Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1878-07-16
snAsnINa A conBISArIoN.

/
Yesterday the Directors OF the Pacific
Mail Company gave the required sifty
days notice TO the President Of the
Union Pacific Railroad that the eombi-
nation hitherto existing between these
two common carriers. would be cancelled
ON the first OF October next. This will be
good news to q long-suffsring people in
whom patience has almost ceased to be
a virtue. Both the Pacific Mail and the
Pacific Railroads are creatures Of the
peoples b~snefcencs. They were estab-
lishsd by means Of liberal donations
from the public treasury, and are ios-
tered by subsidies on the me hand and
large grants Of public land on the other.
Certainly. under these circumstances. 1t
might be supposed that common graft
tude, II no higher motive, would have
inspired the companies with . desire to
repay some OF the benefits received by
working ~zsalously for the public inter
ests. But instead Of this they have
been systematically engaged in tieecing
the people by combining to keep up the
rates Of freight and passenger traffic.
and the fact that there were two lines
from New York TO San Francisco. in
stead Of aiding the public by securing
lower tariffs. has been made. by this re-
cent combination. to act in precisely the
opposite direction.
When thieves fall out, honest men
get their dues. and the thieves Of the
Pacific Mail Steamship Company and
the Pacific Railroads have fortunately
fallen out. Until Jay Gould secured
control Of both the Pacific Mail and the
Union Pacific. freights and fares by the
steamers were much lower than by the
railroad. as they should DO from the ma
ture Of the service. But when that
shrswd manipulation secured the two
lines, hs at once set about forming the
combination which Is now to DO
smashed, and the result has been that,
Notwithstanding the hard times which
Cypress this people. the screw OF the
giant monopoly has boen frightened year
by year, until really 1t began to look as
though there was no relief possible.
And none would have been. had not the
thieves fallen out with themselves. for
combinations OF this kind. however dis
graceful and wrongful. are not neeessa-
rily illegal. and no steps to prevent them
can he taken. The Union Pacific, how
ever. has been trying to swindle Its
confederate in the game. and the eonss-
qusnes Is. that the confederate has given
notice OF its intention to cancel the con.
tract. and thus some relief will come to
.Le people altos all.
One result OF this quarrel is to make
public the terms OF the contract under
which this huge monopoly was formed.
Il has always been a mystery how the
Pacific Mail could afford to lose 30
much freight by maintaining its rates TO
the standard fixed by the railroad. This
is q mystery no longer. Tho rail.
road guaranteed to every steamer q full
cargo to within COO tons Of her capacity,
and shippers who fondly imagined that
their goods were going by rail were de-
ceivsd by the company. who sen them
by water. in order to fulfill the guaranty
given to Pacific Mail. The contract
made in regard to passengers was much
more liberal. The steamers agreed to
make the tariff equal to that charged by
the road. OF course by doing so they
would lose a great deal OF irst-class
travel. Other things being equal, 1t IL
much pleasanter and more convenient
to cross tho continent In seven days
than TO occupy three weeks in a trip
from New York to San Francisco. To
make good this loss the railroad, there
fore. agreed to pay Pacific Mail five dol
lars q head for every overland passenger
carried. When q corporation can af-
ford to pay this enormous tax. we can
easily judge Of the percentage OF pro-
fits which 1t must realize on every
ticket sold.
Now that the combination Is TO be
smashed, the rate OF fare aud freight
will DO reduced on the steamers. II
should also be reduced by Law on the
railroad, There is no doubt that Con-
cress has the constitutional power to
regulate fares and irisghts on a railroad
which Is created by national law. The
Eighth section Of the Constitution con-
fers power "to regulate commerce with
foreign nations. and among he States"
aud under this clause Congress has an
undoubted right to act in this matter.
The members are psssionatsly fond Of
Investigation" Let them proceed to
investigate this contract between the
Pacific Mail and the railroads, probe
to the bottom this fraud upon the peo-
pie. and then put q stop 10 further swim
ding by regulating through freishts and
fares on the Pacific railroads. The
country will have something to thank
them for then. and they will regain
some little OF the good name which they
have lost by their frivolous proceedings
in the past.
ASAxAooRAs, an Athenian, who hour-
ished in the fifth century before Christ
taught that the wind a owing to rare
faction ; that tho rainbow was owing TO
reflection ; that the noon is enlightened
BY the sun : that comets are wandering
stars that the fixed stars were beyond