The Portland daily press., 1873-01-23
Parasite Corporations.

Parasite Corporations.
The newest way of making, the rich richer
and the poor poorer appears to be the most
effective ever devised. The tendency of the
Investment Of vast accumulations of capital
in any kind of business, under such special
advantages as are offered by acts of incorpor-
alton, Is somewhat in the direction of the Gre
alton of an aristocracy of wealth. But the num-
ber of subscribers to the capital stock of
most wealthy corporations, tally railway
companies is SO great that the gains are, in
the natural course of events, too widely dis
tributed to excite much alarm. But through
the agency of what are not inaptly called
parasite corporations it has come to pass that
the earnings of railway and other companies
are no longer distributed among all the stock
holders, but only among select few of then.
This is the high road TO monetary centFaliza-
ton and one-man power. When only Sc
lect few of the members of a select associa-
tiog absorb all the increase of millions of dol
lars proftably invested, it is time to cease
talking about foreign despotisnls aud to look
about us to see if we are not to be the victims
of one at home ~
The Credit Mobiler, parasite corporation
made up of the principal managers of the
Union Pacific railroad, appropriated the vast
surplus funds of that company, and has ac-
cordingly performed the good service of call
ing public attention to the new method of
wholesale robbery. 1he leading spirits of the
Pacific road saw that the capital stock, the
imperial land grants and the money subsidy
from the government provided means for
building the line far in excess of the require
ments of the case. The excess of me ms, es-
pecially after the execution Of second mort
gage, would have left the road in most pros
porous condition and its stockholders in the
receipt Of large dividends, had it been left in
the possession of its owners. But the Ameses
and Durants thought it a pity that SO lus-
cious plum should be so minutely divided. Ac-
cosdingly, in their capacity OF managers of the
Union Pacific, they hired themselves, in their
capacity of owners of the Credit Mobilier, to
build the road; and being their own employ
ers they of course wished to avoid meanness
with their employees, and gave themselves
the whole patrimony of the road, so that it
has not been able to pay the interest on the
government bonds and is in bad way gener-
ally. The Pacific road is impoverished, and
the government, which has played King Lear
for its "pelican daughters" is involved more
and more through the failure of the company
to meet its obligations; but there are several
new nillionaires who did not exist in that ca
pacity until recently. -..s ..
The Central Pacific also had parasite cor
poration which sucked its life blood but the
conspirators quietly divided their rlunder
without calling attention to their proceedings
by wranglns over the quarry as the Credit
Mobilier banditti have done. Unhappily the
history of these conspiracies does not end
here. 1t is but a few months since the public
was appalled, by discovering that the Yer
mont Central, a road doing business that
could not fail, if well managed, to give its
owners large interest on their investment,
was in critical condition. 'Pullman car
companies" and transporta ton companies in
which its own managers were interested had
eaten up its earnings. And it has at length
been found that nearly all the important lines
in the country are "milked" in like manner
by the dishonest subordination of their in
terests TO those of other corporations made up
of their own officers who are thus enabled to
put the interest of millions of dollars of car
ital stock into their own pockets. The
through freight companies, the "'white",
Hred" and other lines, are especially involved |
in the charge of bleeding railroad companies. |
Those who read the extracts recently pub |
ished in this paper from the report of the |
,ailroad commissioners of Massachusetts,
must have been struck by the extremely mod |
st dividend acknowledged by most the COM |
,anies. In so compact and wealtaD State |
s Massachusetts railroad investments must |
,ay, if anywhere, and we cannot help sus-
,ecting that Ered'' lines and pullman car
companies have intercepted the dividends
md put them into the pockets of a few Off
ials who have abused their fiduciary position
BY robbng their ass ociates. 1t is to be re-
sretted that our Maine railroad commission
ers 90 not present in their report All exact
account oi the dividends, if any, of the va
rlous companies and summary of their finan-
elal condition, so that it NAV he soon vbe,ber
parasite corporations are at work bcre also
The people have more than an ;nd;uaa. ,s0:
terest in the matter. 1t amounts - - N
more than the losses of a few tbous ,nuoh
road stockholders. 1t means the nu ;rn iaii-
of heavy tax On many millions of ra;,. on
patrons. 1t is sufficiently oppressive oau 70 oa
a high rate OF interest on the cost of 80 ry
whose building and equipment are unneooa
sarily expensive. When the public does tb;s
and also pays a still higher rate of interest on
the capital stock of a parasite corporation or
two, which may in turn become the victims
of other parasites, the situation becomes
serious. For what is to prevent few of the
owners of the next Credit Mobilier forming a
still smaller association, and SO solving the
financial problem by shortlivision? 1t NAV
prove to be the old story:
Nerf feo
I Has smaller fleas that on him prev.
~ And these have smaller f1eas to bite EN-
And so proceed 0d in.fnittm.
THE surprise that the Senate, in abolishinr
he franking privilege, will occasion through