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2 “Public Opinion Throughout the Union Greater Protection for Travelers. (From Collier’s Weekly.) Here is a question from the attorney general of Missouri: “When the true obligations on the part of these men who are In chrage of these great enterprises are considered, is it not clear that instead of using the money of the road to gamble with and to se cure the control of competing lines, con trary to the principles of our common law and our statute law, such money should be used to improve the road bed, to straighten the line, to strength en the bridges, to increase the number and the safety of the cars in order that business may be promptly and proper ly conducted, in order that human life may be made more secure?” Agita tion for the introduction of moral methods, such as the dropping of re bates and of passes, has already ac complished something. The agitation that is most called for now is one for the Introduction of every safety ap pliance known to the much less mur derous trains of Europe. Many things which are harmful or perilous we can avoid using if we have adequate intelligence. Trains we are compelled to take. If riding in France or England can be less dan gerous than war, its perils can be de creased by us. Tinder-box cars can be abolished. Highly developed elec tric signals, including those made pos sible by electricity, can be introduced. Too long hours by employes can be ended. A much higher standard of personal efficacy can be brought about. M The People as Monopoly Owners. (From the N. Y. Evening Journal.) When the people own a monopoly— such as the post office —the entire na tion is made more prosperous. Ab sence of competition makes it pos sible to concentrate all effort on GOOD SERVICE, instead of using up effort in chicanery and overreaching. When private individuals own a mo nopoly, such as the railroads, the en tire nation is disturbed and robbed. Absence of competition makes it pos sible to concentrate all effort on more thorough exploitation of the people, on shameful watering of stocks upon which business, labor and population must pay dividends. In a monopoly owned by the people and honestly managed all effort is aimed at serving the people. Is not that clear? In a monopoly privately owned and selfishly managed all effort is direct ed toward exploiting the people. That has been made quite plain in recent railroad and trust exposures. Monopolies today are private con cerns, and their managers are called successful and are highly rewarded ac cording to their ability to enrich pri vate individuals at the public expense. The monopolies of the future —and there will be many of them —owned by the people, managed for the people, will enrich the nation, facilitate legit imate, private business and enterprise, add to life’s comfort, increase the pur chasing power of the honestly earned dollar. It Parties Must Obey the People. (From the Louisville Herald.) Never must the party set itself above or apart from the people. Gov. Hughes tells the Republicans of New York candidly and without qualification, that the party is on state issues doom 'd to defeat unless it gives the people new assurances of its capacity to gov ern in their interest. Mr. Hughes defines party duty: “No one can convince me that he is a loyal Republican, with the interests of the party at heart, who will misuse official position or will be content with anything short of the best service to the people. “No man is a friend of the Repub lican party who asks me or any one in authority to appoint a man or to retain a man who is not equal to his job. “The Republican party should take advantage of its opportunity to con vince the people that it can be trusted to meet their demand in furnishing competent administration of every de partment of government, and in the enforcement of the laws and in the enactment of the legislation that is required to protect the people against the misuse of the privileges they have bestowed.” The Pullman Car Trust. (From the Lincoln Independent.) Representative Harrison’s bill to re duce sleeping car fares gives Nebraska an opportunity to shake its fist at the Pullman company. Since most of the sleeping car patronage in Nebraska is interstate business an intra-state reduction of charges would not make a great difference either to Nebraska or to the Pullman monopoly; but it would be some satisfaction to go through the motions nevertheless. In the last eight years this public ser vice corporation has made in divi dends and unearned increase in the value of its stocks an average of 54 per cent per annum. In 1898 the com pany was capitalized at 136,000,000. At that time the stock was watered by $18,000,000 more. This first paper is now quoted at two and a half times par value, and has paid 64 per cent dividends in eight years. Last year $26,000,000 more water was poured in, and at once rose above par. In addition the concern had accumulat ed a surplus of $26,000,000 which it did not know what to do with, so it paid it over to the stockholders in a lump. Meanwhile, the company is unable to pay its porters living wages, and the public is held up for tips in addition to regular charges. Resent ment at such prosperity may be mere enviousness, as some of our college presidents intimate. Whatever the mo tive, to permit this concern longer to levy so heavily upon our prosperity is unjustifiable benevolence and wan ton waste. An Ermined Anarchist. (From Donham’s Doings.) Whenever a judicial anarchist ex presses contempt for the Constitution of the United States, as did an Idaho judge recently, he should have his insolent comments jammed down his ornery throat with a bayonet as a tamping stick. He might possibly awaken to the danger a few mill ionaire thieves in this country will encounter whenever they undertake to permanently trample that treasured document into the dust. Remove the Causes. (From the New York Tribune.) Almost daily the