The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1874-09-21
The Republican Party not to be Trusted by
the Industrial Glasses.


Republican brass-collar newspapers are
very fond of asserting that the Rcpubh-
can party is the only true friend of the IN
dustrial classes, and that the only way for
farmers, mechanics and laboring men to
hetter their condition and place their
brains and muscle on an equality with the
hanks and railroad monopolists is to vote
the Republican ticket. Let us look at
this ouestion a little and see what the Re-
publican party has done for the industrial
classes: For three years past says the
State Register, the Republican party OF
this state has been struggling with the
question of transportation, and has not ar
rived at any satisfactory result. The state
has a railroad law, which was chiefly con-
structed BY Messrs. Hart and Oberly, both
Democrats, and which is as they declare,
the best they could get the Republican leg
stature to pass, but it produces no great
result We have board of railroad COM
missioners. whose duties do not seem to
he arduous. and there are dozen or two
LAWYERS scattered over the state, drawing
nav for looking after suits which never
seem to progress.
The Republican party in congress does
not appear to be any more successful in
dealing with this question. MIR. McCreary,
of Iowa, reported to congress that the
states which chartered the railroad compa-
MES could not rightfulIy regulate them, but
that congress, which is contessedly unable
TO force the Pacific railroad company to
pay any part of the interest on the bonds
given TO it, could completely control the
entire railroad system ofthe Union. Sen
ator Window, while blandly assuring the
people that they had no right to attempt
the regulation of the railroad companies,
proposed that the people expend S40O, 000,-
600 for the purpose Of trying an expert
ment. The address of the Republican
congressman to the people, stated that
the states could not control the railroads,
and should not be allowed to attempt to do
SO, lest they should, in the attempt, injure
the corporations. In the only case in
this state wherein suit under the state
railroad law Is pushed to con
cluson, it is found that it is tied un by
authority Of the civil rights bill passed by
a Republican congress, and the conclusion
Of the whole matter is, that the Republi-
can party has officially declared that the
states have no right to control the railroad
companies, and has passed laws to assist
the corporations in escaping from state
control; that the Republican party in con-
gress, while confessedly unable to make
one road live up to its contract, assumes
to be able to control all the roads of the
country, and proposes that the people shall
spend half billion of money for the pur-
pose Of building roads in order to test the
question whether congress can control
them.
Having signaly failed in this state to af
ford any relief to the people, the Republi.
can party now proposes, not to restore tC
the people the power conidcd to it, but tC
transfer that power to congress. Being
unwilling to act for the interest of the peo
pie, the Republican party proposes to take
from the people the power to act for them
selves. The Democratic platform is clea,
and explicit on this point, 1t declares tn
b right and duty Of the state to protect it
citizens against any injustice by chartered
monopolies. The principle contained il
this declaration is one of exact justice
The state, having created an artificial pei
SOD, has, beyond question, the right to con
trol such person and it is, beyond ques
ton, the duty Of the state to so control tn
artificial persons, the corporations, whic
exist only by the sovereign pleasure {
the state, that they shall injurc none of Il
citizens or natural persons in the stat
But nothing is further from the purpo,
of the corporations than the admission
any such doctrines as this. The corpor
tons plant themselves on the doctrine
the Republican party, which is that til
states have no rights which the corpor;
tons are bound to respect, and they who'll
deny that this state has the right to COZ
troll them,or that it is the duty of the stat
to protect citizens from extortion.
The people of this state are to elect thi
tall nineteen congressman, full house o
representatives and one half the senate
The corporation question is one of the il
sues OF the campaign, and upon this is9u
every voter must decide, each voter mu
vote in favor Of the Democratic doctrine ,
state control of corporations or mu.
vote to sustain the theory that congrc,
can rightfully control corporations cha
tered by states