Show 1 not kot many realize what ft a power the railroads la in the united states att are what an irresistible power they would bo be it they wore all combined sad and til all Tr working with a common object they collected last aft year in gross earnings earning from the people or rating our population at IJ more than sab 15 apiece tor for every man woman and child in the country or just about the amount of 0 money which the people per capita of the iha country have the roads roada yielded a ruile mile the operating ex ponies amounted to a mile while the net income from operation was per mile or a tow total ot of the mileage of all the roads to la miles it requires locomotives to do this work while it requires require cars the most moat important item however Is the number of employees which ch amount to men A blatherskite ite ran for president debt list last summer in iamer and one oco of the slogans of his hl campaign was demand that the government should purchase ill all the railroads aad operate them those men are all men they are ara so le looted from the young end and the brave and the calab le men of the country they include among the brightest lawyers lawyer of the country the biggest broad est men of affairs affE Irs men with executive ability which Is 1 national nat lonaL it tho the government owned all the roads this army would all bo be government employees it is ig it greater army than X EOS led to russia ansala indeed it la Is half as great grant again it Is 13 equal to about the standing army of france within itself it ft contains a power which it would bo be difficult lor for the nation to combine against and subdue suppose all those men were government employed emp loyes by pur a busi bual ness cos which makes every man in the united states slates stand and deliver what would some gome now new do wore he to determine to do away with the liberties Ilbert loi of this country and to use that force to carry out his purpose this power has grown up practically in fifty years what will it be ba fifty years hanco when the small owners shall be weeded on out and either the government or a few C and gomm and va shall own and control all of it this next gonera goder tion alon of americans will have some as difficult problems to meet and to dispose of as ever people were called upon to adjust on the one hand band this mighty railroad power or on the other hand band organized labor with tho the fields growing tower fewer and fewer fawer for men to cultivate with the mines growing lower fewer and fewer for men to open and work with now new machinery being invented every year to transform tho the work of the world from arnn arms of flesh to arms of steel steal it seems as though these forces force were svere all converging to ons one point and aad that when adjustment has to como it will take all the ability and all the courage of all the best men man in the united status states to meet the emergency mer gency |