The Leavenworth weekly times., 1878-08-08

IL .'e Coup!SiSIF denioraiZed Siiu driv
irom their homes and families in sear,a
food. One-half OF the great middle cl:
nave already besn destroyed. Their lit
~ homes and business are gone, and they, Il
are warderers-h,aoieSs, and oul Of elalL
&C. nen'. Ihne is absolutely no prospe1 i;y ere
among h: railroad me and deaitIs en- Cor.
msn, bonds Upon the surface all is placi
j. and to a stranger locks prosperous; b
ill you take glimpse beneath the surface Al
es YOU End most frishtful condition of :
rs fairs. iov find the great mass of cur pc
pie complaining, uneasy an restless. Tn.
are organizing all kinds of sec.s, societi,
e and in secret consultation discussing son
IN means OF relief One society advocates 4
es ballot-box as a means OF relief, and anoth
rs cooperation, and still another advocates 4
commune / know the advocate OF the ca
i,alist says this all means nothipg-it
only the old question of Capital and Labo
i and We can easily put it down when Il
\ time comes. But let NE suggest, that viii
= it may really be the old question Of "Cap
tai against Labor that in this country
comes up in entirely 4 new condition. In Ii
old country, where this question has bee
!, fought over, the contest was between III
y : capitalist and an ignorant, uneducateC
: common people. The struggle in thi
: country when it comes will be b.
tween this great, educated and en-
tightened American people upon the on
:, side, against few mammoth, corrupt Cor
Poratious, aided by small class of non.tax
paying bondholders, upon the other Their,
I; can be little doubt as to the result OF the
contest. This great people cannot be re
duced to serfdom by a few railroad corpor.
ations without a struggle. Allow me to
| say to these people that it is not the poor,
despised trdmP..that they have to contend
with. i am aware that they are now using
the Government and the people 10 put him
down; but If this wholesale robbery goes on
1t will be but short time before the whole
people will be in the same condition-home
lsss and Ola Of employment.
When that time shall come then will
come the day of settlement. You ask, what
has brought this deplorable condition OF
affairs upon us? This question has been
answered thousand times or more, and in
as many different ways as there were per-
sons nswering. To my mind there is one
answer which combines all Others, and goes
back to the fountain. The uhole legislation
Of Mis county for the past treny gears hes
been in the interest Of capital as against not
only labor but oqaina al The smaller business IN
terets ofthe country, and not only this but
the Judiciary has been following in the
same direction. Under this corrupt legis-
lation and the decisions OF the courts great
corporations have been builded up, until
few men (four or five in number) control
the great transportation Interests OF this
great country. With this great power in
their hands these FIR men can absolutely
dictate what price (if anything at ALL the
farmer shall receive Tor his grain and stock.
And they hold the same power over the
manufacturer. In brief, they can dictate
the price OF every article needing transport
alton John Wesley in some of his writ
iugs saws that "Human slavery is the sum
OF all vlllainies' This may have been
true when he said it, but you must bear in
mind that at that time there were no rail
roads in the worid 1t is evident to my
mind that Wesley never conceived the idea
of 4 railroad corporation, or such men rs j.
Gould, Tom Scott and Vanderbilt. See the
legislation and the courts walking hand in
hand
The bill providing for the building OF
the Union Pacific Road was gotten up by
and engineered through Congress by the
same parties who built the road. The peo-
pie at the time supposed that the Govern
ment were merely endorsing the bonds, and
that the road would pay the interest. For
a time they paid, but soon Mr.. Gould came
in possession OF the road and refused TO pay
the interest. The case was referred to the
court, and the court decided that under The
peepIiar uording Of tie act the coupons on the
bonds or mortgage given by the railroad |
company 10 the Government, would not be |
due until the principal was due-at the |
end of thirty years. The amount of bonds |
by the Government for this |
road is sixty millions of dollars, annual in
terest S3 100000. Many Of you have no
doubt wondered. where Mr.. Could got mon
ey enough to buy so many roads. You see
now where he gets S3,6OO,OOO annually,
and this Is one Of his many schemes; and
this Is all done under the laws of Congress,
by the United States Courts.
Think you we need any improvement in
legislation? Under this corrupt legisla-
ton, sanctioned by the courts, it is made
possible for such men as Gould to accumu-
late ten or fifteen millions annually, while
at least one-half OF our people are suffering
for the necessaries OF life. i have any
number Of other cases to which | desire TO
call YOUR attention, but i must wait until
my next. This infamous management of
has grown up within the last ten
Or fifteen years. The time was when guar
iians put the money Of their wards into
railroad stock. 4 guardian who would
invest money in railroad securities at this
lime would be considered fit subject for
m insane asylum.
| clip the following from that exceeding
" conservative and cautious representative
Df New York mercantile interests, the New
York Journal Of Commerce.
VANDERBILT WARNED
Mr.. Vanderbilt r,joices in his strength of
money, his extent of railroad empire, his
,bsequious henchmen, hIs influences over
legislatures and courts But let him beware,
The very time of his greatest power and
Dr.ce is that in which his far reaching ambi
ion is most in danger ofa fall. His projects,
and executed in such reckless dis |
-egard of the rights of the public and the |
needs of commerce, are thoroughly alarming ,
he people. They are driving all classes Of |
men to the conviction that the government
federal and State-muSt in SeifdeienSs, UD- | ,
iertake the regulation Of railroads While
,ir. Vanderbilt holds his Ugh rcvels, there is
hand writing on the wall.
The people are Just waking up TO these
questions, and asking what is to be done.
But, Mr.. Editor. promised in opening
his communication, to point out to our
people some means of relief. Kansas il
he only western State that has no law on
ler statute books regulating the rates Of
passengers and freights upon her roads.
fhe press Of the State is loaded down Yith
,rticles upon the great greenback question, .
,ut they have little or nothing TO say upon
he railroad question. Every politician in |
he State is laboring hard 10 convince his
,eople that he, too, is sound upon the
,reenback question. But none OF them .
;now anything about the roberies being &,
committed upon the people by these rail- ,
oads. And why il this? Ny neighbor Z
avs it is because every editor, every mem
er OF the legislature, every Congressman,
and every candidate for congress-, all the I
tate officers, and every Judge upon the ,
'ench, has his pockets tUH Of passes. This +
5 probably true, and / have no doubt it 1
las its influence upon these people. But {
Eho il TO blame for all this-no one but :
he people themselves. i am acquainted =
nth many Of our newspaper {
nen, and my judgement is, that as {
class they are az honOst, and i
$ patriotic as any Of our people, and do I
ot believe there is a newspaper in the I
tate owned or supported by the railroads. {
he managers of these roads are shrewd, I
iide awake business men, and they give {
hese passes to obtain the friendship OF 4
hese people. Ii the people in their social l
and in their public political
,eetings, would speak ont upon this ques- 4
on, there is not press in this State but /
ould sdvocate their interests upon this t
lbject. All the newspaper men want, and :
II the politicians want is to know that ]
ne people are in earnest, and that they r
lean to settle the railroad question, when {
,e Legislature meets the coming winter. q
Il course do not object to the papers dis r