newspapers quote Rome railroad president as deploring the public hostility to railways. On Tuesday President Truesdale, of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Wes tern, and President Stickney, of the THE WEEKLY JEFFERSONIAN. Great Western Railroad, pointed out the peril ahead for railroads in what Mr. Stickney called “railroad baiting.” Mr. Stickney said it was bound to bring on disaster to the country at large, and Mr. Truesdale predicted that it would “work great wrong and in justice to the railroad interests of the country, and in so doing injure its general business interests.” Mr. Truesdale confessed that “no doubt there is some justification for this feeling” of hostility. If the railroads recognize, as their presidents say they do, any justifica tion for public antipathy they should make all haste to end the justifying cause. Merely to deplore in annual reports, in speeches, and in public interviews the antagonistic sentiment and to point out its dangers can do no good. It is attempting to sweep back the sea. To say, as Mr. Trues dale does, that much of it is unjust, exaggerated, unreasonable, will not cure the trouble; for though that state ment is perfectly true it is perfectly commonplace. Whenever just hostility exists, prejudice and unreason inevit ably multiply it. The railroads should do their utmost to remove this justi fication for the hostility whose exist ence Mr. Truesdale confesses. n Railroads and the 2-Cent Rate. (From the Phila. Ledger.) The rumors to the effect that the railroads are considering the advis ability of sharply curtailing the pas senger service in Pennsylvania be cause the legislature holds up ths threat of passing the ridiculous 2-cent rate law are, it is to be hoped, noth ing more than rumors. We can prove to any enlightened man in the most fundamentally tiresome manner, if need be, that this would be a foolish policy, but it is only necessary to say that the policy of retaliation or the threat by corporations at this time to punish the public will only result in useless irritation. •t The Old Statute Invoked. (From the New York World.) President Roosevelt and the inter state commerce commission deserve unqualified praise for the Harriman investigation—Mr. Roosevelt for or dering it and the commission for making so searching an Inquiry into Mr. Harriman’s methods of exploit ation. The beneficial results of this pitiless publicity will be felt for years to come. But it may be worth while to re mark that this fruitful investigation of the Harriman system of frenzied finance was not made under the so called railroad rate law of June 29, 1906, but under the amendments of March 2, 1889, and February 26, 1891, to section 12 of the original interstate commerce law. During all the years that Mr. Harri man was thimblerigging the stock mar ket thil old law was in force. R Disappearance of the Billionaire. (From the Brooklyn Eagle.) The word billionaire came into our professed fiction about twenty years ago, and from there It quickly crept into another branch of Imaginative literature, our political sociology. And now it seems there ain’t no sich per son, as Betsy Prigg might say. If Mr. Rockefeller is worth only a paltry third of a billion, where shall we look for billionaires? It is sad to lose such an interesting type, such a corner stone of the social moralities, and such a fruitful source of profitable magazine copy. One of Mrs. Whit ney’s shrewd Yankee women some where says: “Good looks are a snare, especially to those as hasn’t got em.” So are billions. n Roars of Mouth Warriors. (From the San Francisco Call.) Wars and rumors of wars. Os com fort let no man speak. Capt. Rich mond Pearson Hobson is talking through his belligerent hat. Senator Perkins has nailed his colors to ths mast that once he sailed before. He hurls the loud defiance and is ready drinks. Cuba threatens to declare war to sign articles. Honduras has start ed in to whip Nicaragua between on the United States if we don’t pro vide offices for every blessed horse thief on the much-vexed island. Th® hurly burly roars terribly. n Noble Order of Quitters. (From the Detroit Free Press.) The ranks of the order of “Panama Canal Quitters” Increases monthly Soon it will be necessary to establish a special zone for them at home. Congress Dodged the Canal Job. (From the Courier-Journal.) Congress has largely refused to exer cise its right, and to perform its duty, in determining how the canal shall be ouilt, and has left the work main ly to the executive. No continuous plan for doing the work has been adopted, but, instead, we have had a series of experiments, which must b® said to have been failures, for they have been repeatedly renounced or changed. That is not the way in which a great enterprise like this should be managed. •t Roosevelt in 1908. (From the Washington Herald.) The article printed in the Sunday is sue of The Washington Herald, under the heading “Four Years More for Roosevelt,” showing the widespread sentiment in favor of another term for the present occupant of the white house, was much commented upon at the capitol. The existence of such a sentiment is freely admitted by pub lic men, but many if not most of them believe that Mr. Roosevelt will adhere determinedly to the statement he made the night of the last presidential elec tion, and will checkmate any organized effort to force another nomination upon him. No one doubts the sincerity of his purpose, though all readily concede the strong hold he has upon the confidence of the people. The Thaw Trial.- Nobody has to read it. —Chicago Tribune. Increased Cost of Oil. No doubt Mr. Rockefeller needs the money.—-Baltimore Sun. Doesn’t Often Happen. There are days even now when the papers come out without a report of a big railroad accident.—Kansas City World. n Castro. 1 resident Castro is never so much alive as when his enemies are wonder ing what sort of flowers they ought to •end to hi* funeral.—New York Even, inf Sun.