU get them thoroughly aroused u
or on any question. n they are becOr
in ing aroused. no doubt Of it. Carry t
fight to the national Congress a
IN let them obtain that condition viii
2" our Governor has analysed, just a
J equitable freight rates. But Just nt
nv we have got to contend with the e
re here in North Carolina. We have
H. meet a condition, not a theory, a
he with the means at our coiiIhai
as within our own State. And we c
lie certainly adjust intrastate freis
NV rates so that when | want TO orc
nd some rye again from W~inston-Sal
.r- | won't have to pay 38 IL cents
'ot hundred pounds freight. Laugh
b. and great a~pplause).
o.