SECTION XVIII.

QUESTION.

Resolved, That the government of the United States should own and control the telephone and telegraph systems.

Affirmative.

FIRST SPEAKER.-I. Mr. Chairman: The people of this country are just beginning to understand the meaning of Government control of the necessaries of life. They are just beginning to realize that the few have no right to speculate in those things which affect the life and prosperity of the many. I would not only resolve that the Government of the United States should own and control the great systems of transmitting messages, but that they should go further: Carry the people's express, own the lines of railroads, furnish light and water, establish banks and postal savings, and, in fact, own and control those methods for supplying the needs of the people which are now creating millionaires by the hundred.

II. Every man who secures a fortune of a million, and there are now thousands of them, does so at the expense of labor.

III. All labor contributes to the accumulation of wealth. If this accumulation goes into the hands of one man, or one corporation it is evident there is an unjust proportion between the receipts of capital and labor.

IV. No man can honestly earn a million. dollars. He may earn it legally, but he must have secured advantages over his fellow-men by which their labor is turned to his profit.

V. When combinations are so constructed that monopolies or trusts exist by unjust taxation on the price of commodities, then it becomes the right of the people to destroy those combinations and give labor its just reward.

VI. The telegraph has become one of the great fixtures of our Government. Its network of lines connects thousands of points with its hundreds of thousands of miles of wire. It has become a wonderful agent in the transmission of messages, and to it we owe much of our business.

VII. The telephone at one time was a

curiosity, and as such was an inconsiderable factor in business. But in time it developed a system of gigantic proportions, connecting towns, cities, trade, commerce, and even the private life of individuals. It is now so established that it cannot be dispensed with, and as a necessity in business and the transportation of messages the few have no right to tax the many beyond what will bring a reasonable compensation.

VIII. These agencies should be furnished to all the people at the lowest price possible and be remunerative to those who control them, but to allow them to form a monopoly, and create hundreds of millions of wealth by charging more than a just price for messages, is not democratic and should be abolished.

IX. To control these systems of electricity we have but one definite plan, and that is Government ownership.

X. With the Government to handle these institutions there is no desire for extortion or a profit beyond a fair valuation. All are interested, and the revenues to the Government will be a portion of that large profit which now fills the coffers of the telegraph and telephone companies.

XI. From a business standpoint we have no right to give valuable franchises for practically nothing.

XII. When a business becomes a monopoly it is a matter of necessity for the Government to take charge of it for the benefit of the people.

Negative.

SECOND SPEAKER.-I. Mr. Speaker: If we should follow the teachings of our friend who has explained why, in his opinion, our electric systems should be owned and controlled by the Government, we should have more on our hands than we could manage. My friend will find no end to Government ownership if he once embarks on the sea of public control:

First, it will be telegraphs and telephones; then express, railroads, gas, water, light. Then we shall jump into the manufacture of all the necessaries of life.

Mr. Speaker, you will remember he laid great stress on these necessaries. Now if one line is of more importance than another it is the supply of our bodily wants. We. need food and raiment to sustain health and strength. We need bread, beef, milk, and

potatoes to build up the system; then why not set the Government at work raising, on a large scale, the wheat for bread? Erect great mills to grind the flour. Herd and fatten cattle, so as to furnish meat at a low price. Raise a million acres of potatoes and sell at the cost of raising. Deliver milk in competition with every farmer. In fact if we accept this line of argument, we can never put a stop to Government ownership until every article raised, every article manufactured, every article sold is in the hands of the Government and every man who labors is a slave to that government.

II. Where will the end be if we continue to harbor such ideas as are expressed in the question?

III. We must bear in mind that the infirmity of man made these great conveniences which our opponents call the necessities of life and business. We have ever held out encouragements, by way of patents and their protection, to those who will engage their minds in the study of the improvements we now enjoy. As a reward for this constant study we place the right to use, make, and control in their keeping for a term of years.