, 1873-07-03

41O "a VAo u tAul4 8Aal4u @AAoA W
tho long liat beginning with and resulting from
tho uaurpation and dcspotism orootod at Now
or1oans and uphold and maintained by the writ
ton ortlora st tho President Of tho United atatea.
GOVERNMENT PURCHASE OF RA1LR0AnB.
It is at once Of intoroHt and Importance to fol-
low tho discussion now taking plaeo in England
On tho proposed Government paAchaso Of rail-
roads. Many people In this country look for
ward to State control aa the only solution Of tho
railrond problom. Lord Derby has recently
placed himself on record against tho proposed
purohaso In Great Britain and, though the
smaller e1tept Of territory and dtfroront char
actor Of Govornmont in England render tho pro-
joot more feasible there than hore, tho reaaons
which ho has giyon why 1t would bo impolitio to
ally tho railway syatem to the Government arc
Of fo1co In thoir application to both countries.
The Immediate complaints Of the >; Eng
lish people against tho present railroad
management aro: Excessive ohargca CON-
rates imposed upon certain placoB as compared
with othnrs, or what ITO call discrimination !;
injury to the interests Of commerce by lack Of
unity In management refusal to print a list
Of charges from station to station Of the several
classes Of goods. Tho oyilH Of which tue English
poople complain aro materially tho samo aa those
Of which our pooplo complain; but the danger
which Is most npprohendod by tho loadora who
advocate tho Govornmont purchase Of tho roat}B
is that Of steady amalgamation, until tho ontiro
railroad system Of tho country ahar be under
tho control Of q few groat corporationB. Nr.
Ohar1es Francis Alnms, and eome other
eminent gontlemon Iii this country, rofuso
to regard this prospect in tho light Of q
danger, and claim that tho unity Of management
aud decteaso OF operating expenditures would
cheapen transportation. Tho advocates OF Goy-
orumcnt purchase in England have turned this
argument to their own favor, holding that unity
attained In no othor way 30 thoroughly. This
was tho principal point mndo at special moot
ing of tho Society Of Arts in London, juno IS,
and it called out speech on tic other side from
Lord Derby, who presided.
Tho estimated cost Of tho railways Of England
to the Government 30 long as tho Government
seeks tho purchase, is El,000,000,o 900, or, in
round numbers. s5,o00,o0o 900. Earl Derby con-
cedoa from tho outsot that the Government
can mako tho purchase; that is, this amount Of
money may be addod to tho Government dobt
If the people determine TINT It shall 10 dono.
But he 1uds in this Increase OF tho national
dobs ono of the main objections to tho pur-
chase. He has remarked that every docado pro-
sonts notable incrcnac IN tho public indebted
mesa Of MI European nntions and, while this
tcndoncy is manifcstly dangerous, The hazard Of
adding $1,000, 600 to the dobs Of. Great
Britain 10 not to DO hastily incurred. Tho Lon
don Times makes tho point TINT the dobt vould
not actually be incrcasod by tho purchase Of
railroads, because tho Government would ao-
quire property representing tho value of tho
nominal increase. Tho answer to thia ia, that
the property would not ropresont tho amount
Of increase, since tho Government would pay
too high price for Il in tho beginning,
and discount profits thnt may not bo
forthcoming under Government MANAGE
mont and popular influnncoe Tho people
would DO likely to domand rates 80 low that tho
earnings would not pay tho inherent on the In
crease Of debt In that cnse the debt would be
actually as we'll as nominally increased. IT, in
addition to this, tho timo shall como whom 8omo
other and more desirable mode Of transporta-
tion will suppant tho uso and profit Of railroads,
as railroads have supplantod canals (nnd who
ahall say that this timo will not come y, the
Government would not only hayo addod s5,0o0,-
0o0, 900 to it's indebtedness, but hayo sustained
loss of that amount. which ahonld have boon
divided Among the private capitalists who in
vented in railroad enterprises and enjoyed tho
profits. For thoBo and other Eeasons that might
be mentioned, tho cost Of railroads to
tho Government would represent an increase Of
the national dobt to that amount and tho volun:
tary assumption Of go enormous m Increase By
any Government IN dangerous when tho tendency
fB toward m Increase under tho exiatipg atate Of
things.
Ono OF the strongest points made by Lord
Russell was the OBJECT Of Qoyernmont ownership
Of the railroads at timo Of national decline OF
gonoral monetary depression. Tho advocacy Of
Government purchase seems to contemplate d
constantly upward tendency; but tho faot Is
TINT, whom financial orisos should come, tho
railway receipts would fall off contemporano.