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head, but I shall add only that the pur chase of the roads by the government, under such circumstances, would sad dle onto the country an enormous debt, much the larger part of which represents only greed and graft; and that the sooner this proposition is def intely abandoned by those who insist that the people shall secure for them selves fair treatment from the rail roads, the sooner will the pending problem be solved. But suppose the nationalization of railroads determined upon, and the purchase effected, some kind of gov ernment board would have to be con stituted to unite —all at once —into one system, the Pennsylvania, the Vander bilt, the Gould, the Harriman, the Hill, the Morgan, the Moore, the Sante Fe, the Southern systems, and hundreds more of minor groups and single roads, operating many scores of thou sands of mileage. And the matter would be made still more difficult by the fact that no light could be ob tained from experience anywhere else. According to Poor’s Railroad Manual for 1906, the entire railroad mileage of the United States on June 30 of that year, was 206,960 —whicn was owned by approximately 2,000 corpora tions, and operated by about 600 com panies. At that time, the entire rail road mileage owned and operated by all of the nations of the world aggre gated less than half that number. Moreover, each of the nations that own or operate a part, or all, of these roads began with one, or only a few, short lines —and added others from time to time. It would be no easy matter, at short notice, to find a sufficient number of the right kind of men to operate even one of our great systems—but to do so for all of them would be simply impossible. A large part of the men holding re sponsible positions on railroads are personally honest. But the conviction is universal that graft is common among leading officials, in all depart ments. And such a belief necessarily tends to demoralize subordinates, and to quiet their consciences when tempt ed t ©appropriate something that does not belong to them. That this is the situation all ob serving men know. And yet the new governing board would be absolutely compelled to continue in charge of the roads the most of the grafters who are now exploiting them —hoping to weed out the worst from time to time —and the longer and more ener getically one thinks along this line, the more difficult will such a task be seen to be. There are many high class business men who would willingly undertake the reorganization of one large, mis managed business concern —because they feel sure they could soon secure the right kind of subordinates to run it properly. And the man who does well in one such case might also be able to do as well in others; but if asked to —all at once —take charge of, and become responsible for, a thou sand such establishments, scattered all over the country, willingness to do so would create a presumption that he had no conception of the magnitude of the task, or was too reckless to be trustworthy. For a long time, at best, political pulls would, under such conditions, necessarily be powerful and demoral civil service rules ensure the selec izing; nor could any possible set of tion of the right kind of men for the most Important positions. Examina tions can be made to show fairly well the clerical or mechanical skill of ap plicants, but no set of questions or tests, can be made to throw much light upon their executive ability, judg ment or Integrity. To separate the sheep from the goats in the present force, would require an army of de- tectives—and, as a class, detectives are themselves not above suspicion. Practical men know that they would prefer—very much prefer—to take a new establishment, and operate it with men of their own selection, than to take an old, mismanaged one, filled with various grades of incompetents and rogues, who would have to be weeded out. In short, the more thoughtfully one asks himself, If such a responsibility were thrown upon me, how would I go to work? the more serious is it seen to be. Consequently, when the proposition comes before the people in such away that they realize it is really imminent, the discussion will be carried on much less superficially than it has been up to this time. And now, while the people are open to reason, and before they decide to enter upon a task of such enormous magnitude, the press ought to publish all the facts that will help them to reach a wise conclusion. I have touched a few of the facts and reasons, why the present system of railroading by private corporations cannot be made to promote justice and the interests of the people as a whole; and also why a simple transfer of the roads to the nation, to be oper ated by it, would not solve the prob lem satisfactorily; and I propose, in another article, to outline a safer and saner policy than either of those here in considered. But before doing this, I must say that the perpetuation of the present system is unthinkable. Con ditions already unendurable are con stantly growing worse, and must be improved—in some way. Any remedy that would be effective would necessarilly work hardship in some cases, but paying for the roads the price asked by their owners would also work both hardship and gross injustice upon practically everyone. Even confiscation would be preferable to the permanent retention of the pres ent system—and so would the pur chase of the roads by the nation, at their own valuation —but I submit that, before becoming inextricably in volved, it will be best to consider dis passionately the question, Cannot this problem be so divided as to make its solution easier and safer? Dixie Business College THE SCHOOL FOR THOROUGHNESS Only Thorough Course in Office Routine and Touch Typewriting offered in the Southeastern States. Most Comprehens ve, up-to-daie Book keeping. Shorthand. Typewriting. Banking and Penmanship Courses in At lanta. Write for Cat alog and Special Summer Rates. H. L. BRIDGES & BERNARD C. ANSTED, Proprietors. The Weekly Jeffersonian AND THE COMMONER TOM WATSON’S WEEKLY and WM. J. BRYAN’S PAPER Both One Year for Only $1.50 Mr. Bryan is the most conspicuous figure in American politics today. He is more —he is a World Figure. His views on men and things are awaited with interest in foreign countries as well as at home. THE COMMONER is his medium of communication with the world; but it is more than a per sonal organ, for it covers the whole realm of political thought. Hence, no one, whether a follower or an oppo nent of Bryan’s doctrines, can fail to be interested in the columns of this famous paper. Address The Weekly Jeffersonian . ATLANTA, GA. I* Mr. Roosevelt satisfied to let the WATSON’S WEEKLY JEFFERSONIAN. BEAUTIFUL SOUTHERN STYLES Buggies, -m'fj Runabouts & Surreys Shipped direct from factory to you at factory prices. W e have Vehicles from $32.00 up. We Make Prompt Shipments. — Guarantee Safe Delivery. Give Ten Days to examine, test and compare our vehicles to be returned to us, if you are not fully satisfied. Our Twelve Months Guarantee not only cov ers our vehicles as a whole, but each and every part. Our reputation and cash capital make you absolutely safe in buying from us. 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