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THURSDAY AFTERNOON, JUNE 24,1920
COX A MAN OF REAL ACHIEVEMENTS;
WHAT HE HAS DONE AS GOVERNOR
Interesting Story of Man
Who May Win Demo
cratic Prize
Who is Cox and what has he done? I
He is governor of Ohio and he has■
done a great deal. He may be nomi
nated for president by the Democratic !
party next week—and again he may
not be. But his is an interesting
story, nevrtheless. Here it is in brief
form:
BY H. G. BISHOP
(In The Dearborn Independent.)
There are a number of people out;
in Ohio who feel cocksure that a
man who can be elected governor of
that state three times is unquestion
ably the one man who can easily lead
the Democratic party to a presiden-;
tial victory next November.
That man, of course, is James M.
Cox, present governor of the Buck-i
eye State.
It is asserted in many sections of'
the country that the rapidly growing i
popularity of Governor Cox as a
contender for nomination honors at
the San Francisco convention is
causing deep anxiety at the cam
paign headquarters of William
Gibbs McAdo, Alexander Mitchell
Palmer and Robert Latham Owen, |
the other three seekers for Demo-;
cratic presidential honors.
If Cox can scale the ladder of,
political success as rapidly in the I
next few months as he has in the past
few ’’ears, he ought to be able to I
leave the McAdoo Palmer-Owen
bunch at the pole and lope home with
the nomination.
Cox has been making constant
progress ever since he started wearing
pants. He has had wide experience
in various lines of endeavor, which
gives him a keen insight into human
nature and enables him to get the
viewpoint of citizens from the lowest
to the highest.
There is nothing single-trackish
about his thinking ®r his accomplish
ments. He possesses a breadth of
mentalty that makes it possible for
him at all time to size up and under
stand single tracks, double tracks,
four tracks, terminals, way stations,
and, in fact, the whole general scheme
of things. He sees the whole gov
ernmental picture at a glance, not
merely a shadow or a high spot here
and there. For instance, he knows
the needs of the farmers of America,
because he was born on a farm and
performed every conceivable kind of
farm work until he had picked up
enough education to engage in the
laudable work of country school
teaching. His next job was that of
newspaper reporter, then, in succes
sion, editor, secretary to a congress
man, owner of a newspaper, a mem
ber of Congress for two terms, and
governor of Ohio for three terms —
the only Democrat ever able to ac
complish that triple feat.
With a past record like that, is it
any wonder that his friends are so
dead certain that he will be the domi
nating figure at ’Frisco from start to
finish? ,
Mr. Cox recently reached the half
century milestone of his career. He
is as strong and healthy as a buck
private and farm hand combined, in
case he gets the nomination he will
have the stamina to make a red-hot
campaign from coast to coast and
from the Canadian line to the Guli
coast.
Here is the way this husky and
hustling Democrat speaks of the big
national problems of the day.
“We must give immediate atten
tion to matters of domestic concern.
Our whole economic status seems to
be natural. Prices are high and they
will remain so until we seriously dedi
cate our efforts to the wiping away
of things that came with the war.
“A considerable factor in the high
cost of living is the. continuance of
the excess profits tax. In establish
ing the selling nrice of its product,
every business establishment ■ sets
aside a reasonable profit and then
adds to it the amount that must be
paid to the government. This in turn
is done by the manufacturer, the job
ber, the retailer, the inevitable re
sult being a staggering cost to the
consumer. _ , . i
“Approximately four billion dol
lars will be necessary to conduct the
department of government and to
meet sinking fund and interest
charges. Almost half of thic ould
be derived by applying a tax of from
one to one and one-half per cent on
the volume of business done by any
going concern.
“It would be a simple matter to
collect the tax; the taxpayer would
not be confused by it, and it would
be neither cause nor alibi for exces
sive prices.
“I favor the abilshment of the
federal inheritance tax just as soon
as we can get along without it. T his
method of taxation should be left to
the states. Tax on inheritance is
based on the principle of government
being compensated for service ren
dered in conveying property from one
generation to another. A man makes
a will and it has a definite force and
effect because the law legalized it.
The right is given to him by the state
and the process of the distribution of
his estate is through the agency of
local government. The Federal au
thority has nothing to do with it
Therefore, the compensation for ser
vices rendered should be to the states.
“There is some hysteria over the
subject of active elments in this
country that are menacing to the
government. There is no danger in
the situation, although it might be
aggravated easily if the governmental
policy of restraint and common sense
that has endured through the years
were to become one of f >rce and ter-,
rorism. There must be no compro
mise with treason, but the surest
death to Bolshivism is exposure of
the germ of the disease itself to the
sunlight of public view. In the old
days, the treatment of scarlet fever
consisted of an intensive attack on
the high temperature of fever. The
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result was a reaction on vital organs'
that left permanent affliction. Now;
the fever, under restraint, is per-i
mitted to run its course and what was
once regarded as a very serious ail-!
men: is little niore than a s.mple
malady.
