Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-05-06
OSBORNE
DEBATE ST|RS
STRONG FEELING
Public Ownership Argument
Arouses the Entire Pro-
gressiVe Committee.

=
Excitement ran so high over the
debate on government ownership OF
railroads, telephones and telegraphs
at the monthly meeting of the Pro-
gressive County Committee last night
that the invited speakers of the eve
ming were forgotten. The debate re-
solved itself into an argument and
finally resulted in a verbal tilt be-
tween William NJ. Sagurton, a county
committeeman, and Walter f. Simp-
son, secretary OF the committee.
Sagurton started the argument
when he criticized the committee sec
rotary for giving names of the COM
mitteemen to the telephone company.
The company distributed literature
at It's own expense to the committee
men. Sagurton said this was not
right. and became indignant when
told he was wrong. The affair had be-
come quite heated and personal when
Mr.. Colby interrupted. He said he
would rather have the company send
out literature than try to buy up
legislatures.
/ The Progressive national commit
tee had assigned DIR. William Brere-
| ton Mucklow, of Watkins, n. Y, to
speak at the meeting 1t was after
eleven O'Clock when he was given the
floor. II was so late he said he'd tell
a story to relieve the tense atmos-
phere. Argument on the debated
question of government ownership of
utilities was postponed until the
meeting next month.
Osborne Gives Long Talk.
Edmund B. Osborne, introducer of
-. hot In Loco
committee go on record as fayoring
the Federal control of public utilities,
made a long address in support of
| his resolution. He said cheaper rates
/ and fares would be effected through
out the country by government own
ership of railroads, telephones and
! telegraphs; political corruption could
be obviated and the trusts broken up
through that agency. His remarks
were not completed before 10 o'clock.
Former Senator Everett Colby then
| briefly took the floor in opposition to
the Osborne resolution. He pointed
out several fallacies in the former
! speakers remarks and went into de-
tail about the alleged lower rates in
countries where government owner
ship prevails.
H. K. Stanley, a committeeman,
was then given the floor and jumped
! from one point to another in support
| Of the resolution. He was repeatedly
| Interrupted and contradicted. He
continued, however, until Irving X.
| Taylor, the chairman, was obliged to
! call to a halt. Then he strenuously
objected.
At this point about a dozen people
tried to get the floor at the same
| time. Everybody was talking at
once. Every man that got up made
a different motion. Some of the COM
mitteemen wanted to limit the time.
others opposed the limit. One man
got up and said Mr.. Colby and Mr..
Osborne were not limited in time,
and why should anyone else be? He
was heartily cheered.
Here one committeeman arose and
asked # the Progressive followers
were forgetting their dignity and their
program. He called attention to the
fact that a speaker of national prom
inence had been quietly awaiting since
o'clock to be heard.
DR.. MuckloW was then announced.
He could not resist the temptation TO
attack government-owned utilities.
He cited his experience abroad as a
reason for his opposition to the Fed
eral-controlled railroads. telephones
and telegraphs. He then talked in
: a,
were at the expense of 'standpat-
ters" He declared that the suffrage
question was a greater one than the
government ownership proposition.
Here the women in the audience ap-
p!auded vigorously.
Mr.. Osborne's address in part was
| along these lines:
public ownership" he said, "has
been adopted in every first class
| European country except England.
Practically all European countries
started under private ownership, and
not a single one has gone back
1.-THE railroads of Switzerland were
owned by private monopoly until 1898.
AT last as one author puts it, on
account of the tyranny and arrogance
of the roads, the people demanded
complete ownership and management.
The early result was that freight and
passenger rates were reduced, the
service improved, the wages of en-
ployes increased and the hours OF Ia
Dor shortened.
Good Passenger Service.
Passenger service on Swiss roads Is
splendid. and, to Americans, marvel
ously cheap. While the railroads of
America are run by Wall Street for
Wall Street, the railroads of SwitZer-
land are run by the people for the
people.
"The people in about sixty years
will own the railroads, which will
have paid for themselves.
THE Prussian publicsy-owned
railroad system is one of the finest
In the world and is better anC
cheaper than in America. There arr
relatively more fast trans in Ger
many; they are uniformly on time
Travel is much safer on Prussiaf
roads than in America. We annual.
injure fourteen times as many as thu
Prussian roads do, for the SAM
number of miles Travelled and pas
, sengers carried. The percentage o
accidents and deaths in Belgium Il
even lower.
1.-THE average cost for carrying a tor
of freight in the United States |:
s1.44 against ninty-five cents In Prus
STA under similar conditions. Tit
. average haul in this country Is "a
miles, In Prussia it is only seventy
one miles If their hauls were as lonl
as ours the rates would be still
cheaper. Government ownership ma
! brought immense revenue to the gov
. eminent. The profits on the stat
owned roads of Prussia in 1912 wer
over $146. 100000.
1.-THE passenger and freight rates Il
Belgium are the lowest in Europe.
Italy has adopted public ownership
| The French people now own par
J of their roads; they will own then
.. all by 1860. The people own the rail
roads In Australia and New Zealand
r Juggling of Roads.
THE coet of our private monopol
| railroads is not measured by wha
. | we pay for passenger tickets an