The New York herald., 1862-04-07
The broadway Railroad job.

The Broadway Railroad job.
1t would far exceed our space to enumerate
| 1.-THE Of the jobs now pending or recently ac-
| complished, in our Congress. our Legislatures
or our Common Councils. One after the other
| they have been passed in review before the pub
lie, and each has seemed blacker and more infa-
nous than itspredecessor. Satan may be known
by his tail, however and the character Of these
jobs may be shown in the Broadway Railroad
swindle, the newest of the schemes devised by
small politicians and corrupt lobbyists to aid
themselves and rob the people. This Broad
way Railroad bill proposes to give to party
of unknown strangers perpetual franchise
belonging to the people of this city, estimated
by those soho apply for 1t to be aoos4h thirty
millions Of dollars, and yielding an income Of
million and a halt. During times Of in
creased and onerous taxations, the bill proposes
to give away, for almost nothing, franchise
worth thirty millions of dollars and which
would reduce our taxes q million and
half of dollars every year. In order to do
this, the bill proposes to destroy the beauty
and utility Of the only fine, central thorough
fare in this city, against the wishes of all pro-
perty owners and citizens. There could hardly
be a more fragrant instance of legislative cor
ruption than this, and yet it ia but the last of
series equally atrocious. The ferries ought to
belong to the city and yield it a revenue The
present railroad routes ought to belong to the
city and yield it revenue. The city ought to
manufacture its own gas, as Philadelphia does,
and receive a revenue therefrom, on the same
principle that the city supplies itself with
water. If all these and many other such
sources of revenue were in the control
of the city and managed by commissioners,
like the Croton Board, instead of enriching
few miserable companies we should have
very little tax to pay, the public would be
better served and all parties better satisfied.
But corrupt legislators have robbed US of
these rights, one by one, and now the Broadway
Railroad is to be taken from US In the same
way.
The managers of the Broadway Railroad
seem to make no pretence of honesty in their
scheme, but urge it boldly and impudently for
ward They waste no time in words and argu-
ments, but convince every one with scrip. The
following is the form of one Of their certif-
Gates of stock; and in the place of the names of
the incorporators-whom nobody knows-we
have inserted their characteristic and signif-
cant synonyms or MONS de guerre:-
Whereas by virtue Of certificate No 2. duly executed
by simon swndlsr, Robert Robbor. Pny Plundorer. 1,
tho person, Bsnjamn Burglar. named " said Certificate
have acquired tho right to thousand shares Of the
be issued BY the company to bs formed under
and by virtue of bill entitled An act TO facilitate the
AIott>~ ~.
New York" subject to tho conditions therein named,
conditioned, however, on the same becoming a law.
Now rns ~ han1 nas sns
sold and conveyed to him twenty-five shares OF said
stock and do hereby authorize and direct certificate Of
'"' '-''' '-'N' 1850 " PETER PicKPocKEr.
Wltness-IHADDEUs TmKY
Dated NEW YORK, March 10, 1852.
These certificates have been crowded upon
the lobby, given to newspaper editors and to
friends of members, and the result is fair
prospect that the bill will pass. OF course all
who ore bought up by this stock work and vote
for the Broadway Railroad bill; for the stock is
worthless if the bill does not pass, and even
this certificate is conditioned upon the job be-
coming law. The corrupt agents of the cor
rupt swindlers, therefore, receive nothing If the
bill is defeated, but are made rich if they can
get it through the Legislature. Is it any won
der, then, that such strenuous efforts are being
made to procure the passage of the bill, that
SO many legislators eager to vote for it, that
SO many journals Of this city advocate it, or
deliberately refrain from opposing it? By no
means. The only wonder about the affair is
that 1t should ever have been conceived and
connived at in such country and in times like
these What legislative enormities will be next
perpetrated 10 one can tell; but what will be-
come of the nation, if it permits this corrup-
ton to rot out its life, it is sadly easy to pre-
dict