The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1873-04-03
The Railroad Problem.


tween the West and East presses for solution
We of the East can hardly appreciate the
Calling burden, so great as to be almost pro.
hibitory, which the present system of freight
carriage by rail imposes upon the Western
producer, who is taxed from fifty to seventy
five per cent. of his gross productions tor
conveyance to market. Of every four bushels
of corn or wheat that he raises the carriers
take between two and three for conveying INC
other bushel and fraction to the pom. VI
consumption. We can comprehend ho" III "
business transaction one might sell al io's'
but that staple article, which the wno'e
world wants. should be destroyed Oh ''coou'i'
of commercial impediments between seiier
and would be buyer is shocking; ana yet, IN
Iowa and Minnesota, farmers are using their
grain for fuel and thousands OF bushels are
left to rot in the fields because it will not pay
to gather it. f
The large tolls exacted by the railway COM
panies is not the only infamous feature of
their management. This alone would be suf-
fciently oppressive but to this is added sys-
tematic variation of their rates to take adyan-
tage of the ecessities of both producers and
consumers. Freights are changed even from
month to month and for one half the year are
from one third to one half larger than for the
other half. During the season of water trans
portation the railways will carry a bushel of
corn from Chicago to New York for twenty
five cents, and charge thirty-six cents for
! the same service in winter, while the expense
to the roads, on the great central lines Ger
talnlv. is not essentially greater in winter
than in summer.
Inc companies of course allege that they
carry at as low rates as can be fairly afforded
and point to theomoderate dividends to stock
holders as proof of the soundness of their po-
sition. But the people are slow to take the
dividend book as a fair test of profits when
they know thatdividends are declared, not on
the cost of the roads, but on stock Watered to
many times lis original dimensions, when
they see parasite transportation companies
running cars over the roads by contract and
making enormous profits, when they see
Commodore Vanderbilt heaping up mass of
WedlLu 6SbilIldttQ dt pCtWSOl1 oiAbJ etho Oho
hundred millions of dollars, when they see C.
j. Bridges accumulating modest compe-
tence of twenty-five millions and upwards,
when they see great blocks of money dispens-
ed with princely prodgality in purchasing
legislative and judicial sanction for the OPP
pressions, when they see every railroad man
high aud low acquiring fabulous wealth and
when to gain control of railroad between
the West and East is a surer passport to opu-
lence than Midas touch or Fortunatus' purse.
All this must stop somewhere. 1t is yearly
and daily becoming more uncomfortable. These
corporations are creatures of the people and
the people, in self defense, must restrain them
within reasonable limits. Whether they
shall pass from private to public control as
the turnpikes were transformed into high
ways is very grave question. The objections
to it are many and serious The control OF
80 vast property interests by government
would be provocative Of corruption aud NAL
feasance and the presence of SO great powers
in politics would be dangerous; bnt there are
infinite corruptons and malfeasances now and
the concentration of power in the hands Of
these great corporations is now dangerous.
A better way perhaps, if feasible, would be
for the national Congress to assume the pow
er of regulating tariffs under their constltu-
tional power s'to regulate commerce among
the several States'' At all events something
must be done and it is well for our people to
be awake to the difficulty aud to appreciate
the necessity for an immediate and radical
remedy.
We of the East should thoroughly compre-
bend that our Western fellow citizens are not
the chief sufferers prospectively from contin-
uauce of this system. They will not long con-
tinue to send breadstuffs to feed our opera
tives, taking in return the products of our
labor. They will be forced by inevitable bus
mess laws to become manufacturers and 70
make markets for themselves nearer the
source of supplies. The vast coal deposits Of
the middle western States and the water
power of the northwestern States are favor
able for the purpose and will not long remain
unused under this stringent pressure. Opel :
atoms are already in progress to force direct
wafer passage 10 Lurope Hou OnlcdSo via
the lakes, the st. Lawrence and the necessary
canals. Already lines of steamers are run
ming from Europe to New Orleans and
schemes are actively on foot to effect direct
communication in sea-going vessels from the
upper Mississippi down through the Gulf to
the Atlantic. Thus in the absence of remedy
for existing restrictions on commerce between
West and East, New England has e cheering
prospect of losing her western markets for the
products of her mills and her commercial
p .ofits resulting from the exchange of West
ern for foreign products at her ports.