The Brunswick news., 1919-05-07
JOINT DEBATE
ON RAILROADS
HEARDBY MANY
Hon. Leslie M. Shaw Talks
Against Government
Ownership.
AT THE CHAUTAUQUA
ON LAST NIGHTS PROGRAM
Former Secretary of the Treas
ury In RooseveIt's Cabinet De-
bates Subject With Hon. Chas
ZeubIin and Create Much In
terest.

JOINT DEBATE ..36-
The feature Of yesterday at the chau
tauuua, was a Joint debate on the gov
eminent ownership of railrods:
Leslie M. Shaw, secretary OF the
treasury in the cabinet of President
Roosevelt and twice governor OF Iowa
SPOKE against the government owner
ship and among other things said:
Government ownership of railroads
ard ether utilities appear to me unde
sirable for several reasons: The Unit
ed States of America was not former
as a business enterprise 1t wa
intended to be, and for more than enc
hundred years was the greatest Id
erty institution in the world Posses
sing resources unequalled and re
sourcefulness unmatched it threw Opei;
its broad domains, AMI virtually not
fled each citizen and EVERYONE who
might seek it's protection and oppor'
tunities that in the pursuit Of happi
ness. he should have the guarantee;
liberty to select anything he dared
Undertake, and if he succeeded, the
result should belong to him. For one
H4rdred years the Stars and Stripe
were the symbol of opportunity.
During all this perio1, the govern
ment fostered everything and fathereG
nothing. 1t fosterod commerce ~
dredging streams and deepening and
widening harbors; but it did not faith
er commerce by taking over the Silipe
It permitted the citizen to own tho
ships and to realize no small degree or
happiness from their operation, /;
also fosterel commerce by grants o
land, worthless at the time, but eli
terprising citizens who would assum :
tho risk of constructing railroads in
to frontier regions. These encouraf7
ed enterprises sometimes resulted ~
large fortunes, but more frequent v
in heavy losses. Many fold as man.
men have gone broke in constructing
railroads as have made money out OF
their promotion | have sold land TO"
five times it's cost as soon as rail-.
read was constructed near it. No
railroad man ever added that much
water
"All this was in absolute harmony
with the Divine plan, as revealed no;
Only in Holy Writ, but in human n"
tpre We read that when Jehovah
had swung the worlds into space. Ee
pronounced them very good" Wher
he made man in His own image He
insured the Improvement Of the earth
be unparting to man the capacity for
maximum happiness in mans creator
ships, sovereignties and achievements
No one realized a fraction of the maj:
piness from inherited wealth as he
ancestor got in its acquisition. The
president of your bank may be pleased
with his position. but no salary can
make a bank president happy. Happf'
ness comes to bank president wilen
he sees the institution grow under hre
administration In harmony with th''
great fundamental truth that man
happiness rests on achievement. this
government for more than one hundred
years safeguarded the citizens ii.,er
ties while the citizens did things anf
obtained happiness in ther doing. Nov
1t is proposed that the government
shall do things and that the citiZe~
shall surrender his chief source O.
happiness. The real nnestion under
discussion therefore is shall the gov
ernment protect the citizen while the
citizen seks happiness in achievement
or shall the citizen rNtect the gov
ernment while the Pnvernment plays
hob with business and tho people make
un the loss in increased taxes? "
In his argument for the government
ownership of railroads, Charles Ecu
bin, presented amlrng other STATE
ments, the following:
The government might have march
ed victOriously into Paris instead o.
coming to receive their instructions
ss to their place in the sun if tn
railroads of the United States had re
NAMED in private hands The rail
roads war board of experts, hamstrune
by financiers, had failed completely
to mobilize the transportation faciI
tiles of the nation when the govern
ment was compelled to assume con
trol Civilians Of limited patriotism
have had abundant cause OF complain,
at restricted service, but the railroad.
were not modified for civilian hene
fit. They have been run primarily te