The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1880-12-23
Railroads Public Property.

Ailroads, OF which the following are
xtracts
Railroad men misunderstood their !
They believe or pretend to |
'elieve, that railways are the property :
f the companies authorized to run
hem, which is cardinal error, and the
,arent of much false argument. All
public highway cannot DO private pro-
)erty, and = railroad laid out and
built by the authority Of the State for
he purposes of commerce il as much q
public highway as turnpike road,
canal OF nsvigable river. II il the duty
Of the State to promote intercourse and
trade, by making highways of tho best
sort through her territory. To this end
she may take land and materials. which
Is an exercise Of the power of eminent
domain. She can build . railway at
her own expense, using the direct agency
of hor own officers, and after 1t 10 built
she can make 1t free to all corners, or
reimburse the cost by special tax on |
individuals who have occasion to use 1t. |
She can delegate the taking and the
taxing powers to . corporation or q
natural person and that IL what she
always does when she grants railroad
charter. But in either or any case the
road belongs to the State, and all the
people have right to use It upon com
pliance with necessary regulations and
payment of the proper tar. The cor
porations who have got into the habit of
calling themselves tho owners Of the
railroads have no proprietary right, title
or claim the roads themselves, but
mere franchise annexed to al exercise
BILE thereon. They are the agents Of the
State for the performance OF public
duty. If the franchise DO forfeited or
surrendered, or II 1t expire by etfiux of
time, the State takes possession Of the
road and runs it herself, or employs q
new agent. The company cannot keep
the road any moro than an outgoing
collector Of port can appropriate to
himself the customhouse where ho did
his official work. The State having
need OF public highway at q particular
ton TO open and put it in condition to
be used; and, by way Of reimbursing
the builders and operators, she author
ICES tax upan those who travel or carry
merchandise over it. But this tax must
be reasonable, just, uniform, prescribed
and fixed, so that every citizen may
know beforehand exactly how much he
must pay. and 30 that when he pays OF
tenders the proper amount he will ac-
quire an absolute an perfect right to
the use of the road. The amount Of the
tax, toll, or freight in any case is not a
subject of bargain between the shipper
and the corporation, but thing to be
settled, fixed and prescribed by public
authority. II the company may charge
what it plcases, then the road 10 not a
public highway; the public has no right
in it at all, and the charter which auth
orizes the taking Of land to build il 10
unconstitutional and VOID.
| The reasonableness Of the freight
tolls or taxes that may be charged upon
any railway will depend on the expenses
of running and repairing it and on the
cost of construction. The latter will, of
course, be the principal element in the
calculation, for the tolls ought to be
high enough to give the corporators 0
fair profit on the capital they have ac-
tually invested. But many of these
corporations have issued large amounts
of stock and mortgage bonds, for which
the holders have paid nothing or much
less than their nominal value. Another
way Of enlargement their apparent
Dimensions is to water their stock under
the pretenss Of increasing their capital,
while, in fact, the additional shares are
divided among themselves without put
ting new dollar into the business. OF
course nobody thinks that the real cost
Of the road is to be measured by the
nominal amount OF these bonds and
shares. 1t il easy for competent engi.
necr to tell how much any road ought to
cost; supposing the work to be honestly
done and literally paid for. That being
ascertained, you have the true basis Of q
calculation which will show how much
the tolls ought to be.
| If railroad corporations have the I'M
limited power which they claim, then
!, all business 10 at their mercy; agricul'
ture, commerce, manufactures must
suffer what they choose to inflict. They
may rob labor of the bread il wins, and
and deprive all enterprise Of its just
, reward. Though this power does no,
belong to them legally, they have beer
permitted to usurp it, and need no,
tell you that they have grossly abused
it. We know that they make their ex'
. actions with an eye single TO their owr
advantages, without considering any
right or interest OF the public. They
boldly express th0ir determination e
charge as much as the traffic will bear
that is to say, they will take from the
J profits of every mans business 40 much
as can be taken without compelling him
to quit 1t. In the aggregate this
amounts to the most enormous, oppres.
J sive and unjust tax that ever was laid
, upon the industry Of any people under
the sun. The irregularity with which
this tax is laid makes it still harder to
bear. Men 60 into q business which
J may thrive, at present rates, and will
find themselves crushed by burdens I'm.
expectedly thrown upon them after they
get started. It 10 the habit Of the rail
road companies to change their rates OF
transportation often and suddenly, and
in particular to make the charges ruin.
ously high without any notice at all
The farmers of the great West have
made q large crop of grain, which they
may sell at fair prices il they can have
it carried to the Eastern ports, even at
the unreasonably high freights Of last
summer. But just now it Is said that
the railway companies have agreed
among themselves to raise tho freight
five cents per hundred weight, which 10
equal to an export tax upon the whole
crop of probably $75 100000. The
farmers must submit to this highway
robbery or else keep the products OF
their land to rot on their hands. They
submit, of course, 40 all other slasses OF
industrious people submit to similar
impositions. Common justice impcra-
lively requires that freights be fixed,
settled and prescribed by law, and tina,
they be not changed at the mere will OF
the railroad companies. But the dis
ordinations which make the ratss I'm.
equal are the most odious feature
Engineering Neps.
| As no response has boon made to the
inquiry of last week whether calf vas
beneficial 10 wheat land, we will publish