Threat of Extremes.
“We must protect ourselves
against extremes in America. The
horrors and tragedies of revolution
can be charged to them. If govern
ment is assailed, its policy must not
become vengeful. Our fathers, in
specifying what human freedom was
and providing guaranties for its pre
servation, recognized that among the
necessary precautions was the pro
tection of individual right against
governmental abuses.
“If the alien, ignorant of our laws
and customs, cows in fear of our
government, he is very apt to be
lieve that things are much the same
the world over, and he may become,
an easy convert to the doctrine of
resistance. The skies will clear, but
meanwhile, government must be firm
yet judicial, uninfluenced by the
emotionalism that breeds extremes
The less government we have, con
sistent with safety to life and prop
erty, the better for both happiness
and morals. A policeman on every
corner would be a bad index to the
citizenship of the community, for it
would reflect a foolish concept of
conditions by the municipal officers.
“In this, I merely seek to give point
to the necesisty, now that the war is
over, of junking most of our institu
tions devoted to war, and scaling
governmental machinery down to the
very point of necessity and efficiency
“It is idle to talk of reducing gov
ernmental expense if the nation has
to be armed to the teeth, and vast
armies and navies will be necessary
if the concerted plan of international
peace fails. The guaranty against war
is a credit against which a debit
charge must be made, and after all
this is the very crux of the contro
versy over the League of Nations
There can be no result worth while
unless the nations of the earth as
sume a definite obligation. The mere
promise of this country to place its
responsibility on the shifting sands
of congressional caprice is a travesty
of human intelligence. We are seek
ing io shake burrelves free from the
cost of war and yet tl <J task of read
justment along the line of construct
ive economy is faced at the very out
set with the question of what our
military and naval policy shall be.”
Having in mind the fact that the
; average voter is in the habit of judg
ing the future promises of a candi
date by his regard of past achieve
. ments, I hunted up one of the gov
ernor’s closest business and political
friends and asked him to tell me
something about his record cover
ing his six years as Ohio’s chief ex
ecutive. His reply follows:
“Cox was first elected governor as
' a result of advocacy of a new pro
gressive constitution, which was
' Adopted. He changed the old order
of things in Ohio, making govern
ment responsive and effectual as well
as orderly and efficient. Well-plan
ned laws and aggressive administra
tion removed most of the causes of
conflict between employers and em
ployes; doubt and distrust each of
the®other were eliminated; and di
rectly through his agency these ele
ments were brought together in com
mon understanding, and for common
effort. He has the entire confi
\ dence of the business interests, and
I the genu ne affection of the working
i people. He possesses the particular
' ability needed at this time for bring
ing together the representatives of
capital who furnish employment and
those who will be employed to keep
the wheels of industry moving. The
great domestic problem of the next
four years is to re-establish confi
dence between capital and labor
throughout the country. The solu
tion of this problem is demonstrated
now in Ohio under the six-year lead
ership of Governor Cox.
“Tn the face of increased cost of
government during the war and the
loss of several millions of dollars in
revenue previously derived from the
liquor traffic, Governor Cox kept the
fiscal affairs of the state on a solid
footing without increasing taxes or
invoking a single new source of in
come. A modern budget system
adopted in 1913 made this accom
plishment possible, and this system
came to be Governor Cox,
when serving on the appropriations
committee in Congress, saw the need
of this fiscal plan of government.
“Governor Cox met all the tests
of a strenuous war period, mani
testing the highest order of leader
ship in his ability to pick men to
handle efficiently the tasks given
them, and work one with the other to
a common end. In the bitter stress
of the war winter when railroads were
stagnated and the failure properly
to distribute coal caused distrees and
loss, Governor Cox took charge of the
situation and brought immediate re
lief in his own state, and pointed the
way for relief elsewhere.
What His Record Discloses.
“In his crusade against high
living costs, Governor Cox preceed
ed against and secured conviction of
cold storage operators who were hold
ing food products overtime to keep
up prices.
“When in the disordered period of
reconstruction, strikes were preva
lent throughout the United States, the
situation was met in Ohio in away
which attracted the attention of the
entire country.
i “During the steel strike peace and
order were maintained, the right of
free speech was not infringed, prop
erty damage was prevented, and this
I without the use of a single soldier.
