The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1920-06-08

u0du6 AOL OIlly IlldI LILO soFCI hIISdl
shall own the railroads but, also. it
is to be feared, that those who run
the railroads shall own the govern
ment.
General government ownership
under our political system would inev-
itably bring about the mastery of the
government by those who operate the |
machinery of transportation or of any
other industries which come into gov
eminent possession. The rights of
the general public, for whom all in
dustries exist, would disappear under |
this scheme and nothing would lie left |
to the people except the duty of pay |
ing taxes to support the roads. That |
Is very perilous position for a repre- |
sentative democracy.
Our government must not be DOM |
mated by any one man or any class |
or any selected body of men who rep |
resent a part Of the people and not |
the whole people. Moreover, in the
United States, government ownership
wherever applied to an industry,
whether 1t involves transportation or
Geographic and telephone communica-
ton, or shipbuilding or manufacture
ing, is very inefficient and wasteful
system, badly managed and certain to
be intolerably burdensome to the tax
payers.
The government management dur
ing the war, was inefficient, the rail-
roads were wretchedIy conducted and
money was spent and wasted with
prodigality which nothing can defend.
During the time in which the govern
ment undertook to manage the rail
roads they sustained despite a gener-
, GUS increase in freight rates a loss of
l~Io
| total payments out of the treasury to
| support the railroads have reached
the enormous sum of one and three
quarters billions of dollars. There
was universal dissatisfaction with the
government management and it was
just dissatisfaction. The experiment
| failed and should not be renewed
After reviewing events in Mexico
during the Wilson administration, Mr.
Lodge continued
We have watched and waited long
| enough. 1t is time that this condition
| dlsgraceful to us, and ruinous to Mex
leo, should cease. We need firm
hand at the helm. We need a man who
Will think not only of the rights of the
United States but of the welfare of
Mexico. The Mexican people would
| not resent the influence or interven-
! Ill
only help to bring them peace under a
| president OF their own choosing. Let
the Mexicans choose as their presi-
dent some strong and upright man
who is friendly to the United States
and determined to establish order and
then let the United States give him a
real and cordial support, and so
| strengthen and uphold him that he
will be able to exterminate the bandits
and put an end to the unceasing civil
war which has we'll nigh COMPLETELY
ruined one of the finest and most val
liable countries on the face of the
| earth.
Armenian Question
Relative to the mandate over Ar
/ menia, he said:
We are anxious to help Armenia in
all reasonable ways and no doubt shall
DO so, but to take mandate to con-
troll. protect and govern that country
would involve our sending our sons
and brothers to serve and sacrifice
thelr lives in Armenia for an Indefinite
| time. This is mandate which we
in the senate of the United States
think should not be undertaken 1t is
plan to get US involved in the re-
sponslbllities of the league of nations
and all the wars in which it may be
engaged. without our being a member
OF the league. To such a proposition
the only answer is a plain refusal.
AS the great war in Europe pushed
Mexico into the background and
turned the thoughts of all away from
it, so there is at this moment another
great question of our relations to the
civilized world overshadows every
other. When the armistice with Ger
many was signed. the course to be
pursued was clear 1t was urged by
Republican senators before the armi-
stlce and Immediately afterwards.
mat course was to make the peace
with Germany at once and then take
up for reasonable consideration the
question OF establishing such future
relations with our associates in the
war as would make for the future
peace of the world.
Prevents Peace
II this had been done we could have
had full peace with Germany three
months after the armistice This Mr..
Wilson prevented. He went to Europe
with the greatest opportunity for
large service to the world ever offered
to any one man. He insisted on going
himself. for he trusted no one else.
we then had the confidence, the graft.
, tude and the friendship of every Eu.
, ropean nation, which thanks to the
} president we possess no longer
IT Mr.. Wilson had said: we came
here to help you win this war in de
, Tense Of civilization. The war is won.
: All we now insist upon is that Ger
, many shall be put in such a position
as not to be able again to threaten the
, peace and freedonm of mankind Our
: own questions in the American hem
| isphere we will care for ourselves
e We have interests in the Far East
AC DIICuNEII