Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1873-08-08
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connection with the Baltimore and Ohio
railroad in the west and the Reading rail-
road, by its Harrisburg branch, in the east.
was prepared to furnish the people with q
competing line from Philadelphia to Pitts.
burg but the project has been defeated by
the Pennsylvania railroad coifipany pur-.
chasing a majority of the stock Of tile Cum-
berland Valley road, and converting that
old aud well-establshed Rad into division
of tue Pennsylvania railroad. by this
shrewd operation the ownership Of near
one hundred miles of this new line to tho
west is now lodged in the Pennsylvaris
railroad company, and the people have
been deprived of the advantage of a rival
line TO tho west. If the amendment pro-
posed by me had been part of the present
Constitution this thing could not have oc-
Cured. L speak of the Pennsylvania rails
road company with no feelings of hostility.
! know the gentlemen who control that
great and wondeful organization to be hon
est, and are aetuated, most probably, by
motives of patriotism. la the course OF
things they must pass away, and their
! places may be filled 10y others actuated by.
more sordid purposes than those gentlemen
now having control Of that company. /,
! only war with the power conferred upon
n single vast corporation to monopolise.
]
/ Commonwealth. In my Judgment it is the
! duty of this Convention TO give to this
/ question of transportation all the consider
alton that n subject OF so much Importance
/ deserves. The movements of the people all
/ over the country warn us to the task. III
| the west they are banded together by hun
dreds of thousands to effect reform in this
particular and the influence of these or
! ganizations will soon be felt in the cast.
| The necessity for such organizations is
greatly to be deplored, and corrective
should at once be adopted which will avoid
| the necessity of their longer continance.
! Why should the friends of the great cor
porations of this State oppose this amend
mcnt ,
Let sec whether its adoption will not, in
, the end, be advantageous to them. An
opposition line is about being built from
! New York to Philadelphia and this road,
supported by combination of the great
capitalists of the country hostile to tho
Pennsylvania roads, may soon be extended
across the State to the west. BY the pow
er and Ingenuity of such n combination the
/ stocks of our present companies may bo
ruinOusly depressed and n majority Of it
! purchased by the new and more powerful
company, until the Pennsylvania and other
| great corporations may become mere divi-
sions of q greater than themselves. The
new company would only be following the
teachings of those it had absoabed. The
! adoption of the amendment offered by me
will secure these companies from absorp-
tion by this new and mole powerful COM
bination, and save the people Of Pennsyl-
vana from the iniiiction of q greater mo-
nopoE than now exists, aud the stockhold-
ers of those companies from ruinous losses
by depreciation i'll the price of their stock.
1T this monopoly policy should nntor-
tunately by adopted and supported by con-
stitutiOnal sanction, then we shall ever DO
cursed with this continually recuraing wal
fare Of the greater absorbing the weaker
competition in the trauspOrtion and carry
ing business of the country.
The stronger will not permit the weaker
to exist rs rival roads but will absorb them
by this power 20 purchase their stocks or
franchise. lu such warfare between
these soullcss monopOlies to crcumvent
and absorb each other, decentralization of
the people and their business interests will
be the inevitable consequence.
VIII il be wise to legalize, bv constitu-
tional provision, such dangerous policy ;
fraught, as it must be, with ruin to the
industrial and free institutions Of the Slater
In the addition TO the evils have portray
ed, b. reason of the existence of such ab-
sorbing monopolies, let US dwell for q mo-
ment upon the political effect which will
inevitably result. The Legislature and
high official of the Commonwealth will be
selected and elected by this one power.
The Legislation will be framed under its
dctatou and in its interest," step by step
it will cRcroach upon the liberties and
rights Of the people until this process of
absorption will reach its final elimination
in destruction of the present institutions
of government. and the Commonwealth
will then only exist in name,