, 1873-08-06
OUR NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..
Whit VIII lfo HtH Effects upon
ClhiCnuO9

ChicnHo9
TO the E1iior Of The Chicago Tribune;
Sin, Tho effect Of tho legislation unon
froght-tarfs ovor nil railroads In Illinois Will DO
to turn largo portion Of tho commerce of tho
Mississippi Valloy, mud all Of tho products OF
tho Missouri Slope toward st. Louis. Iowa giyoa
duo notice tint eho will emulate Illinois, hid
this o. IN effect will produce perfect insula.
tioa bctwcon Chicago and this aootfon Of tla
broad, pork, and beef-produoing West.
Tho carrying trade may DO q monopoly, but Il
fs opoh to ocompottton. W1lorovor railroad pays
enormously, It ia soon found out and now ono
Is at o,lco conBtructod to drain all or portion Of
tho eamo country. AUD aftor tho crude logn-
lation Of Illinois, II seems. as though railroads
and carriers genoray should, at laat, he loft to
competition and tho ine1orable Justice which
competition Institutes In oil tho avonuea OF Com
u1orca.
Tho first common oarrior OF whom no hayo
ary definite RECOLLECTION, just at thia momont,
was Noah, who, with his Ark, did tho paasongar
and livestock business for an onttro globo. uc
Ind monopoly which ondod in lila getting OK
caoaingly tight md making spoctaele Of hitnsoh
generally. And oyor since lis time, whorover
corporate or individual monopoly haa boon lot
alone by Legislation until competition or Bo1no
intervening morni or physical causo collidcd
with 1t, tho anmo monopoly has made about as
bad IN 60 Of 1t rs did tho venerable nav igatof
Of tho ship which did tho businoss Of all tho
world
!. An to tho 'principlo" Of charging as much for
carrying q passongor or u pound Of freight 200
500 nothing moro obnoxious in It than there ia in
Staten dovornmont. You in Ghicago to-tiay mail
loo letters to BAH Francisco and pay postage
aro mailed to Calumet, which pay tic aamo post
ago.. Tho inequality mud un}ust discrinlua-
tion" by tho Untea States subject to criticism
md M T. unftiondly legislation" NJ railroads, and
! exclusive right to ca,zy. tho mails.
Then, ngain, your horHe-railwsys "discrina-
inate with vast inequality. Riding ono block
costs 1nst ~ ~ much aa riding ono milo In tho res-
cago. a pair Of boots thore for man foot
high cont juRt as much 10 for "Lone
! John; and tho Inter- Ocean il peddod
i @ tho .d samo vossrouT h,a e9 5 a. thGag1
and Inequalities Of commercial lifo nlay possibly
oil DO regulated by tho statutes Of tile sovereign
State Of Illinois, but at preBont tho undertaking
aoemH most HtnDendous ono.
But tho effect upon the Northwest upon Iowa
and upon Nebraska, Ia no moro disastrous than
1t will bo upon tho bravo city which has 80 ro-
Gently o1nerged from tho blazo and ashes OF
great misfortune. Standing an chcago does, at
! tho head Of the Great Lakoa, offering to hold in
hor arnH the golden grain OF MI tho Northwest,
until, by oheap transportation oyor lake and
through canal. It ca,, be carrie to Now York aud
legislation 10 cripple, she was the Queen Of our
commerce, to whona both by interest mud atfeo-
! ton. we looked for permanent and ,nu-
tnally advantageous Observation-Disclosures
But now Nebrnuka and Western Town
are to DO shut out from Chicago ns offectuay
as though the Great Flro waB still raging, your
elevators MI gone, aud no prospect Of quoncl,-
inE tho fumes, much loss rebuilding tue city.
products Of tho two most fertile valleys on tho
| ohrtla to st. Louis; thonco to Huntington, on
the Ohio niyor; thence by railroad to Norfolk,
or Richmond, aud tho aeAboara, The Cios~
apoako l. Ohio Railroad il already operating
that distance and wl.oat from Nebraska will b0
sont thoro iu 1878. Yours truly,
CARL MoRroN.