The patron of husbandry. (Columbus, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1880-03-27
Number (.
RAILWAY COMBINATIONS.

RAILWAY COMBINATIONS
There are now in the United States not
far from S5 900 miles of railway in opera
ton. All the rest of the world has not so
much. The increase in population since
1873 is estimated at is per cent; the in
crease in railway mileage about the same;
but the per cent of increase in the tonnage
of the roads is far above these figures since
1871. The rated value or capital stock and
debts of these corporations covers mole
than one-siXth of the value Of all the prop
erty in the United States. Atan estimated
average Of $4,000 per mile including roll
ing stock, land, depots and all appurte-
nances, gives an aggregate of $4,2 oooo,-
Ooo This if far above the actual cost of
the roads. But this is not all. Nearly all
of the great trunk lines and most of the
feeders have inflated or watered their capi-
tai stock from time to time and created fic-
titious debts; SO that, to get at the real fig
urs upon which dividends and interest, or,
to use one word, profits" are realized,
we should have to add probably 40 per
cent to the above aggregate of cost of the
roads. The actual cash cost of the New
York Central and Erie was not above
$4,000, 900; but by the watering process
it is now represented at $244,OoO,ooo-a
initiation above So per cent. The debt of
nine trunk lines east of the Mississippi
and Missouri River has been increased to
to the enormous figures of $4So,ooo,ooo
since 1860. 1t is safe to say that more
than one-half of this has been created by
fictitious manipulation and pocketed by
greedy Presidents and Directors On every
dollar of it and on every dollar of watered
stock the other industries of the country
are charged interest to pay dividends.
These dividends range all the way from
| to and 9 per cent. The n. Y. Central, on
an actual cash investment not exceeding
$35, 100000, has been dividing profits offs
per cent upon an alleged investment of
$84, 900. And it is the same with
| nearly all the rest of the trunk lines. The
country is at their mercy, and producers
in the West and consumers at the East
must bear the eXtortion.
So long as there was competition be-
! tween the lines terminating at New York,
| Philadelphia, Baltimore and Boston there
remained at least hope of reform and of
an easement of the burden put upon the
public. This hope has been dissipated by
the recent combination brought about by
Vanderbilt Gould, Jarrett, and Garrett,
which it is now stated by an Influential
Boston journal embraces thirty five lines
| road. These lines represent over one
fourth of all the railway mileage of the
country, and virtually control its internal
! traffic East and West. 1t will of course
be their aim to coerce all the rest into the
combination. We shall then be presented
with the spectacle of thousands of mill
ions of property in railways dominating
and antagonizing all the other interests of
| Al Il lo(, 81,
the General Government to restrict their
expressions. But before they can be as
sured Of entire success they must do one
thing more. They must manage to con-
troll at least one branch of the Federal
Congress. If they can accomplish this,
| the oligarchy will be intrenched so strong
ly that nothing short of revolution can
drive them from their position. They will
then be in no danger from such bills as
| the Reagan bill and such laws as the
! Thurman Act, for no such bill or Act can
pass.
The next step, then, after the rounding
out of the grand combination scheme, will
be to possess the combination of either
| the Senate or House of Representatives.
For obvious reasons they will prefer the
Senate. It's members hold for six years,
while those of the House hold for only
two. 1t is the smaller and the more aris-
tocratic body of the two. 1t is the more
conservative, and the slower to change
established customs and what ale called
''vested rights" 1t has more power in
| Government than the Houre, because It
has executive as we'll as legislative func-
tions 1t virtually appoints the Judges of
the District, Circuit and Supreme Courts:
and that is a power which the railways
have long desired to exercise or control.
With Vanderbilt and Gould, or their
proxies, representing New York; Scott
and Don Cameron, Pennsylvania; Gar
rett and his railway colleague, Maryland;
Stanford, California, and SO on, to ma
iority of the States, in the Senate, that
body could be easily converted into close
railway corporation, defying the power of
Congress to enact any bill interfering
with them and virtually dominating the
appointing power of the President
Shrewd politicians are already apprehend-
ing some such movement as the next step
of the railway combination towards the
rounding out of its scheme for the practi-
cal conversion of this Government into an
! oligarchy.