The patron of husbandry. (Columbus, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1880-12-25

down by Judge Baldwin, in the
case above mentioned, charter is
imperative which authorizes a max
imum of toll or fare so high that the
company is able, without exceeding
it, to exclude the people from using
their own road. In the "Granger
Cases" from Iowa and Wisconsin
the bargain was that the companies
might fix their own rates. But the
Supreme Court of the United States
held that a subsequent law to re-
strain them within reasonable limits
was no violation of the original con-
tract This principle applies to a
company whose maximum rate is
unreasonably high, because such a
rate is practically the same thing as
no limitation at all.
The conclusion that all the rail
road corporations in the country
may be constitutionally restrained
to reasonable and just charges is
not merely drawn from the fact
that railroads are public highways.
IF they owned the corpus of the
road and used it in the business of
common carrier, they might be
compelled to behave themselves
Justly to all their customers and sub
NIT to any regulation for the public
good. The unanswerable opinion
of Chief Justice Waite in Mum
agt. Illinois, Otto 4, p.II3, settled
that.
The reasonableness of the freight
toll or taxes that may be charged
on 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 fair
profit on the capital they have actu-
ally invested. But many of these
corporations have issued large
amounts OF stocks and mortgage
bonds, for which the holders have
paid nothing, or much less than
their nominal value. Another way
of charging their apparent dimen-
sions is to water their stock under
pretense of increasing their capital
while, in fact, the additional shraes
are divided among themselves with.
out putting a new dollar into the
business, OF course, nobody think:
that the real cost Of the road is tc
be measured by the nominal amount
of these bonds or shares. 1t is easy
for a competent engineer to tel
how much any road ought to cost
surprising the work to be honestly
done and literally paid for. Tha
being ascertained, you have a true
basis of a calculation, which will
show how much the tolls ough
to be.
Most of our Western roads were
built with the proceeds of public
lands granted mediately or immedi
ately by the United States to the
several companies which now have
have them in charge They die
notreally cost the stockholders any
thing, and in some instances they
got lands worth a great deal NOR,
than all expenses of making, stock
ing and running the roads. The
two companies between Oman;
and San Francisco raised in casl
out Of Government bonds, land
and mortgages of their franchises
. four or five times as much as they
necessarily expended upon thu
roads. The stock holders, withou
paying anything, put the enormou
surplus into their pockets. Thes'
roads. thus built at the public ex
pense, and in some cases paid 70
by the public five or six times over
: are now claimed as the private prop
erty of the companies, and the RICH
of the public to use them as high
ways is utterly denied. Neverthe
less, think, the claim of these com
panies to take reasonable tolls stand
r upon the same foundation as tina
of companies whose roads wer
built by the stock holders them
: selves, at their own proper expense
The grant of the lands invested tn
grantees with a title which eoult
not be revoked if the conditions o
it were performed. If they sold 0
mortgaged the lands and invested
: the proceeds in the construction o
railroad under a charter from tn
State or general Government which
!, authorizes them to take fair prof
, in the shape of tolls, they have a
good a right to the tolls, as if the cap
tal to build the road had been raised
by themselves; that is to say, thos,
t com panies which built the rail
roads with capital donated by tn,
public have the same right as othe
companies to charge reasonabl,
f toll, though not worse in law. seem
!, in the eye of reason greater out
rage.
If railroad corporations have tn,
unlimited power which they claim
, then all business is at their mercy
agriculture, commerce, manufac
lures must suffer what they choose
to inhict. They may rob labor o
the bread it wins and deprive al
enterprise of its just reward
Though this power does not belong
to them legally, they have been per
mitted to usurp it, and | need no
tell you that they have grossly
abused it. We know they make
their exactions with an eye single
RI tbair oxup ol.,on+a,ra ,,,;4L -.