, 1873-01-18
,nato result, oompotitlon docs not give m ontiro

HOEO HL lGnHCn DY OtlCTB: LuV AnubCH BiuWlub
commnnitiea and towns TINT hayo btit single
1Iero clearly, competition mud private entcr-
1iao do not Afford Ghoap and ,, e9t,nhno ~
Companies md Tho Freight Lines, that do at
incroaaod oxponse to tho public, tho proper
work Of tho hallway Company. 7 only remind
YOU Of wel-known facts when tnHos,o n,at9 that
stock stack Or bonuses ' BY tle c,tlzona |
Of Illinois, mud yet to.day IL. in the lnnda Of
mon who llnvo rendered no adequate eonaidora-
upon capital thoy hayo mover invested III tho
roads.
1.ooking At all these facts, and at othors not
In tho limo Of my ,prosent argument, ! cannot
America u s,lcccsB. SEQ tho nccessity Of tho
recognition Of tho truth, long ago ennnciatod
by JOHN stuart 11i, that roadu, canas, and rail
ways, as woll Us gas and water companies, "aro
nopSos aTss IN and ga5sSs aS vEeS soncoao
such monopoly to o private company does much
tho aamo thing as II it allowed an individual or
an association to lovy any tax thoy choose for
oouutry, or on iii tlo cotton imported into IT,"
1t III a mstako wo haVo n,ndo, and vo must
correct 1t. What Is tho mout feasible manner Of
controlling tho power wo haYo evoked il tho
propor subject 70, The deliboratlon Of this Con,
our Goneral Assembly. It lnay 10 by tho con-
domination OF tho franchises that hhyo boon
abused, and Porhaps forfeited, It may DO ell
forcing tho principle Of our State Cohstitusioni
and making tho railroads Of tho State in fact
what they are in. theory, y,-pnblio highways. It
may bo National legislation under tho oonatit,1-
tional power to regulate commorco among tho
evorn sates or other pGwe f ,noe DO
TINT alrondy moro than ha1f apan THO Continent
slial1 DO mado subject to ono general and olnita-
bio law Of freight and pasaenger raten; II may
that shall trnyorso tho Continent north aud
sollth oaat and woHt, and, running with fixed
rates, compel tito private companies to rcasona-
bio ratos. It may bo ono Or many Of these. but
that relief must DO had Is Certain. Los1siat y
tho People themselves can and will. But be-
licyo, aud mRintain, tint thcro is an adequate
romody in NIL and that wo only mood to inelnt
and quire that our oftcern DO their duty, Yhe
no rights that tho railroad corporations aro'
bound to respect should bo retired to private
lifo. Tho Legislative railway attorney should bo
excused from further service. It is cortan TINT
NIL who falter or fear must mako way for better
mon, md our Courts, our Legislatures, and our
Executive officers required to bo unit in max
jng RAILWAY corporations what they were intended
to bo,-tho servants Of tho public, doing fair
work for fair pay.
The Government Ind its threo grand divisions:
Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. Tho Log
islatnre made tho statute L.! lay, and tho oourta
defined the common law. What the common
low vas on tho subject Of contracts was defined
by long series Of decisons. The railroads
we're created by tho Legislature, which could
givo no more poworg than it itsolf had. IN tho
oln Constitution, the power Of tho Legislature
in granting charters was not limited, and ali tho
old roads fad charters granted aome tinlc ago,
and which loft The regulation Of charges to
tho ronds. Tholr avarlco Ind grown
by what it fed Oh, and they had gone OIL to water
aa 5ase ,H M it Ht sSuc nGs 10
discriminating rates. doneral tlcNulta had
statod that tho lnat provision added nothing to
tho rights Of tho people, for, as common curriers',
quired them to. fho Fodorul Constitution pro-
yilod no State should pass my Inv impairing q
contract, and the Courts Ind hold i railroad
charter was O contract. Tho queHtio on was, not
could bo done, acting as bust
moss mon. :. Tho Federal Courts, mp tc
this thno, had sustained these corpora
tions. II tho Legislature intorfered with the
i o 6a satea 81 aS
If tho Legislature, could reduce the railroae !.
rates at oil. could they not cut them down te
nothing? Many lawyers haa a. SAD tnnoy saN
nothing to lend them to nope tnat the supreme
ty Of tho Judge to administer tho law as IT was
aud not make it. They could not, and shonlt
not, hand oyor to tho Judiciary tho lsw,nlakiu{
power. They could not transfor Legislative pow
ers to o differont branch OF tho Govern
ment Time WAS now Of great Importance
rhoy paid twouty millions too mucl
in ffoiekkts or produce, &c. Il they stuck to til
Legislative REMEDY, it would bo protraotod 70
yeara, and III five years they would havo paid
1undrod millions. II there wae . speedy moth
od Of getting out Of trouble, had they not botte
adopt i? lis idea WAS somewhat like doyerno
Palmor's Tho State had the right OF enlinen
domain, to condemn anything that was nccoaaar
wna p opprogsing tho people, aid that 1t woul
| | tlke itB property nftor it had been valued !
some pronor way, and thon become the owner g
! the road. Tho debt could not be increased, o.
ccpt by popular consent, The people ,ngl
: yoto Whetlor tho State should issue bonds
. buy tho roads. If authorized, tho Leg
r islature would provide for their issuance
fThn roads would thon roturn to tho State q lii