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Wall Street forms, took away from the own ers of Central Railroad stock the value of their property and converted it to his own use. Under commercial forms, he committed as bold a robbery as Claude Duval ever at tempted upon an English highway. * * * Juggling with the stocks and bonds of the Central Railroad, Morgan ran the figures which represented the capitalization from $7,500,000 to $55,000,000. Forty-odd millions of fraudulent capitalization was loaded on to the property. This fraudulent load now rests upon our shoulders, and will pass on down to our chil dren . Did Finley, in his pleasing address to the pleased Chamber of Commerce, mention this record of Southern Railway Crime? Did he say a word about righting that wrong ? Was there any hint of an intent to DIS GORGE? Oh, no! Let the Wall Street robbers keep the loot, and let the people keep the burden, and let us all be sweet and nice to one an other. Vive Finley! He’s a bird — he is! WAS THE GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHED FOR THIS? (Continued from page 1.) al Banks are now getting the Custom House collections also. Thus Uncle Sam taxes the millions of con sumers, and turns over the proceeds to a few pet bankers. Your Internal Revenue taxes go to the Na tional Banks. Your Custom House taxes go to the Na tional Banks. HoPl 2, • w/ I ml io 1 W © _ x / f A WETz> KIA WW^wi' wr*m ' B TP® / w-k L Shaking Down Your Uncle Sam! On an average, the few favored National bankers will henceforth get, every day in ev ery year, more than one million dollars of the money of the tax-payers. Is it right? Reader I No matter whether you are tag ged and branded “Democrat” or “Republi can,” I appeal to your sense of justice, and ask * IS THAT POLICY RIGHT? Eighty millions of people are taxed more than five hundred million dollars per year, and the proceeds of the tax put into the pri vate business of a few dozen National bank ers : Is it just? THE WEEKLY JEFFERSONIAN. State Sobereignty Ober Corporations. By EARL POMFRET. (Written for The Weekly Jeffersonian.) The power to deal with the evils of corporate management—those evils against which the people so justly complain—such as over-capitalization by ‘‘watering stock,” as in the case of the Central of Georgia railroad, belongs to the state, and not to congress. This fact has been recognized from the be ginning of the government. In 1881, Hon. John H. Reagan, then a member of congress from Texas, reporting the measure to establish the Interstate Commerce Commission and define its powers, said: “When the committee have been asked to rem edy other evils, such as the watering of stock as a pretext of levying additional tribute upon the people, we have had to meet the friends of such propositions with the statement that we have no power, however much we sympathize with them, to take hold of these corporations and deal with them as such, but our powers (in congress) are limited alone to the regulation of commerce among the states. ’’ Such matters he and the 46th Congress held were admittedly within state jurisdiction and be yond federal control. As far back as 1811 our own William Henry Crawford, in the United States Senate, declared and upheld this intent of the framers of the con stitution that corporations should always bo sub ject to all the reserved powers of control by the states, and this doctrine ho doubtless impressed upon President Monroe while Crawford was his Secretary of the Treasury, for Monroe in his mes sage to Congress May 4. 1822. said: “Commerce between independent powers or com munities is universally regulated by duties and imposts. It was so regulated by the States before the adoption of this Constitution, equally in re spect to each other and to foreign powers. The goods and vessels employed in the trade are the only subjects of regulation. IT CAN ACT ON NONE OTHER.” The best authorities all hold that transportation within state lines is conducted solely under state laws and corporations seeking to do such business must conform to the laws of the states in which they operate. And all transportation companies operate under state charters and by state consent. Their rights are not common law rights, but licenses by stat ute. The Supreme Court of the United States has affirmed the doctrine that “a license from the United States and a license from a State can not both be necessary to do the same thing.” (1 Black. U. S., 603.) Hence, a federal license operate a railroad is not necessary—in fact, can not be obtained from congress—when the road is to operate in any state of the Union. Chief Justice Marshall, broad constructionist as BACK NUMBERS SUPPLIED. If for anv reason the subscribers to THE JEFFERSONIAN failed to receive every number issued after subscribing, we will take pleasure in supply in er the missing numbers. We have on hand extra copies of each issue, and will mail them to any address upon ap plication. This embraces the monthly as well as THE WEEKLY. * r “SUPERIOR LITERARY MERIT.’’ (Perry. Ga.. Journal.) Watson’s Jeffersonian Magazine is taking prom inent position as a periodical of superior literary merit. The scope of its contents is wide, and up to-date in character and interest. •e n w WATSON KNOWS HOW. (S'tarksville, Miss., News.) Elsewhere in this issue we copy what Tom Wat son says about Governor Vardaman in his Weekly Jeffersonian published at Atlanta, Ga. Certain- he was, laid down the dictum that “all transpor tation, when considered as a business in itself and in relation to the carrier, except foreign commerce and the coasting trade, is within state control and beyond federal jurisdiction.” (5 Columbian Law Review, 77.) It seems clear enough that the railroads now doing business in Georgia, or in any state, are but licensees, whose properties and their operation as they affect the powers of the state and the inalien able rights of her citizens are subject exclusively to her jurisdiction, regulation and control. For that principle—“that transportation fran chises are always the property of the sovereignty that creates and lends them” —General Robert Toombs and his followers fought in the Georgia Constitutional Convention of 1577. Will', words that blazed like lightning and arguments that fell with the force of trip-hammers, he dictated and forged that sovereign right of the people into the constitution of the State of Georgia. The power belongs to the people and the General Assembly was commanded Io use it—and, as lately in Ala bama—the General Assembly next June should use it and not leave the dictation of our future protective statutes to the discretion of the Rail road Commission.- Let the legislature make the laws —the Commission will have plenty to do in enforcing them. The control of the Georgia Railroad by a lease to the Louisville and Nashville, which itself is con trolled by the Atlantic Coast Line, is in direct vio lation of the constitution of the state of Georgia. The state has the right and the power to declare the lease null and void, and to forfeit the charter of the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company for the misuse of its charter granted by this state. Tn like manner the purchase of the Central Rail way and Banking Company by the Southern Rail way Company is a violation, plain and palpable, of the constitution and laws of Georgia. That t sale can also be set aside by legislative action and the courts of the United States are estopped from de nying that state right. The time has come to right the wrongs that the railway buccaneers, led by the modern Morgan, have perpetrated scornfully and flagrantly against the sovereigntv of the state and the rights of her people. It is no question now of leniency and mercy: it is the time of judgment and justice. T rejoice in the valiant and sturdy blows that Mr. Watson is striking upon these great wrongs and the criminals who perpetrated them. Let him also strike the cowardly officials who have permit ted and condoned them. And let him blow the bu gle blast in the capitol of Georgia that will hearten the General Assembly to bravely right these wrongs before the ides of September arrive! Atlanta. March, 1907. ly Tom Watson knows a thing or two, and how to write them down. * it * “MAKE INTERESTING READING.’’ (Clifton, Tenn., Mirror.) Mr. Watson is the liveliest political writer in America and his publications certainly make inter esting reading. » *, M “GOOD FOR EVERY CITIZEN.’’ (Columbiana, Ala., Advocate.) Watson’s Jeffersonian Magazine for March is •nt and contains a lot of good reading matter, otic., and should bo read by every citizen in the coun try. r. H H “THE MONTHLY OF TODAY.” (Gainesville, Fla., Elevator.) The Jeffersonian, Hon. Thomas E. Watson’s new magazine, published in Atlanta, is the monthly of today. With Mr. Watson’s Irainy editorials, and Nye as cartoonist, it is alive from first to last page. 9