Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-02-13

JlOn, SHOulu not edSc tnohia - h0e $500
ty, any thing short of an open, honest,
outspoken acquittal. both by Congress
and the people. would be crnel injustice.
So we wait patiently for the result sin
cerely wishing that exact justice be |
done.
In my judgment, this Mobilier inyes- |
tigation by Congress is what the exigen-
cies of the times demand, and is or may
be very important in its results. Con-
gress is good place for such an inves-
tigation to begin, but it should not end |
there. The evil complained of is not
there alone, it runs through the land,
and is corrupting large numbers of the
business men of our country. 1t is not
sufficient for the thoughtful men, that
a few members of Congress be dealt
with, exposed and punished if need be,
for dabbling in fraudulent stocks, but
he will at the same time look at the root
of the matter; then he sees that IT the
financial honesty of the people had been
what it should have been, no such cor
rupt institution as the Credit Moblller
could have existed. The root OF this
evil. then, is, with the people, and
unless we tear it up, root and branch,
we shall continue to develope Cakes
Ames's, jim Fisks, Jay Goulds and Boss
Tweeds, and have frequent occasion for
Investigations with only temporarily
good results. The truth is, the people
themselves have fostered and built up a
system of financiering that has created
these gigantic schemes of fraud and
peculation that have recently been
brought to light and exposed. | believe
this position true one, and will endeav-
or to give some reasons, and in so doing
let us 90 little into the history of the
financial operations of the country dur
ing the last few years.
How have our railroads been built,
operated and managed ? 1t is true that
many of them are managed with strict
honesty and business integrity; but 1t is
also true that of all The railroads that
| have sprung into existence in the last
| forty years, hardly road was built by
sound, honest, financial management.
| Soon after the introduction of the rail-
road, which was only about forty years
ago, the people began to see that it was to
| become almost necessary condition OF
existence; and this too became more APP
parent as the roads were being built.
| Every body was anxious for railroad
in his own town. The more generous
and public spirited would contribute
largely of their means, often to their
ruin in purse. Only a portion of the
capital stock, or sufficient to build the
road, would be taken, but the road
would be built some way. The stock
would be watered, the road mortgaged
and foreclosed new certificates of stock
issued perhaps, and then watered again.
Something like that has been the early
history of nearly all our railroads the
investments in the original stock have
almost invariably become worthless.
Thus the building of railroads after that
manner has given an opportunity to
spectators and sharpers, and they have
improved it TO the filling of their own
pockets, and to the decentralization of
the business men of our country.
There is however one redeeming fea-
ture in this matter of building railroads.
The roads have usually been of great
benefit to the communities through
which they run; so much so that the adj
vantages to each community as a whole
can be fairly and reasonably estimated
at much higher figure than the aggre-
gate of the sums obtained from indi-
viduals who paid for certificates of
stock that are now valueless. Railroads
are indispensable | wish we had twice
as many, and doubtless a'few years will
double them.
But my object has been to show that
this way of building railroads. and in too
many instances, the way of operating
them has perhaps more than all things
else given rise to a specie of tinanciering
in the country which produced the evil
we so bitterly complain of; among
which are the Credit Mobilier, and its
corrupting influences in and out of Con-
gress, the Erie railroad operations, and
thousands of others of lesser magnitude,
but no less honest and unscrupulOLs.
The people, SO to speak, have become
educated to believe that all financial OPP
perations to be successful must be per-
formed with certain skill akin to Jug
glery; and what is worse, if they have
directly approved of the manner in
which the people have been swindled of
their money, in these stock jobbing OPP
erations, they have looked on with in
difference.
1t is right that members of Congress
should be called to an account for en-
gazing in fraudulent speculations, or for
suffering themselves to be influenced by
bribery or the hope of gain; and all so
offending should be made to suffer the
consequences. But it seems to me that
the public should not be satisfied with
Furnishing a few members of Congress ;
they should set about a reform which
will learn the whole camp-they should
create a public sentiment-wh will
render such gigantic swindes impossible
anywhere. 1t is certain that there can
be no thorough reform without creating
this moral sentiment among the people.
We must purify the waters at the foun-
tain, or the stream itself will again be-
come impure.
hope then that all The virtuous in
dignation of the people will not be OK
pended upon few trembling members
of Congress, guilty though they may be.
but that the people will at once go about
reform that will bring speedy end to
this most miserable and corrupt system
of financiering which has run the bust
ness of the country already too long.