“Local public officials were in
i structed that peace and order must
j be maintained, that rioting must be
prevented, but that there must be no
interference with the right of men to
| organize and express their grievances
i nor must there be any interference
| with the right of any other men to
i work. To enforce this policy it was
I necessary to remove but one mayor
of a large city. This the governor
did not hesitate to do, although the
removed official was a Democrat, and
the vice mayor, his successor, a Re
publican.
“In the entire six years of the in
cumbency of Governor Cox, the
militia, of which Ohio has a complete
division, has never been called out to
quell a strike.
“With all the coal mines of the
’ country tied up under general strike,
I Governor Cox called separate con
i ferences of all the operators and min
! ers in Ohio and secured from them
! agreement to leave the matter of set
; tlement in his hands, planning the
outcome in such away as to bring
j immediate agreement of the warring
factions with the Federal government
at Washington.
“A severe winter found Ohio with
, out seed corn and farmers were re
quired to pay as high as S2O a
bushel for seed. Governor Cox sent
agents into other territories where cli
; mate and soil conditions were similar
to Ohio, and secured a supply of seed
■ corn at a cost of less than $3 per
bushel.
The toll of the war and the lure
of the city were depleting farm labor.
; To meet this need, Governor Cox ar-
I ranged for the purchase of a lare-e
' number of tractors through private
j agencies, called a meeting of farmers
! at the state capital and conducted a
; tractor school under the supervision
of experts, so that within two weeks’
, time more than 6,000 tractors were
| put into use within the state, and in-
I stead of a shortage of labor decreas
ing acreage and crop production, the
manner in which the shortage was
(Continued on Last Page)
NOTICE.
Dancing Thursday night at Mrytle
Springs. Music by Clark’s orchestra.
Begins at 8:30, lasts till 11:30.
THE AMERICUS TIMES-RECORDER.
THE PROGRAM
In the Monterey Gas and Electric Light case, the President of the California
Commission said:
“That there is a program on the part of large financial concerns interested in
public utility securities, particularly in the stock of public utilities for which ordi
narily no money has been paid, to exaggerate the value of these public utilities, in
my opinion, admits of no doubt.”
“The uniform practice has been in the past to construct these properties large
ly from the proceeds of bonds, and to give as bonus the stock of the corporation,
except that which should be withheld by the promoters.
"Thus the actual property cost originally has been less than the face value of
the outstanding bonds —to say nothing of the stock—because under this method the
bonds usually sold at less than par. The problem of those in control, therefore, has
been to pay the bond interest and gradually build up the value behind the stock
which, originally, of course, had no value. Now they find themselves halted in this
program.
"Almost frantic endeavors, therefore are being made to persuade public au
thority to place values upon the property of these utilities which will be sufficient
to cover these bonds and leave, if not enough to represent par for the stock, at least
enough to represent something, otherwise such stock will be seen to have no value.
“Furthermore, many of these utilities expect, and I imagine a great many
desire, public ownership of their properties.
“In anticipation of such public ownership, in rate investigations, they do not
have the rate inquiry alone in mind, but with an eye to the future seek for this reason,
too, to impart elements of value that have no other foundation than in the desire of
the utility to get the highest price for its property.”
THE ONE BIG UNION
Five corporations, controlled in other states, control 87.1 per cent of the developed waterpowers of Geor
gia, according to the report made by the Secretary of Agriculture to the United States Senate in 1916.
These companies and the developed power controlled by them in the State, as shown by the Secretary are—
The first company controls in Atlanta and North Georgia. The second is in Savannah and Columbus and
the surrounding territory. The next is in Macon and middle Georgia. The fourth is at Augusta. The last is in Ath
ens. i
The Georgia Railway & Power Company 46.1%
Stone & Webster 13.5%
Georgia Light, Power & Railways 15.2%
J. G. White & (Company, Inc .9.6%
Doherty Operating Company 2.7%
Total developed water power 87.1%
Os the five companies and 190 other corporations < ontrolling the bulk of the water power of the United
States, outside of navigable streams and government reservations, the Secretary said:
“Every company is directly or indirectly related through principal officers or directors to every other com
pany'’’
“The Secretary also gave a list of 170 banks, trust companies and other financial institutions, of Boston,
Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Pittsburg, and other cities “which,” he said, "through their directors, are in
terested in public utility and industrial companies engaged as, or holding securities of electric power public util
ities, or engaged in the industrial use of water powers.’*
Os these financial institutions, the Secretary said:
“Every company is directly or indirectly related through directors to every other company.”
The secretary listed the public utilities in which this related group of banks, trust companies, etc., were in
terested. Every one of the corporations listed was a member of the related group of utilities mentioned above.
Behold your one big union.
