The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1867-02-12
Tuesday Msraiax. ..Febranry II.
Corporations asd their Privileges.

Corporations asd their Privileges.
The history of corporations is the his
tory of discriminating legislation. The.
are pri, ileged institutions, exempt fron
the burdens which fall upOn the indi
yianal members OF society. One Of thei
most noticeable habits is that they pa.
no taxes. This IS way they have
but they are supposed to pay their wa.
in having it. They proceed upon tn
idea that it is useless to hand over thous
ands 10 tax gstherers when it can b'
avoided 10y paying hundreds to the law
makers. Whether the idea 10 just 0nt
or not, il works. without money anG
without price" may be a good descrip'
non ofreli sious privileges but it doesn'I
apply to legislation. The more Legis
Iatnre is without money" the more il
!, not without price" At least that ii
SIMON CAMERoS's opinion, and what
SIMON doesn't know about the legisla
five market isn't worth learning
What he does know is, at least many
large corporations think so. Hence
they learn 1t.
New Jersey is just now growing
,hout 100000 railroad corruption
fnnd with which her Solons are being
.e5uced. 1t isn't the seduction that
she minds, for she is used to that, ol
ourht to be by this time, but the low
estimate placed upon her legislative hon
mr. IL was worth that SUN, she thinks
In dali times, but when the article Is III
grea; demand and traffic is unusually
hrisk. the figures ought to range much
higher. Her people are quite philosoph'
icllin their recognition OF one fact-a
fact by the way, which communities oil
less experience may not be- disposed To
receive-that is, if powerful anu
wealthy corporation determine to secure
.rrcial legislation in it's own beliail, IL
can generally get it, if the cash Dc
forthcoming. Money makes the mare
%" and il is equally effective with one
horse representatives; II least the fac'S
xxould so indicate. Ii was said by an
ancient conqueror, PHILLIP OF Macedoh
~. believe. that she never despaired OF
Taking a city when he could send
mule laden with gold through the
rates" Modern corporations pursue
with happy results. n very sihiiiaf
course. with the exception that the
mules are always found rithin the Gtddet,
quite ready to 90 out and bring PACK
The price of surrender and shame.
Iu former and perhaps better days
il was deemed dishOnorable for rep
re,-ntatiye to betray his trust for pay
lu an age of progress like the present,
,uch old-fashioned ideas have become
~, obsolete as they are ancient. Men
now make a trade of politics, and 1t Is
TO he expected that all the ready cash
their positions can command, they Will
realize and pocket, and that wlthou'
particular reference to the interests o'
the people who were foolish enough To
choose professional politicians to serve
them.
Men of this class have labored faith
fully and successfully to secure and per-
petuate in their own hands the polit'
zeal power of the country. They have
stopped At nothing in their determine
tion to succeed. Constitutions, laws
oaths, public interest, official duty
and personal honor have all been
subordinated to the one great END
and aim of their efforts, un'
disturbed asccndency in the public
couusel.. Having gained it. will they
not reap the rewards Of their industry
To what end have they consigned con
stitutions, country and conscience te
thcinfernal gods, if they can not now rio'
in wild jubilees of corruption and lead
the land a devils dance while thei
constituents pay the satanic fiddler
The people may demonstrate and pro
test against barters and bargains whicl
saddle upon them pecuniary burden
that a life Of tax-paying will not remove
but while ''impious men bear sway
the ouly security against sale and sac
rifice. will be the illiberality Of thos'
who seek to purchase official virtue.
N the debate i'll the House yesterday
upon the "Bill repeating the net pro
viding for q forfeiture of property il
this State" the delegate from Morgan
made an interesting disclosure. He dc
fined BoREMAS's purpose in recommend
ing Registration law to be "the pei
petuation of himself in Office" 1t is .
old saying that ''fools and children wi
tell the truth" We congratulate th
gentleman upon his admirable illustra
tion Of the first par, of this ancien
aphorism.
IT is rumored that the fool-killer
coming through this region. Upon re
eeipt of the intelligence many of ou
Legislators applied for life insul
ance. We learn that the Offices prompt
" declined on the ground that sue
risks were extra hazardous"
Dressed turkeys stuffed with cotto
were sold in Petersburg last week.