The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1921-07-05

tain Them, he declares. NndIdCIeI-
lied as an Attempt to Bride States.
WASHINGTON, d. C.-Declaring
that the Townsend road bill which
would place the selection and con-
struction of roads receiving federal aid
in the hands OF a commission OF three
men to be an attempt to bride the
states as a price for the surrender OF
their sovereignty, Senator Thomas +.
! Watson vigorously assailed the meas
ure and Landed the Dowell bill, which
would leave the matter of road con-
struction as it is at present.
| Tonight at II o'clock is the end OF
the fiscal year insofar as appropria-
tions under the present system OF led
eral-aid -to-the- states legislation. No
more construction projects can be I'M
dertaken until some action is taken by
! congress on one of the road bills now
pending.
| Senator Watson, member OF the
committee on postofflces and post
roads and has long been interested IN
good roads.
Part of Speech.
His speech before the senate is Civ
en- in part as follows
MIR. President, the federal govern
ment has a perfect right to lay out
post road, but after having done so
| the federal government must MAINTAIN
! it. 1t has no more right to lay post
road and tell the state to maintain It
than it has to select postoftce and
| tell the state to keep the building IN
repair The federal government has a
perfect right to lay out military roads.
nobody disputes that; but, having ex]
ercised that power, it must MAINTAIN
the roads. 1t has no right to unburden
! itself of the upkeep, and place it upon
the state. In like manner the federal
government has constitutional au-
| thority to open up interstate commerce
lroads: but, having done so, it must
maintain them. 1t has no right what
ever to come into Alabama or Mlssis-
sippi, or Tennessee or Georgia and ar
bitrarily select interstate commerce
roads, and then say to those states:
You must maintain them forever. On
that proposition | am ready to meet
any lawyer in this body.
"Mr. President, | am fond OF the
democracy OF the open road. 1t IS one
of the few places where the pauper
is equal to the prince; one OF the lew
places where title, wealth, social posi-,
ton. color, race, pervious condition OF
tservitude make no difference, between
man and woman. The only piece OF
Walt Whitman's poetry that | ever
understood was his Open Road We
call them big roads" down in the
south. We love them--along these
roads every man travels on footing
of absolute equality. He camps by the
side of them at night if he wants to;
he takes his meal of victuals from his
basket or his lunch paper, if he wants
to. He is as much at home there as
if he owned it, because he, as much as
ANYBODY else, does own it. The place
which he then and there occupies IS
his. until he passes on and surrenders
it to one who comes after him.
do senators understand what the
Townsend bill, even as amended, pro-
poses to do? do not believe, Mr.. Pres
ident, there should be held above
state tempting bride, no matter
how large it is, as a price Tor the sur
render of her sovereignty. Speaking
for the state of Georgia, which l m
part represent, say here and now
that the federal government has not
enough money to bride us into a sur
render of our sovereignty.
THE imperial crown of Rome was
sold once, on the ramparts, by the
Pretorian guard but Gorgia's crown
of sovereignty will never be sold here
at any price while her representation
is what it is at present. We are not
going to surrender our sovereignty.
We ar not going to give up our dirt
roads, or any other kind of roads. We
are going to control them. We are
going to say where they shall be, from
the farmers home to his market town,
from one town to another, and from
the town to the city.
Talk about expending all this enor-
nous amount of money on laying out
other routes for limousines from De-
troit to Miami. That is all right. But
let the limousine people pay for them.
Do not let them come down and select
their route from Detroit to Miami, or
from New York to Augusta, and then
say to the people of Georgia, You take
what we choose, and you bear the ex-
pense of it forever without regard to
the convenience of the people who
want to go to county fairs; without re-
gard to the convenience OF our people
who want to visit one another; with
out regard to the innocent sports
which carry groups Of young people
from one community to another; with
out regard to church meetings, .edu-
cational meetings, political meetings,
or any other kind of meetings.
Seeks Authority.
Tell me senators, why should the
bill ask that army officers be detailed
to supervise our roads? Why should
naval officers be detailed to do it?
What business have the army and the
navy in our big roads in time of
peace? With what authority will they
come? The bill does not specify.
I'm this bill we create an Office to
which may be assigned salary great
er than that drawn by the president
of the United States IL is unlimited.
Do you want that kind OF an officer
at the head of a roads system, en-
throned here in Washington city,
where everything is coming, with an
imperialism that is appalling? Are the
states to have nothing at all except the
privilege OF paying the expenses Of
the most costly imperialism the word