The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1871-03-03
THAT moNsTRoUs "xoNoPoLY" AND THE
MaYnRALTY.

have been issues of that sheet, in not ind
ing in it the staple announcement that this
communityis lusto the verge of being swat
lowed, body,so and breeches, 10y the Gable
coal monopoly" and thoroughly masticated
IN its monstrous NAV. 1t is due to the
astute editor Of that sheet to state that this |
being an unusual emergency, and some
people having ceased TO scare at the |
spectre in the gsrb in which it had hereto
fore been exhibited, and the editor having
but recently recovered from his drunken
orgies at the Harper House Banquet, there
has been some unavoidable delay in getting
this fsvorite bug-bear ready for the public
gaze. He had no intention of disappointing
his readers, and SO in this mornings Union
invites the ghost-feariug voters of this city
to come and see what an immense niger
| there is in the wood-pile. After referring to
what is termed the corrupt and unlawful
bargain" which the Coal Valley Mining
/ Company made with the Peoria and Rock
Island Railroad Company, whereby on GER
tain conditions the former sells it's road TO
latter, tho rectihed spirit Of highwines
which glimmers over that sheet delivers this
message:
But in the meantime the Peoria and Rock
Island railroad, passed into the hands If Mr..
Ben. Smith, an old railroad man, who nows
the law and his duties under Ii. Mr.. Smit has
contracted with the directors to iron and opersts
the road from Peoria to Rock Island. But he
says he cannot do this and carry out the Gable
swndIs ty which he tCsblel is to have the
exclusive privilege of shipping coal over the
/ line He declares this contract null and void
/ because it makes a distinction between shippers
which the law does not allew. What 10 the
result Either Mr.. Smith must buy the Coal
Valley road, out and out or build an independ-
ent inc trcm Coal Valley to this city. And here
lie tbs gst of the whole matter; here is ''the mig
ger in the fence :; here is why Ransom Cable is
so anxious to be Mayor of this city. If he sue
ceeds in this scheme and cts control of the City
Council. he can prevent Mr.. smithfrom building
aha Peoria railroad into this city; He can refuse
to pass an ordinance granting him right of way
through the city, depot grounds, levee privileges
Or anything else. Thus he still remaiDs master
of the situation, aud can either 90 pei Mr.. Sm
! to accept his terms or prevent him from complet-
ing tina Peoria railroad toto this city.
! To denominAte the writer Of the above
paragraph an ass would be An indefensible
/ libel on the whole asinine breed, and hence
/ We say that its author is either fool or was
drunk when he peuned it. II Mr.. Ben
Smith has a contract with the Peoria and
Rock Island Railroad company to iron the
road from Peoria &c Rock Island, anybody
who has intelligence enough to induce him
to stand upright instead of walking on sll
tours, will naturally wonder what interest he
has 10 either buying the Coal Valley road
or making new one from its terminus into
this city. If the Peoria and Rock Island
Railroad company have made a contract
with Mr.. Smith to iron their road, it is prob.
able that both parties to the contract
thought of tho necessity of providing for the
number of miles of road to be ironed, and
that the mum Der of miles cut some little fig
ure in the price to be paid. 1t is also prob
able that IT the company own road from
Coal Valley to Rock Island, under its con-
tract with the Coal Valley Mining company
that they would not contract with Mr.. Smith
to emuse himself at tneir expense by use
/ lessly laying down twelve miles or more of
iron when it ia not needed. People whose
brains have not been softened by cheap
whiskey fumigsiions, will wonder what
right such a contract gives Mr. Smith other
than to exact pay for the services required
to be performed; and if his compensation is
to be made in the use of the road after it is
cor pieted, it is most probable that he takes
no greater night, from the company than
they have 1t would be most extraordinary
proceeding if Mr.. Smith as lessee of the road
should claim the right to annul the contract
of the company under whom he holds. and
thus not only destroy their rights but &C
quire new rights for himself. Il is to be
presumed that if Mr. Smith is ian old rail
road man" he has TOO much sense to set up
any such silly right or pretence
( We are also grsvely infor med by the editor
ofthe onion that under the contract between
the Coal Valley Mining company and the
Peoria and Rock Island Railroad company
city of Rock Island for any party whatever
except the Coal Valley Mining company
unless they pay him Cable fifty cents ton
for all the coal brought in for other parties"
and that under this arrangement of course
no person could ship coal over the road ex
cept Gable, because none could afford to
pay fifty cents ton royalty to com pe,itor
besides paying the railroad company their
regular freight In the first place under
the contract as here stated there is nothing
which prohibits the Peoria Rail road
company from carrying coal for others.
1t only obliges the company to pay Mr..
Cable fifty cents ton for all coal so carried,
which is nothing more than part of the
price to be paid for the Coal Valley Mining
Company's road, it would seem to US, though
if we could view the matter from the ''ele-
walton" from which the Union man does
We might think differently. In the second
place if the anxious and public spirited
wouid-be competitors of Cable & Co. in the
coal bushes can't afford to pay fifty cents a
ton in addition to the exceedingly low rates
at which unconstructed railroads to be built
for the express purpose of bringing coal here
chespIJ, or sell for City cents ton less, we
confess that the prospect for smothering the
coal monopoly is discouraging indeed,
especially when we remember
that the Union says coal is now sold for
seven or eight cents bushel more than it
could be sold for but for the monopoly. We
insist that there must be some mistake here.
If this be true there is no hope for COMPETE
ton in the coal business unless railroads can
be built that will freight it gratuitously or
at a loss. But We prefer not to take so
gloomy view of the Gaze, and insist that if
there ia m marOiD of aight oanta n knahoI