The daily gazette., 1877-08-13
The Communism the Ohio RE
pubhcans.4Es EsledRe Them
Se1ves to,

BetVeS TO.
l. By resolution in their State Conyen-
tion the Ohio Republicans declare that
"Congress should exert its authority over
all national highways of trade, by pre-
scribing and enforcing such reasonable
regulation as will tend to promote safety
of travel" Now the New York Central
Railroad, with its Western connections,
is national highway. What exercises
ofthe authority of Congress could pro-
mote safety of travel over it? No Gov
ernment commission could run the road
more safely than its experienced and in
terested owners do. Surely the Ohio
Republicans do not mean to stultify
themselves by recommending that the
United States should remodel the time
tables Of the New York Central, and the
rules and regulations which govern the
movement of its trains and the discipline
OF its men. But what "reasonable regu-
lations' by Congress to promote safety
OF travel do they recommend? Manifestly
regulations Of disputes between the ad-
mlnistrators of the road and its employees
which shall promote safety of travel by
preventing strikes. And how will they
prevent strikes. Why. by conceding de-
mands. That is precisely what the
resolution means. 1t cannot mean any
thing else.
No party in this country has ever be-
fore approached the Communism of the
recommendation that Congress should
appoint commissioners to settle conflicts
about wages between State corporations
and their employees. Congress might as
we'll fix the price of bread and meat in
the principal cities of the Union, and de-
termine the profits merchants shall make
on their goods. The proposition is
thoroughly unsound and utterly dis
graceful. =
Congress has no direct authority over
any railroad which it did not itself cre-
ate by charter. Over railroads of Fed
eral birth it cannot exercise authority
which would be destructive of the pur-
poses for which they were created. Rail
roads would be destroyed by the opera
ton of political machine, controlled by
politicians, themselves ruled by voters,
having the power at any moment to
raise wages, shorten time of labor, and
make soft service. The very institution
of such commission would relax the
discipline of every railroad IN the United
States. Its operation would be a stands
ing menace. IL would put the Govern
ment in antagonism to the railroads. Its
pestilent interference would everywhere
breed hate, strife, mischief, and war.
III. The Ohio Republicans also resolve
that Congress ought to make regulations
to 'secure fair returns for the capital in
vested" in the national highways of
trade. There are 811 railroads in the
United States. Last year only 1876 of
them earned dividends, and this year
not $50 will pay a farthing. Do these
Communist Republicans propose to take
out of the national Treasury money to
give dividends to the owners of the 6l5
non-paying roads? Certainly not. Wha;,
] then, do they mean by "fair returns for
| the capital invested" They mean divi-
dends so small as to make sure of fund
to satisfy the demands of labor. They
| mean to delude the worklngmen of the
United States by promising to establish
in the case of railroad investments the
general principle that all profits may be
limited by law. They promise Federal
legislation, which, if logically extended,
would require the Government to fix for
the whole nation the prices of food, fuel
| clothing, and house rent This bid for
votes made by the Communist Republl-
cans of Ohio has no precedent since the
| French revolution. 1t should destroy
Hayes, Matthews, West, and Sherman,
| and bury the Republican party of Ohio
out of sight.
! III The Ohio Republicans also pledge
themselves to have he Federal Govern
ment interfere with the railroads to pre-
| vent Encouragement, improper discrlm-
nation, and the aggrandizement of Of
| ficials at the expense of stockholders
and shippers and employees. Passing
over the CHASTITY joke of preventing rail-
road mlsmanagementb by agencies which
consummated BELKNAP's and ROBSON s
| frauds, which fattened on the corruption
funds OF the Credit Mobilier and the
Pacific Mail Steamship Company, and
grew rich out of Fraudulent Post Office
contracts and robberies in the Indian
Bureau-passing over this and omitting
comment on the unconstltutionality OF
interference by Federal authority with
| the management of State corporations,
| we, too, advocate a correction OF the
abuses which, on many lines of rail-
road, aggrandize officials at the expense
of stockholders Railroad directors and
managers are trustees strictly. 1t should
| be felony for them to make profit out
of their trusts, beyond their salaries and
the dividends on their stock. Owner
| ship by officers of railroads in white
lines, blue lines, empire lines, oil lines,
Wagner parlor cars, Pullman sleeping
cars, and the whole brood of transporta-
tion thievery, should be punished by
law. Every dollar that the road bed
and locomotives of railroad can possi-
| bly, earn belongs to the stockholders.
| The inside rings are robbers. Every
cent they have earned from the begin.
ming belongs almost wholly to stockhold-
ers. But Congress cannot touch these
| thieves, except on railroads created by
| Federal charters. KEEP THE CoNsTITU'
TIoN INvIoLATE!-N. Y St,n.