r'f 'V
The Commoner.
dii
VOLUME 5, NUMBER 4x
HR. ROOSEVELT'S PLAIN TALK AT RALEIGH, N. C
In a speech delivered at Raleigh, N. C, Octo
ber 19, air. Roosevelt left no room for doubt as
to his present day purpose with respect to the
railway rate question. "While making it plain
that he does not believe in government owner
ship, air. Roosevelt made it equally plain that he
favors such governmental control as will provide
protection for the people.
In his Raleigh Bpeech, and r erring to the
railroad question, Mr. Roosevelt said:
"It is out of the question for the government
not to exercise a supervisory and regulatory right
over the railroads; for it is vital to the well
being of the public that they should be managed
in a spirit of fairness and justice toward all the
public."
"The actual experience has shown that it is
not possible to leave the railroads uncontrolled.
Such a system, or rather lack of system, is fer
tile in abuses of every kind, ana puts a premium
upon unscrupulous conduct in railroad manage
ment." "Experience has shown that the present laws
. are defective and need amendment."
"What we need is to have some administra
tive body with ample power to forbid combination
that is hurtful to the public, and to prevent favor
itism to one individual at the expense of another.
In other words, we want an administrative body
with the power to secure fair treatment as among
all shippers who use the railroads and all ship
pers have a right to use them. We must npt leave
the enforcement of such a law merely to the de
' partment of justice; it is, out of the question for
the law department of the government to do what
should be purely administrative work. The de
partment of justice is to stand behind and co
operate with the administrative body, but the
administrative body itself must be given the pow
er to do the work and then held .o a strict ac
countability for the exercise of that power. The
delays of the law are proverbial, and what we
need in this matter is reasonable quickness of
action."
"The abuses of which we have a genuine right
to complain take many shapes. Rebates are not
now often given openly. But they can be given
just as effectively in covert form; and private
cars, terminal tracks and the like must be brought
under the control of the commission or adminis
trative body, which is to exercise supervision by
the government. But in my judgment the most
important thing to do is to give to this adminis
trative body power to make its findings effective,
and this can be done only by giving it power,
when complaint is made of a given rate as being
unjust or unreasonable, if it finds the complaint
proper, then itself to fix a maximum rate which
it regards as just and reasonable, this rate to co
into effect practically at once, and to stay in ef
fect, unless reversed by the courts."
Mr. Roosevelt expressed the hope that con
gress would provide this power, and he added
that he hoped that congress" would confer upon
the interstate commerce commission the author
ity to examine into the books and affairs of all
railroads whenever there should be "in the minds
of the commission any suspicion that a certain
railroad is in any shape or way giving rebates
or behaving improperly."
He said he wanted the commission to have
this power as a matter of right, not as a matter
of favor, in order that it might make a full and
exhaustive investigation of railroad affairs, so
SSLm. Vilati011 r eVaSin f the ,a bo
Some who are really opposed to effective
railroad legislation have, while pretending l
favor a reform, suggested the creation of a Jf
cial court whose duty it would be to deal with
all such complaints; and these have ureed tno
the desirability of holding the reformed rates in
abeyance until final adjudication. But Mr Rooso
velt plainly says that he is opposed to the crea
tion of a special federal court and that he Is in
favor of placing this power with the interstate
commerce commission, so that the people "may
hold to the strictest accountability their agents
charged with the performance of this important
duty. He says that when the commission has
fixed a maximum rate which it regards as just and
reasonable, that rate should go in effect practi
cally at once, and stay in effect unless revised
by the courts.
This is the plainest talk which the president
has made upon this subject, ana he will, doubt
less, in his message to congress make recom
mendations in line with his Raleigh speech.
Mr. Roosevelt has faithfully described the
lines of battle. Those who favor effective rail
road legislation will approve Mr. Roosevelt's plan
in this respect. But he will not win the victory
easily. He will be required to wage desperate
battle with the representatives of special inter
ests, and conspicuous among his foes will be some
of the most distinguished leaders of his own
.party. Every American citizen, regardless of po
litical prejudice, who believes that government
should be administered for the greatest good to
the greatest number, owes it to his country to
give to the president in this great contest every
possible help and encouragement.
an inside View of sohe pretentious hen
When but a very little boy I had a little
drum,
And oft I wondered to myself from whence such
music come,
"Methinks," says I, "there surely is some wondrous-
works inside."
