Minnesota weekly times. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1859, 1854-08-29
SATURDAY, AUG. 26, 1854.
THE STATE OF CAMDEN AND AMBOY.


While discussing railroad matters, it may not
be out of place to call the attention of the reader
to the course pursued by the Camden and Amboy
Railroad Company of New Jersey, which has done
more than any other monopoly for the last half
century to curse that State. AS that company's
object in procuring charter of the New Jersey
Legislature was somewhat similar to the aim of
the Wall street Company in procuring charter
of the Minnesota Legislature, their subsequent
action only shows what would have been the ac
ton of the Wall street Company, had they sue
ceeded in their splendid scheme.
The people Of New Jersey, so elated with the
idea of railroad at any COST threw into the hands
of band of robbers 1--WE can call them nothing
else) charter with almost unlimited privileges,
and as soon as that charter was secured, the COM
pany snapped their fingers at the people, and adopt
ed system out of which they thought they could
make tho most money, discrepancies OF the rights
of the people, or the ends Of justice. In short
time, New Jersey began to see that she had been
duped-that she had trusted to the promises Of
hollow hearted men-that the clutches of mon
opoly were upon hcr, and that if something was
not done to curtail the powers of the company,
her life blood and energy would be made sub
servient to the will of few unprinciped men.
What does she do? Men opposed to the old COM
pany elected to the legislature for the purpose
OF granting new company charter with p:o-
per restrictions, when no sooner have they taken
their seats, than the money of the old company is
brought to bear upon them and the charter is de-
feated. Year after year these attempts have failed
because money was more powerful than principle,
and thus the Camden and Amboy Railroad Com
pany have held and do now hold New Jersey at
their bidding. Suppose the Wall street Company
had got the charter passed at the last session
Of the Minnesota Legislature, and also the grant
of land, would they not have possessed the same
power over Minnesota as the Camden and Amboy
Company now possess over New Jersey? and would
they not have used that power in the same way?
But there is new turn in affairs. Some Of
the people Of New Jersey, have become so in
dignant at the course pursued by the company,
that they have recently burnt the President of tn:
Road in efgy, which called out letter from that
gentleman. The Trenton State Gazette takes up
this letter, and amccng other questions put to the
President: asks him to answer the following:
"Supposc A B & c, wealthy men, to bride
legislators into the grant of privileges at the ex-
pense of the rights of the rest of the community
would that be robbery? 9t- it. 81.
ssSuppose the privileged few to go even beyond
the grant they have received, and to tax their fell
lowcitizens three, four, five, six, and even eight
times much as they were by law allowed to do
would that be robbery? -----<
"Suppose them next to make false returns with
a view to defraud their fellow citizens of the pit
lance agreed to doubted rights-would that be
robbery? ...l.
Suppose part Of them next to make to their
cssociates in the monopoly privilege-holders of
stock shares'-falsc statements Of the amount Of
business done, with view Of raising the price of
stock, and enabling themselves TO dispose Of
shares they had purchasod-would that be rob
berry? ....,..
Suppose part Of them, intrustcd with the
| management, to make contracts ari'h themselves,
| by cid of which the whole amount of the over
charges went into their own brooches pockets, ,
to the exclusion Of their associates--would that
be robbery?
"SuppOse when these ovcrcharses were decid-
cd to be illegal, the managers were to pass $780,
600 to the credit of their associates with view to
make them responsible for the payment of the
| hundreds of thousands of dollars that were re-
CURED to be disgorgea-would that be rob-
berry?
'.Suppose they had steadily carried on their
business in the name of false companies, with
'men of straw to sign receipts and that thus,
iciie pocheting all the plumber, they bad relieved
themselves from all the responsibilities of he
business in which they were engaged-would that
be robbery?'
Now let as ask a question. Suppose The men
who committed the fraud in the Minnesata Land
Bill, had got possession of the land given to Min
ncsota and also the charter passed by the MINES
ota Legislature, would they have been too vrtu-
Gus to have committed acts equally as henous as
the above? Putting that and that together,
we can form very good basis upon which to
build gigantic structure, and which structure
probably would have been built, had not honest
to be composed. The people Of Minnesota may
we'll congratulate themselves On having escaped
a soullcss monopoly. tea .cat..g r..
Anxious to maintain their powers in the State,
the Camden and Amboy Company have run
largely in debt and the consequence is, that the
frabric may vet totter to the ground. The Gazet-
te says:
Seeing these things, we find ourselves forced to
the belief that so far from the monopoly act hav-
ing tended to free the State from all danger of
witnessing the bankruptcy Of gigantic corpora
tions, it the very one required for cursing it
WIFI the Single gigantic Onc lnat now tOtterS TO
its fall, threatening to impoverish the widows and
orphans-the poor and the rich.
To the above the New York Tribune responds
To all this we can only say Amen So mote it
be- A more grasping and unprincipled corpora
ton has never existed, and the day of its down.
fall, which seems now to be at hand, should be
hailed by every honest man in the Union.
Let the people of Minnesota ponder over these
facts, and be prepared in future to act under
standingly in granting charters to men of wealth
who use that wealth to crush the weak, and ad-
vance their own personal interests.
cY'In all directions places of any note are
stretching forth their arms to secure the trade of
st. Paul and Minnesota. Capitalists know that
this is destined to be great State and that now
is the time for them to divert the channel of trade
to their favorite points. The late excursion has
done much towards bringing US into notice. The
editor Of the New Haven Palladium, writing to
US, says:
''You can scarcely imagine the interest which
our excursion has created in the north or rather
the east. Many of our citizens have made spe-
cial inquiries Of me in regard to Minnesota, some
with view of going out there. l have given all
inquirers glowing account, but at the same time
a truthful one. Were l young l would settle in