Charles City intelligencer. [volume] (Charles City, Floyd County, Iowa) 1864-1866, 1866-01-25
ggistsllallp.
Railroad Management.

Though railroads are improperly
of corporations, yet the PUBLIC at large
have an interest in their Modest, intel.
ligent, and economical infringement,
not 90 direct, indeed, 40 that of their
stockholders, but even mo.e consider.
able and important The movement
which the pecris of the Northwest
have undertaken for the reform of GER
tain abuses, alleged to exist in the con-
duct Of Ne great railroads Of this re-
gion, ii accordingly altogether proper
and lnstifiable. No doubt many ol
the counts in the indictment which
: they bring against these corporations
are mistaken, and some of them are
entirely unfounded but yet their dis
content is not altogether without rea-
son. There are wrongs which ought
to be remedied.
So long as the prices of our great
agricultural staples were sure and re-
mnnerative, 30 long as the immense
crop of Indian corn which is produced
in illinois and the neighboring States
was at once taken off the farmers
hands at profitable rates, there was
no complaint against the railroads.
Whatever their charges for transpor-
tation, and whatever combinations
connected with them may have levied
toll upon the farmers grain in its tran.
sit. the evil was not felt, and it's exist
ence even was unsupported. But now
that the home market for corn has been
substantially annihilated by the effect
upon the distillation of highwine of a
tax that is little less than prohibitory,
the growers Of corn, suffering under
the calamity of bad crop and the ne
cessity Of sending it to distant and
uncertain market, naturally turn upon
the great corporations by which their
grain is transported, and seek in some
wrong of theirs the reason why the la
bor Of whole year brings them no
return. No doubt this, in the main,
il unjust. The railroads are not re-
sponsible for shutting up the distiller-
les they are not responsible for the
nusavorablc season OF last year. 1t
is not their fault that much OF the
grain sent to market is damaged.
With all these things they have no
connection whatever. Neither can
they Justly be charged with extortion
in their charges for freight. Compar-
ed with the increase in the cost OF iron,
of locomotives, OF cars, OF all materi-
ais of construction. Of fuel, and Of la
Dor, the tariff Of every railway in this
part of the country is actually cheap
or to-day than il was six years ago.
Their charges are enhanced, it is true,
but not at all in proportion to the en-
bancement in the prices Of everything
else. Nor are their profits excessive
Of course these vary with the skill
and economy Of their direction, and
with the small or great number OF
leaks which divert the revenue Of the
company into private pockets but
there is not to-day railroad running
out OF Chicago whose dividends can
be called excessive, not one which any
fair-minded farmer would pronounce
inordinately profitable.
Nevertheless, there are abuses which
the public have o right to denounce.
and which must be set right for the
sake both Of the customers and the
stockholders of these companies. Pro-
minent among these 10 the manage
ment of the elevators in this city.
These elevators form an Indispensable
part of the business machinery Of the
railroads. Each road must have it's
elevators situated at convenient points
upon its track, aud it's cars cannot be
uuloaded anywhere else. 1t 10 impos-
sible, for instance, to unload train OF
the Illinois Central at the warehouses
of the Northwestern each must have
it's own. Now, as the business is at
present organized, the railway compa.
nies are not responsible for these ware
houses. and have nothing more 10 do
with them than to discharge their car
goes at their doors. The warehouse
men are no worse than the majosity
of the community. Lnt their business
is to make money without regard Ell
Their to the interest Of the owner Of
the grain or the railway corporation.
The warehonseman pockets the profit.
the owner the loss, and the railroad
takes the curses Chicago Republican.