Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1873-11-20

d of rivers with unpronounceable name
d the artificial flooding of the Ohio rive
d and the enlargement of the Portlar
1t canal near Louisville, as well as tt
v construction of double or quadrup
,e railway track from New York to Il
+ far West, are only few of the scheme
: that have been earnestly recommends
y each as the panaeea to induce chea
+ transportation. Cool-headed statesme
d and taxpayers, however, many thin
e that the expenditure of five hundre
i millions of dollars, involving as it doe
q an interest charge of thirty millions c
: dollars a year to be added to the taxa
tion of The people, would be dear trans
portation indeed. Nor could this sys
l tenn of internal improvements, as pas
e experience has shown, be stopped hert
= for the hordes of contractors and spec
, ulators, with other powerful local in
, fiuences, would push the nation onwar'
; in that direction until either exhaustion
or bankruptcy had taken place. 1t
not safe nor wise for one generation t,
! anticipate the work of another. Tn
. construction of railways, for instance
i, ahead of the wants of civilization, pen
etrating vast wildernesses, is undoubted
ly one of those misapplications of in
dustry and capital which has brough
about the present crisis.
In these circumstances it is safe tt
lay down certain principles of conduct
Public sentiment, with good reason, de-
mands that all subsidies to private cor.
porations must be forever abandoned.
THE GOVERNMENT MUST OWN WHAT IT
| BUILDS.
( The SCI, 100000 given to the Pacific
railway companies would have construc-
ted that road, and the Government
would have become the sole owner, for
the benefit of all the people.
In addition to that, the enormous
land subsidies-larger in extent than
the Empire of France-would have been
saved as an Invaluable inheritance to
the present and the coming generation.
Whatever enterprise the Government
may engage in it must do alone; for
there is no instance where the national
or State government has gone into
copartnership with private individuals
where they have not sunk the capital
invested, while the very object of break
ing down monopolies was defeated and
greater monopolies built up with the
public money.
For many years large portion of the
public press has been industriouslv en-
gagged in preaching the doctrine that
the State and National Governments are
too dishonest and incompetent to con-
struct canals, railways, telegraphs, or
public buildings. Until the last ten
years, with the exception Of the Capitol
nearly all our public edifices were con-
structed under a commission by private
parties, and the system resulted in ar
chitectural abortions, as hideous as they
were expensive, whose only merit is
that the flimsiness of their cOnstruc-
ton either has caused or will soon cause
their annihilatien. 1t is only within
the last ten years that the Government
has constructed monumental buildings
in New York, Boston, and other cities
so indestructible in their character and
so grand in their magnificence and
beauty that they will tell other centur-
les what manner of men we were, and
for whose testimony we need not blush.
And yet the Government can do, and
must do, something toward securing
cheap transportation for the products
of the farmer. The improvement of the
Fex and Wisconsin rivers, for instance,
which involves but small expenditure,
and the construction of the Niagara
ship canal, which also can be accom-
plished at moderate outlay, are two
schemes which should be favorably con-
sidered. Before any other scheme is
entered upon, careful and thorough en-
gineering surveys should be had, so that
the nation may know precisely the ex-
penditures to be incurred, and tie prob
able benefits that may arise.
A GENERAL RAILWAY CHARTER.
With &view of inducing foreign cap
ital to aid IN the construction of one or
more trunk railways Congress ought to
pass general incorporation law, so
that the parties that choose to engage
in these enterprises may be untram-
meled by local distractions and have
equal rights in all the States. A we'll
guarded law securing the stockholders
against fraudulent emission of stock |
would cause hereaf fter all railways to
become nationalized. Congress in this
charter should explicitly reserve to it
self the right, which, however, it would
have in any event, of regulating the |
charges for freight and passengers.
A RAILWAY COMMISSION OF INQUIRY.
We started in the beginning of this con-
,roversy that the question of securing
The regulation of railway charges was
one of the greatest intricacy and deli
,acy, and that those persons who were
10 ready in offering specific legislation
lad not thought sufficiently upon the
subject to see its great difficulties. As
he discussion has progressed this has
become more and more manifest, and,
therefore, either railway inquiry COM
mission, or railway bureau, charged
also with securing better protection for
ife and limb upon railroads, may be
established toadvantage. The question
has also been mooted, and is deserving
If consideration, whether the Govern
nent should not construct a double
rack railway, owning merely the road
bed, and charging tolls thereon, as on
ANAL, leaving to private parties, under
certain regulations,to run freight-trains
It their option. In fact, it will be found
lfter many attempts at legislation, that
ictive competition, by the improve
nent Of water lines, and by the con-
truction of one or more railway beds,
ike great highway, open to all parties
will be the most efficient if not the only
'fectual means toward regulating the
alif' of freights.
PROTECTION TO EMIGRANTs.