Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1874-10-01

can party is not agreed how to effect
that reform. Neither is the Demo-
cratic party. Neither party, as such,
vet sees clearly the right way. But
there are reasons for believing that
the Republican party rather than its
rival can best treat this great ques-
tion of the finances:
l. AS the former has, hitherto,
found the true way through graver
difficulties, so we believe it is more
apt to find the true way through this.
2. You already have abundant as
surance that when Republicans dis
cover the true way they will pursue
it. That assurance has not as vet
been given by the other party.
3. The Republican party in the fu-
ture, as in the past, will see to it that
the national credit suffers no detri-
ment, and that the national honor is
preserved.
INTERNAL COMMERCE
Our internal commerce demands
additional and less expensive faciIi-
ties. The volume of that commerce
has grown in these lusty times to
enormous proportions. u
| Az Great as has been the increase of
transportation facilities since the ad-
vent of the Republicans, they have
not kept pace with the demand for
them. Not only do immense bulks
seek movement, but they require to
be moved over vast distances. The
surplus products of those almost un-
! limited basins-that between the
Allegheny and Rocky Mountains and
that between the latter range and the
Sierra aNevadas-require.t to be dipped
out into the ocean on either side.
Production is not only so vast in
amount, but it is so unequallY. dis
tributed
Of the spring wheat grown in the
| United States, Wisconsin and Iowa
raise nearly one-half. Of the winter
wheat, Indiana and Ohio produce
nearly one-third. OF the corn raised,
Illinois alone grows one-sixth. OF
the tobacco, Kentucky raises nearly
one-half Nine States raise nearly all
the cotton consumed in this country,
and much of that consumed in Eu-
rope.
The cotton fabrics manufactured in
the United States in 1870 were valued
at one hundred and fifty-seven mil
lions. Of those fifty-nine millions
were manufactured in Massachusetts.
| OF course the distribution of these
and the great variety of other COM
modities necessitates vast amount
of transportation. Eleven States oc-
cupying the Mississippi valley send
to market annually a surplus of its
cereal products equal to 100000, 600
bushels.
To cheaper the carriage of that
single. commodity by the amount of
only ten cents per bushef is a SAYING
of thirty, millions to the people.
Various expedients have been sug-
gested for 1essening the cost of trans
portation. In some of the States it
has been proposed to place railway
fares and freights under the control
of the State. The objections to that
eXpedient are so serious thatit should
not be embraced, if better one can
be found. This country is SO new, SO
raw, and so undeveloped, the de-
mands for capital are so many and
SO urgent, that any policy which
would tend to drive capital from US
should be avoided if possible. The
State is but the aggregate. OF the
people in the State. l. o..
The people are the purchasers OF
transportation. RI. T.. ..-...5
The railway companies have trans
! portatiOn to sell.
The law also holds railroad COM
panies to be common carriers, and so
| bound to carry for all when the price
is paid. It is now a mooted question
whether that price shall be named by
the companies or by the people-the
sellers or the purchasers of the arti-
Gle. Which of these two parties is
legally authorized to fix that price is
probably determined by the laws un-
der which the several companies are
organized; but which of them can in
| fact fix it is a different question.
It is manifest that if the company
be allowed to fix the price they may
demand too much. Vendors of all.
commodities are very apt to want all
/ they can get. On the contrary, if
the people or their agents fix the price
they may set it too low. Purchasers
are very apt to want commodities as
cheap as they can be had. 1t Is not
probable that either party to the
transaction would always hit upon
the exact equivalent. The conse-
quences of mistake would probably
1 be found most Injurious if made by
the people. If the company makes
the mistake, and charges too much,
no one is obliged to employ it. The
producer does his own carrying be-
fore the railway is built. He has the
! perfect right to do so after it is built.
So, every company is compelled by
the laws of trade, even if municipal
law is silent, to carry products cheap
er than the producer can carry them,
or he will not have them to carry.
The company must also carry them
at profit to the producer, else the
product will cease. The farmers OF
Iowa will send no wheat to Chicago
unless the roads will transport 1t at
prices which will yield profit to the
producer.
The carrier must earn money for the
producer as we'll as himself, else he will
soon have nothing to carry. 1t is as alb
/ surd for the railways to demand more for
transportation than the producer can
afford to pay as it was for the man in the
fable to endeavor to get two golden eggs
each day from his hen-the attempt to
do so was death to the hen.
Under favorable conditions, indeed,
the carrier may demand and receive more
than a fair share of the profits of pro-
duction. Where such is the case, when
the State finds the producer makes but
ten per cent, while the carrier makes
fifteen or twenty per cent, it is very easy
and perfectly legitimate for 1t to say to
the company: " The work you do can be
done for less money; we$giu pay you for
your road what it will cost to build such
another, or you may keep your road and
we will build another So the people
are not helpless against exhOrbitant
charges.
On the contrary, if the people set the
price, and set it too low, the conse-
quences may be graver. The company
has no option. 1t must accept the price
named or not run. If the rates named
will afford slight return on the capital,
existing companies may continue to run,
but no more capital will encounter like
risks. If the rates Will yield no return,