Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1877-11-23
NUMBER %.


powers oil the church illustrates the feeling
often INDUCED by certain class of laboring
men against capital and corporations in
general, and railroads in particular. And,
for some fancied reason, or for no reason at
all, they pour out maledictions against rail-
roads, and they call upon men everywhere,
good and bad, TO anathematize them as one
of the chief Instructions in the way of civil
zatiOn. This state of feeling arises first,
because Of certain class who have not been
successful in their plans of life and have be-
come embittered against all accumulatiOns of
| property of every nature and kind. They
have disposition to pull down rather
than to build up those around them
They would like to sec an equal distribu-
ton IN sort of free community of goods,
and they are always ready to harp against
a asueccssful enterprise secondly, because of
a certain other class who are scandalzed
and deceived by false reports put in circula-
tion by the enemies which every successful
business concern is sure to have. so that,
with that class of chronic grumhlers who
are always laboring under the impression
that society Is somehow greatly indebted tJ
them, and with those who listen to the false
stories of artful enemies, we have quite a
large class among US who are not favorable to
| great corporations. Such has been the con-
diton Of things here in Vermont in great
er or less degree, from the carly history of
the State until now. The laws have been
such as to discourage capitalists from com
Ing here to invest their wealth. And men
of great wealth have left the State because
our laws did not encourage the employment
OF capital, although our natural facilities for
business are unsurpassed. Therefore it is
that we have many mines and quarries that
are undeveloped, and some Of the finest
water powers in the world that thunder
away in idleness.
There was a small water privilege in one
OF our central towns, and it was used to run
manufacturing establishment with seventy
i've wOrkmcn, who received about 81 900
every month. 1t is needless to say that
every dollar Of real estate in the vicinity
was raised in value twenty-five per cent, and
all kinds of business greatly stimulated.
Still there was somehow great prejudice
against the corporation that owned this con-
cern, which was exhibited upon every oc-
cason. Their capital was rigidly taxed for
every dOllar-eighty thousand dollars
while all other property went into the list
at barely one third its value. 1t need not
surprise us to learn that this company,
counting the cost, removed to another State
where the people and the laws encourage
the employment of capital and that the
real estate in that neighborhOod has greatly
deprecated. In another instance, u com
al of mil a
removed to a neighboring State for The same
reason.
As to railroads, they came into our State
because no amount OF prejudice can
resist the power of steam. Not the
old English yeoman of the last genera
ton, who went into their fields with guns to
prevent the enginer. from surveying road
across their lands, nor the Chinese Deity of
the present generation, can stay the progress
of the iron horse. But it was with fearful
iOre6oding that the average farmer first
heard the scream Of the locomotive rever-
berating in the secluded valleys of the Green
Mountains. And. although their fears were
not realized, yet great deal of prejudice
against railroads remained, and still does re-
main to this day. Their increase of wealth
they regard as all OF their own getting yea,
they insist that it would have been much
greater, had not the railroads, by some un-
seen and unknown means, deprived them of a
portion, - forgetting the time when they
spent days and weeks to make pilgrimage
to Boston with a two horse team to sell
little produce, and obtain a few of the neces-
saries of life forgetting also that in nearly |
all cases the men who first invest the money
to build a railroad never realize anything for |
the stock. 1t is almost the invariable his |
tory of railroading that the first issues OF |
stock to grade the road become yalueless. |
Whatever may have been their motives, il is |
nevertheless true that the capitalists, VINO |
have handed over the money to - take down
the hills and fill up the valleys for the |
seventy-fve thousand miles of railroads in
the United States, are among the greatest
heneiactOrS of the human race and yet no
class is cursed with such unilagging zeal as
these same railroad men. Well do we re-
member that in the rural neighborhoOds-
back distriotS-hundreds of small farmers
were spending all their strength to force the
means OF bare existence from the I" "rcluc-
tant soil This soil was encum ed by IA
heavy growth of timber that : { utterly
worthless. The trees must be- down.
" sashed - then hand was joined to
hand to cut up and " log roll " this
timber into great heaps to be burned before
the land could be used for tilase But
the first sound of the car wheels, like the
magic spell of some Eastern tale, turned these
hitherto worthless trees into gold and silver.
The wood and timber became of more
Value than the soil beneath, and very soon
among these hardy settlers the log hut and
huyel gave Place to neat, white cottages and
substantial barns. Yet, these farmers do
not realize how much they are under Ubli-
CATION to the capitalists. mostly from out
side of the State, who furnished the money
to build the railroads that gave them mar
ket for their wood and timber and all kinds
of produce. Every foot of land in Vermont
was increased in value, in all amounting to
many millions more. In fact every feature
of railrOading has brought gain to the
farmer and the laboring man without any
items of loss.
But what is of still greater interest is the
Tact that, in the growth of the system OF
through lines Vermont comes into a posi-
ton Of great prominence, owing to her prOx-
unity to Lake Champlain, and her con-
tainlnr the most feasible pass through the
mountains that extend from Alabama
TO the gull of 81 Lawrence, in Il chain un-
broken but in two or three instances and
also To the fact that among her citizens are
men who, toreseeing these advantages. have
built up great railroad centre within our
borders, by means of which engines, rails,
passenger ears. freight ears, pullman ears
and other equipments, are now manufactured
among us, giving employment to large
number of men all OF which is constantly
bringing wealth into the State MANY of
these ears run from the great West to the
sea and draw a mileage from every road over
which they travel.
Now then, whatever may be the disputes
1 mOug the owners, it Is certain that the
farmers and the laboring men, the people,
have no cause of complaint against the rail
roads. The citizens OF Vermont have always
been benefited, and j. the enemies of our
finely equipped roadS,-thc competing lines TO
the We>t,-ii they could succeed in their dc-.
perate attempts to break up the present con-
ntrtlons of the Central Vermont, then every
species of property in the State would suffer
loss.
The competing lines to the West find even
among US agents who will stoOp to anathe-
Matte our railroads for pay. Like BALKAN,
lutN ART NHIilE 10 utdl 'ut Cul>tN ~!
money Ii the madness of ths wicked
prophet caused the dumb ass TO speak, surely
the good people OF Vermont ought to awake
10 the !aat tha! all these ISLANDERS, evil speak
ing and curses. against our railroads and
our best and purcSt men, come from agents
who are hired for that purpose, rs Btlak
hired Balaam To curse the children of lsrasi
ts0.
Waterbury, Vt, Nov. l2th,
TuEr had hcea Engaged '',r LONG t;m,.
and ore s'eu.us they ere reading the rn-
per tageth'r. .ouk, love-" he exclnimr'i,
"'S t%en' dollars Tor Il Of clothes i