Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1874-06-18

rather than by issuing more bank notes. Inter-
| est Is now below three per cent in New York:
Wnere the money ls-less. indeed. than many
| OF our western animal taxes. More money
| pied up there will not help us. Our true
| remedy is to break down the monopolists and
| exterminate the schemers, and release and use
the money we now have, rather than increase
| eur bank debts for more IN oney
| NIL We are neither for free trade nor for
| protection for since we must annually paw
some three or four hundred millions to liqui-
| date the debts and expenses of the Govern
ment, we prefer that the greater part of this
| tax should fall on foreign goods and products
| rather than on our homesteads farms, and
stock in trade, to be paid annually in cash.
We insist that this tariff, be it little or great
| shall be laid for the honest and legitimate
| purposes Of revenue. and not to foster and
build up monopolies either at home or
abroad
NV. If we could have in our public admin
| lstratlons, both State and national. fewer
seventy mine lawyers and small takers. more
worklngmen, less wind, less talk. less soft
buncombe and more honesty, hard work and
hard sense, we might get along at least quite
as fast and as well as we do now. Suppose
we try the experiment? The old dogma.
principles and not men," we repudiate and
call aloud for both principles and men. and
first of all for men,
RAILROADS.
After securing to themselves free grants of
millions of public money (more than twenty
millions from this State alone). and moro
'quare miles of public lands than there are
IN the six New England States, with New
York, pennsylvania New JERSEY. Ohio. Indiana
ana 1iiinols included, besides their right of
way, our various corporations of common car
rlers began to consolidate aud combine fer the
unlimited taxation of the produce of the coun-
try, under pretext of an unlimited right to fix
their own freight and charges in defiance of
| the people, the States and their laws. They
well knew that such a course was in fact di-
| rect trampling under foot of every real doc
trine of common law known to the civilized
world since Romulus and Remus were sucked
Dy the wof Hence they sought shelter from
| this common law of Christendom and from all
State laws based upon it, by inducing the
| courts to throw over and around them the
pretended protection of the Constitution of
| the United States by that most
infamous application to them of the
| doctrines applied in the cele-
brated Dartmouth College case. 1t seems to
| me that the simple reading of Mr.. W,bster's
argument in that case, and of Judge
Marshalls grounds OF decision, by any lawyer
| OF common sense, before any court of ordi-
nary common sense, without further note or
comment would show, beyond all doubt. that
whether the decision of the court was right
or wrong IN that particular case (which now
some OF our very ablest lawyers disputed it is
impossible that it should be made logically.
| either 10 cover or come near to, any of our
| railroad cases.
40 not deny that railroads have guaran-
teed rights, which must be most sacredly re-
| garded but those rights are neither fully de-
nned In. nor limited by, the wording of their
charters. whatever that wording NAV be.
1hey haze simply the rights of common car
rsers under ne common tar, no more, no less
This they themselves well know. Hence
their extreme anxiety to escape the domain of
| the common law, and all statute laws of the
States. which would render the practical ap-
| plcatlon OF law either available or possible to
the citizens; and to find some shelter from il
under special statutes or constitutions of
some Sort But they will find in the end that
| this common law of Christendom eyermore
grasps and envelopes them on all sides alike
as the light of day enyelops the earth, and
evermore will grasp and control them. and
they cannot escape from its presence. by
throwing dust in the air. whether it be their
| gold dust in our halls of legislation. or the
sun more binding dust OF their pettifogging
special pleaders In our courts of Justice
The dognlas by which these adroit hirelinp
| speclal-pleaders would subject us to this cor.
porate tyranny, through our courts are mo
| more the real common law of Christendom
| than the dogmas under which ecclesiasts
burnt heretics, through the church. in the
tlanlty- L know that the subject has now.
| mainly through our own folly, inact.on and
InattentiOn. become involved in immense DIFF
| hculties, from which it is not possible to re-
trieve the country and save the future liber-
ties OF the continent without great and serious
ana undeserVed losses to many worthy citi-
Zens. But the republic must live even Though
You and and all the rest of us NAV die 1t
Is high time that we were awake and fully re-
solved on Its salvation. at whatever costs of
either our moneyed or personal interests. The
recent subterfuges, and skullings, and eva
slons OF this INSCRIPTIONS moneyed power.
show us clearly that we are on the right
track, whatever special-pleaders or prosti-
tuted and hireling press may say to the con-
trary.
You all remember the old-time saving of "a
niger in the wood-pile" But did YOU ever
expect to live to see the day when a great
moneyed corporation like the Alton and st.
Louis railroad would itself turn nlgger, spell
its name with two g's, and crawl into the
woOd-pile to hide itself from the Just action of
the common law of the land?
The great question now is not whether those
corporations tax us too little or too much As
our fathers said, in far less infamous case.
the right to take one pound implies the right
to take ten pounds" We're thev now carving
our products for nothing, would still, with
the same vigor. prosecute this railroad war in
behalf OF the rights and liberties of my chill
dren. OF the continent, and of the race. Under
any principle of real law known. or fit to be
known to civilized men, deny that it was
possible for any Legislature to put any sort
of words into any single charter whatever
that could give any company this prac-
tical, indefinite power of taxation. 1t
is the tyranny and the infamy of the
principle we are resisting, not merely a few
cents per bushel in the price of corn and
wheat.
The question now is not whether our corn
will bring us SO or 81 cents per bushel but
whether few close corporations in Wall
street through their knaves in Legislatures.
and their hireling attorneys in courts, or our
forty millions of people, and theirimmemorial
rights under the common law Of christendom,
are TO rule this great continent of ours. Are
we men If we are we shall settle this ques-
ton. whether port goes up or down, even
though compelled at last to settle it. sword in
hand, and with loss of all things. But there
is no danger of that. The smell of a fee or a
bride attracts these fellows across the whole
continent The smell of gunpowder does not.
know that like the old slave corporations,
and al other despotisms all they now want is
peace. and simply Ito be let alone, and s.let
the country prosper" But as the one COULD
not blind our eyes and desfen our ears by
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