Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1845-08-21

added anything to the real capital of the
State? Your wool, your corn, your wheat,
your catte-these are actual capital like
the precious metals; of value IN AND OF
THEMSELVES; but your railroad stock, is OF
no intrinsic value, it is not capital-lt is
only the representative Of capital, and what
it is good for, that is, what it goes for in
community, is always auctua,ing and ficti-
tous and dependant upon what it repre-
sen,s, for its value. The stock is good for
nothing; that is a mere name: Is the mo-
ney that is invested IN the stock that IS Of
any value; consequently charter creating
four millions of railroad stock adds nothing
to the capital of the state for it is only
when the money is put into the stock or
when the stock becomes, like bank bills,
the representative of actual capital that is
good for anything, When the Legislature
create a stock company they tell people
that they may enter into speculation upon
what capital at that time actually exists in
the country; but when the Legislature Of
fer premium for raising sheep or silk or
corn they offer reward for the producing
of actual capital; bringing intrinsic worth
into the community: for, although agricul-
tural products like railroad stock may be
deprecated, and subject to fluctuaton yet
you never can, as in railroad stock, with
draw the entire worth from them. With
draw the money from railroad stock and it
is worthless: you cannot eat or drink 1t or
wear it: but agricultural products,
though not always of the same are al
ways of some value. There is, then, it
seems TO us, no sort Of identity in the two
cases Of exempting agricultural products
and railroad stock from taxation. II there
ever was a law passed exempting sheep
from taxation, does the editor of the Free
Press suppose it was contemplated that
the capitalists Of Boston might drive sheep
into this state to the amount of,hree mill
ion of dollars, keep them here protected
from theft g. C. Sc, while they are ex'
cmpt from taxa,ionl Preposterous! pre-
poserous in the extreme.
We perfectly agree with the Free Press
that We "should lean kindly towards the
enterprise which enables the producer tc
reach the market" A large portion o.
our farmers find, now, all the market they
need for their produce; but if the rest de-
sire a foreign market the former portion
are willing they should have 1t; nay, the!
are willing to aid them to all reasonable ex
tent, but when they are asked to pay ;
double tax for this purpose they will bt
likely TO complain. A very large portion
Of the people of this Stale will receive nj
benefit at all from railroad-anothe
portion will be severely injured and TIT
men who care the most about it arc you
heavy merchants, manufacturers and far
mers, about ore-lhrd of the people of TIT
r State; not more than that, These men wi
be benefited by raIlroad-and the re
naming portion of the State are perfect!
willing that they should have railroads ant
whatever else they desire that will facili
tate their business but, this portion d,
not wish TO be double-iaxed lor a pu.
pose which puts money into their pocket
and can in no possible way benefit them
The truth is the people are willing these
railroads should be consructed-but they
desire that those whom they will bene6
shall bear at least an equal proportion o
the burden of their existence, and the
have no idea Of sustaining the charter o
road, the stock of which takes one mill
ion of capital from the grand list of thu
State and exempts it from taxation whit
they are compelled 10 make up the deficit
There is no justice about this business ant
it must be set right.
AS to our late discovery Of this fea,ur,
of the Central charter if our friend Of tn,
Free Press had given some little attention
to the columns of the Age the year this bill
passed and last year besides, instead o
con,riving excuses for his drowsiness wheI
a member Of the Legislature he would
have been informed that we have, in The
language of whig papers, "abused" this
charter from the outset and would not be
at this time, as we are sorry to see, as igno,
rant Of what we have said as of what he
himself has done!
THE PINKEY rs.
These people seem determined TO make
Al