The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1875-03-09

said commissioners that are identified
with the amendment. We mention that
the allowing Of any corporation to make a
profit on the amount of capital invested
of ten per cent. exclusive of taxation
and licenses is fostering IA species of
usury under the sanction Of legislation,
unprecedented by any honest intention
to do justice to a constituency that ex-
poets an individual right to hold in the
same ratio to equal privileges that are
entailed upon corporations; or in other
words if several millions of dollars are
worth ten per cent. exclusive of taxa
ton and licences, then an indiIlual
notc' given to q money loaner, 81 one
hundred dollars more Or less, should be
subject to the same ratio of value for
use, but this is not the case. We know
that individual wealth whether of real
estate Or personal effects is subject to
taxation and that interest by contract
can't exceed ten per cent, without vio-
latio:l Of a law Of usury, and why this
continual toadying by legislatures to
corporations by Legitimate and unscru-
puIous class Legislation is kept up we
can understand, unless there is money
at the bottom of i. We think that IL
dividend Of seven ger cent. exclusive of
taxation anu licenses, ample pay by
the public to any corporation for the use
of its property. We also notice that
there is Il disposition to favor shippers
by the reduction Of tariffs over the in
dividual. Now this in our own opinion is
lega(iziag a k;nu of robbery, for why
shouldn't j., 4 producer, have the same
privilege by the car load as the shipper?
He has no legalized right by which he
can claim authority to handle nv pro-
duce, he has had no hand in its produce
ton and if I can save his commission
by the car load upon what I may pro-
duce, why not l have the same rates :?
The tendency Of this move is to keep
business in the Old ruts, that the mass
cs may not find out Just how much they
have been gulled by corporations and
their satellites (middlemen.)
If the Legislature adopts the bill Of
fered by the Commissioners, we are
afraid the State will again be subordin-
ate to capital, and when once it secures
another grip, it will not be so easily
loosened. The bill, it seems to US,
leaves too much at the discretion of the
Commissioners. They purport to claim
in the bill that railroads shall do thus
and so, but there is no clause enacted
making it obligatory upon them to en-
force the law or any part of it, but a
discretionary use Of the power, which
we are sorry to say at this day and age
of the world opens the door to all man
ner of frauds and swindles. The coun-
try don't want any more Of that kind
OF legislation, it wants it positive and
direct without latitude Or longitude, then
there will be no possible chance for a
government official to lose his reckoning
and be gobbled up by those rowing free
hooters of the high seas of civil juris-
prudence and collective rights. We
hope that the Potter law will stand, or
some other law as available in integrity
to the interests Of the people. We con-
cede that it is possible for legislation to
be unjust in it's discrimination between
the people and inoorporative interests,
but we want to see that it is not al
ways upon the sidey:of the capital; the
way that it looks now it gives the ap-
peacance Of continually being sold out,
or else ola malicious Legislation upon the
part Of our assemblymen, while, if the
people were guaranteed with the same
tenacity, that law guards the interests
of these soulless corporations, then we
might think that at times there were er-
rors in Judgment. As it remains at
present it looks rs though legislation
had fallen victim to the worship of
other gods ard had >bowed down before
the golden calf. c.
DARIAN, WIS.,, March lst, 1875.
Narr0w-Gauge Railways.