The New York herald., 1870-01-08
Tho Danger or Railroad Monopoiies-The
RsmeGy.


Rsmedy.
Both the public men and people generally Of
the country are waking up to the danger Of
our railroad monopolies. Mr.. Spinner, the
some time ago, in defending tho national bank
system, that the moaopolies most to be feared
are the railroads, which are fast obtaining
control of the State governments and already
manage State legislation to suit themselves.
While we differ with this gentleman In his,
views on the national banks and consider
them dangerous and very expensive mono
poly to the country, we fully agree with him in
what he says about the railroads. They do
control State legislatures and have great
power in the national legislature, because
they have at their command vast
wealth, and because many Of the mem-
bers both of the State legislatures and Con-
gress are directly and largely interested in
them. It is not difficult for them to buy up
our lawmakers. Then. capital has accumu-
lated so enormously in the hands Of indiv-
duals in this country that some of the great
capitalists have become in reality "railroad
kings"
Within the last few years the earnest efforts
Of these capitalists and OF railroad managers
generally have been directed to consolidation
Of important railroad lines and interests. The
professed object for this is to increase the
business Of leading and trunk lines, and to
that there could be no objection; but another
object of consolidation is to destroy rivalry
and to enable companies to water their stock
and increase the rate of charges for passen-
gers and freight. We have seen this in sew
eral remarkable cases. Railroads that have
cost twenty millions Of dollars to construct
and equip have stock Of forty, fifty or sixty
millions. Upon this inflated or watered stock
public have to pay for passage and freight double
or more what they ought to pay. The charges
are based upon capital Of forty, fifty or sixty
millions, when the actual cost of the roads was
not over twenty millions. This is an enormous
and an oppressive tax upon the farmers, pro-
ducers and business people Of the country
More than that, it is an incubus upon our pro-
gress and arrests the development of agricul-
ture, production in general and trade How
can the farmers of the West, for instance,
afford to raise products to be transported to
the great commercial and shipping cities on the
Atlantic border when they are charged rate
of freight to pay dividends on stock watered
two or three times over2 How can the new
States and Territories that are growing up in
the vast interior and centre Of the Continent,
to the verge of the Rocky Mountains
and over them, reach o market on the sea-
board? And without that will they not be
retarded in their growth and the whole coun-
try suffer in consequence?
In country of small area railroad mono
poly and consolidation might not be an evil,
but in this vast republic it is difficult to con-
ceive the magnitude Of it. We begin to realize
some OF the mischief which is rapidly accumu-
lating on us. There is no hope Of remedy in
the State legislatures. Even the laws they
pass, under the pretence of protecting the
public against the gigantic monopoly, are
utterly imperative and afford no protection
The only hope the country has is in Congress.
The national government will have to control
the railroads by suitable legislation, and it is
its duty to do SO. Under the clause of the
constitution giving Congress the power to
regulate trade among the several States that
body can and ought to control the railroads
Nor ought this to be delayed, for the mono
poly has become dangerous and most oppres-
sive.