The New Orleans Democrat. (New Orleans, La.) 1875-1876, 1876-03-30
- ycw ORLEANS PACIFIC.


"A ..s,er Communications shown that tn
mrnaition Of tax to aid 10 the cor
Ia.rs,efion of the above road would b
s'ailtst. Illegal, unconstitutional, an
sanpkversfVe Of the principal purpose 70
mich governments are Instituted
namely: TO render property secure, ye
n advocates have persistently defende
y nv the robber 3 plea the plea II aecea
afr-under which more wrongs hav
been perpetrated, more evils inflicted
more Impressions contaminated, an
Therty more frequently stricken down
han BY all the other DEGREES or pre-
texts to which designing men resort il
the accomplishment Of their nefariou
purposes;
doses all discussion but I have denie,
The necessity 81 this road az means D
restoring our lost prosperity, and hav'
demanded proof, but have been me
With nothing but bald, vapid declam&
tory assertion. / not only deny tina
this road, if built by the forced contri
| buttons from the people OF this city
will contribute to the restoration Of theIl
prosperity, but / further assert that il
I will rather have the effect Of making
their condition worse.
In q former communication ! proved
these views to be correct, showing that
"A this road would not be q profitable in
vsstment for the stockholders, 1t would
therefore not add IL the wealth Of the
sommunitY or III any degree promote its
prosperity; and furthermore, that
"a The capital invested in this road
n would be less remunerative than If en-
barked IN other enterprises, IL would be,
70 the amount 81 the difference, q loss
not only 10 the individual owners of the
st0ck, but would be to that amount a
lss ID the community; and that no re-
mote. indirect or collateral advantages
eouId compensate for this loss. All this
I established by reference to the prin-
eiples Of Political Economy that
science which underlies the whole ques-
ton. without reference to which, ia
auestions Of this nature, we are as blind
men cropping in the dark; if truth is
stnnnbIed upon, it is by accident. NV
Arguments in this direction are either
met by denial that my views are sus-
tanned by this science, or more frequent
" by an entire re- lection Of the authority
THE tribunal To which T have appealed.
To the first I will enunciate a few funda-
mental propositions, and make q few
mutations from recognized authorities,
having q bearing upon the subject In
controversy.
n IA admitted that the sum Of the
wealth. Oh ID community Is Tie aggregate
wealth Of the individuals who compose
IT, ANY productive industry which is
conducive to individual prosperity con-
tributes TO the increase of the national
wealth, and no productive enterprise
can be profitable To the community
which is Improbable to those who I'M
dertake il.
J. b. Say, the most eminent writer
upon Political Economy on the conti-
nent Of Europe, says, page 100, in speak
ing Of those enterprises conducted by
government Or by individuals. at loss
There can be no production Of new
value where the product Of productive
concern does not exceed the cost Of pro
duction. Thus, whether government
or individuals be the owners in the los
ing concern, it il equally ruinous to the
nation, and there Is 90 much less value
IN the country" And then afterwards.
in speaking Of the benefits which others
are said To receive indirectly from this
losing concern, as compensating for the
loss and in showing the falIacy OF this
theory. he says: ''It is no avail to pre-
tend that although the government be
loser, its agents, the industrious people, /
or the workmen it employs, have made |
. profit; il the concern cannot sup
port itself and pay its own way, |
the receipt must fall short Of the |
outlay, and the difference fall upon
those who supply the expenditures Of
the State that is to say, the taxpayers.
Hence, a productive concern, whether |
conducted by government or by indivi- |
duals, that does not yield an interest on
the capital embarked equivalent 10 +
what it would il otherwise invested, il I
TO that extent, whether it be little or
much, a loss to the whole community, I
TJx,t.
persdte for this loss. Prof. WayIand, |
perhaps the most eminent American /
author on the subject Of Political Econo- |
my, says, page PIP, What is profitable |
for the individual is profitable to the |
community; !" hence what is Improbable /
to the individual is improbable to the
country. But the Hon. David A. Wells, /
by far the most eminent living Ameri- /
can economist, one who enjoys q Euro
pean reputation, not q mere theoriSt, |
but q gentleman who has for years &C
lively participated in public affairs, in a
letter written to me last July, he says
on the subject in controversy: for |
II community using railroad will
not afford it sufficient business to pay a |
fair interest on the capital invested, and
provide fund against depreciation, it
seems to me clear that the community
does not need the railroad, and that
from pecuniary point Of view it ought
not to have been built" This is con-
elusive that the utility OF railroad to a
community, like every other productive
enterprise, is measured by the interest
derived from the investment, and not by /
the remote advantages claimed as flow
ing indirectly from it by its collateral /
effect on business
That this great, practical and all. IN!
portant science sustains my positions
there can be no reasonable doubt, but
there are many who, unacquainted with (
its principles, affect to despise its con-
elusions. This is no place to 20 into q
Engineered discussion Of the subject, but 1
will merely quote from the works Of
men Of high and acknowledged intellec- |
tual eminence, not insane theorists"
as ignorant and interested men assume
to believe, but statesmen, politicians
and philosophical thinkers.
Henry Thomas Buckle, who possessed I
beyond all doubt a greater variety, ex-
tent and depth Of learning, united to
great intellectual powers and originality
Of thought than any man Of this CEN
fury, whose erudition, prodigious, as it
was, was equalled by the almost I'M
rivalled powers Of his understanding,
says, in his History Of Civilization,
volumne /, page 209 Il allude to the
discovery Of political economy; a branch
OF knowledge with which the wisest OF
the ancients had not the least acquain- /
lance, but which possesses an import
ance 1t would be difficult to exaggerate, I
and Is, moreover, remarkable as being