From the steel company, which furnishes steel, and the corporations, which supply electrical equipment and
plants, to the banks and trust companies, which finance the deals, and houses, which buy and sell securities, they
formed a gigantic net of wheels within wheels, covering the whole United States from coast to coast, and from the
Canadian line to the Gulf, with nerve strings reaching out to Canada and across the seas to London.
For example, incorporators of the Georgia Railway and Power Company came from Toronto.
The Alabama Traction Light and Power Company, controlling in Birmingham, North Alabama and a part
of Tennessee, with lines connecting with the Georgia Railway and Power Company, is incorporated in Canada.
Its president lives in London, England.
BLOW STRIKES GEORGIA OFFICIALS
When Messrs. Atkinson and Arkwright put display advertisements in the papers of Georgia denouncing the
Mayor of the capital of the state as: I. “A slanderer; 2, an ignoramus; 3, a demagogue,” because Mayor Key did
his duty as a public official by pointing to the water in the stock of the companies managed by those gentlemen and
called attention to their effort to put upon the people of North Georgia an additional tax of $2,500,000 per an
num— '
When Mr. Atkinson, before the Railroad Commission of Georgia, proclaims a strike of capital—
More than the Mayor of Georgia’s capital, whom they villify, more than the State Railroad Commission, whom
they threaten, though in honeyed tones and more than Messrs. Atkinson and Arkwright are seen.
On the one side are the public officials of Geotgia, our municipalities and state tied hand and foot.
On the other is the picture drawn by Secretary Houston of related companies of which the Georgia Railway
and Power Company is a part—
Organizations whose financial strength is measured by billions of dollars. Corporations, which finance na
tions, as well as public utilities. Companies with authority to exercise the greatest power inherent in the state, that
of condemning private property for their own use, on the theory that they serve the public.
Able to act the companies face helpless public officials.
Between them is the prize, our waterpowers.
Our rights, and the rights and happiness of unborn children, and their children, are at stake.
What should be done?
THEIR UNJUSTIFIABLE DEMANDS
Think for a moment —
The Georgia Railway and Power Company has no stock to sell.
Circulars offering the company’s securities for sale say that in 1919 the Company’s
"NET EARNINGS WERE OVER TWO AND ONE HALF TIMES THE TOTAL
INTEREST CHARGES.”
The securities which the company have to sell are bonds.
If the rate upon electricity were made one dollar per K. W. H. and the car fare more, it could not affect
the rate of income to the holders of these bonds from them.
What, then would a raise in rates accomplish?
It would put a greater burden upon the people of North Georgia end enable the Company to show bizver
profit upon stock for which no money was paid.
The 1918 decision of the Railroad Commission showed that there were outstanding against the Georgia
Railway and Power Company bonds to the amount of $14,808,000.00 Assuming that the bonds were sold at
85, the company realized from their sale approximately $12,587,800.00.
In their decision, the Commission gave the total cost of the developed properties in public service belonging
to Georgia Railway and Power Company as $14,123,730. That is to say, the Company’s developed properties
cost the Company only $1,536,930.00 more than the amount of money obtained on the bonds.
EARNING OVER 80 PER CENT
Last year after meeting every expense of operation,and paying the interest on the bonds, the company had
left a balance of $1,229,303.83. The sum is sufficient to pay a dividend of over 80 per cent upon the capital of
$1,536,930.00 over and above the bonds, actually invested in the Company’s developed properties in 1918.
But what of rewards for their diligence?
In addition to the 80 per cent, consider salaries such as $25,000 per annum paijl to each Mr. Arkwright and
Mr. Atkinson. This is the salary paid the Director General of all the railroads of the United States under govern
ment control. It is more than the salary paid to the president of the Louisville and Nashville railroad. It is more
than twice the salary paid to the head of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario, which supplies 376,-
000 horsepower to 230 towns and cities.
Surely this is sufficient for developing 1 36,000 horsepower.
Why, then, the cry for increased rates?
Simple enough. Although in 1918 only $1,536,930.00 over and above the bonds had gone into the devel
oped properties, the Company had issued $27,000,000.00 of stock.
Owners of the stock desire to create a market for stock for which no money was originally paid, and from
the sale of which not one dollar will go into the development of the company’s property. ■„
Public Service Commissions, such as the Railroad Commission of Georgia, however competent and honest,
are unable to protect the people.
The Railroad Commission of Georgia has not even the financial strength to employ a competent engineer.
But in the states where cities and state have the power to build and operate their own utilities, the people
have had protection. They have protected themselves. They have faced the corporation as equals.
We ask only the same power for our people.
The hands of Georgia and her municipalities are tied.
They should be free.
THE STATE SHOULD ACT
(Published by the Municipal League of Georgia) *
PAGE FIVE