And so I got my hammer out and in that drum
I pried.
Alas! I only ruined the drum and won a load
of woe
Now, honestly, my, friends, have you not often
found it so?
You see a man who poses great and struts the
streets around.
But when you get a closer view you find him
empty sound.
I had a little dolly once 'twas early childhood's
day
And with that little dolly I loved oft to sit and
Play.
"Methinks," said I, "this doll's insides some won
drous things contain." '.
I opened it Alas! I found sawdust for heart and
brain.
A hollow mockery it was my heart was grieved
and sore,
But since that time the sawdust side has shown
up more and more.
I've seen some men the world called great until
an inside view
Showed only sawdust. Hasn't It, good friends,
occurred to you?
I think 'twas eighteen ninety-six some captains
of finance v
Stood up before the public gaze and never lost
a chance
To talk about the honor of our nation strong and
great
And say upon their shoulders broad they bore
the country's fate.
They posed as saviours of the state and with
glib pen and tongue
On "honesty" and such like words a thousand
changes rung.
But since .that time we've, looked inside and
found nought else but craft .
They were not filled with .honesty, but with saw
dust of graft.
My drum gave forth a noisy sound but it was
empty quite.
My doll was plump, and pretty, too 'twas saw
dust met my sight.
I heard the Chauncey M. Depews, McCurdys and
McCalls
Stand forth to shout their honesty upon the outer
walls.
And for a time I really thought they were the
nation's pride
Alas! I found but empty sound and raw sawdust
inside.
And human drums of hollow sound, and sawdust
dollies, too,
Are being opened day by day and we don't like
the view.
THE MISANTHROPE.
TO COMMONER READERS IN THE BUCKEYE STATE
One frequently hears during a campaign the
statement "My ballot won't have any bearing on
the result, and tjiero is no use in my going to the
polls." Men who habitually make this statement
forget that they do not stand alone. Public in
terests have suffered greatly in the past by the
stay-at-home vote. Oneballot by itsolf does not
greatly count, and yet in the aggregato these stay-at-home
ballots would in many cases have changed
results. And there have been many instances
where oven a single ballot might have turned the
scale. The St. Louis Republic says that at a
recent municipal election in St. Louis one of the
nominees for the city council was elected by a
plurality of three votes, out of a total of about
08,000, and these .three votes definitely decided
the majority of the superior branch of the mu
nicipal assembly. These three votes caused a
majority of one in the city council; by such a
.small majority putting the council in sympathy
with the mayor and his administration. These
three votes practically determined the general
working Jiolicy of the council.
Commenting upon this fact the Republic says:
At some time in the nation's history
one vote might determine the government's
- policy or the country's destiny. The small
plurality of three votes out of 98,000, im
presses the value of one ballot and accentu
ates the duty of patriotism upon every occa
sion. Every ballot is equal. Every ballot is
a unit, which, whether applied or not ap
plied, has some bearing on results.
At this moment these observations are im
portant to the Ohio voter, and particularly to the
Ohio democrat who, having lost hope, may imagine
that it is a waste of time for a patriotic Ohioan
to cast his vote against the reign c bossism
that has so long dominated the Buckeye sf.ate.
There have been so many instances when one
vote would have changed results that no voter
can by remaining at home assume the great re
sponsibility of permitting evil influences to pre
vail. But it happens that in Ohio all well informed
men agree that the one thing necessary to elect
John M. Pattison governor is to obtain a full
democratic vote on November 7. There have been
so many desertions from the Cox ticket on the
part of republicans who have grown weary of
boss rule that the only hope republican leaders
have of defeating Mr. Pattison is that a largo
number of democrats may remain at home, thus
offsetting the considerable number of republicans
who will cast their votes for trie democratic
nominee. The democratic committee understands
the situation thoroughly, and is bending every
energy in the effort to bring the full democratic
vote to the polls. This desirable result cannot
be accomplished by circular letters nor by news
paper appeals. It can be accomplished, howevei,
if every democrat who is impressed with the op
portunity at hand will urge itaon his careies
neighbor the importance of going to the polls.
It is to be hoped that every Commoner reauer
in Ohio will constitute himself a committee u
one to see to it that every one of his nelgnooia
votes on November 7. If everv Commoner re
will pass the word alone; the line, there are ni.uy
reasons for believing that John M. Patis0n,io of
be elected governor of Ohio, and that the rme u
Boss Cox will be terminated.
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