The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-12-01
LETTER FROM PETER COOPER.
Read at a Recent Tammany Anti
MonopoIY Meeting In New York.

Mr.. John G. Boyd, Chairman of the
Committee of Arrangements of a recent
Tammany Anti-Monopoly mass meet
ing, read the following letter from the
venerable Peter Cooper:
The old parties have all become
more or less corrupt, and there is great
need of reform in the politics of this country.
We need a civil service that shall rid the
country OF its dishonest politicians, who
seek Office only for the spoils. The masses
OF the people take too great an interest in
money making and too little interest in
politics. They leave the affairs of the Gov
ernment to be run by politicians, who
manage things in such way as to absorb
about all the money the people make.
The people of the United States claim to
live under a republican form OF govern
ment, a government that aims to establish
justice, that is based on the equality OF
rights of all its citizens, that protects the
lives and property, and should promote the
prosperity and happiness, of the people.
But so far are we from securing these great
blessings and privileges, to which the
masses are entitled, that it would be more
correct to say that our Government is man
aged by corporations for the benefit of 8
few monopolists. The public lands, which
by Divine right belong to those who culti-
vate and improve them, have deem donated
to corporations in areas large enough, it ls
said, 10 make thirteen States as large as In
diana. These lands should have all been
reserved for those who desired to build
homesteads. The lands and other franchises
| given with them have enabled corporations
| to construct the railroads and to monOpollZe
and control almost the entire transportation
| and travel of the country. These corpora
| tiOns have managed not only TO absorb a
| large portion of the public domain, but
| they have bonded the towns for the construc-
| ton OF the roads to such an extent as to
| practically give them a mortgage on most of
| the improved farms Of the country. The
| people are paying an enormous bill OF taxes
| annually to meet the interest on bonds to
| construct railroads for corpOratiODs-which
railroads should belong to the people. The
monopoles, by controlling the transporta-
ton and regulating the charges for the same,
are really able to control the prices of most
roads have become the public highway, and
they should be established and managed for
the benefit of the whole people, and not for
the piofit OF a few stockholders.
| MONoPOLIEs NEED TO BE CHECKED.
No corporation or individual should be
permitted to monopoliZe the railroads Of the
| country any more than they should the
| streets of our cities or the wagon roads OF
the rural districts. Both travel and trans
portation on railroads should be reduced to
| the lowest possible cost. and cover actual
running expenses and repairs, and secure a
reasonable interest on the capital invested.
| 1t seems to me that there is something de-
cidedly wrong in a system Of railroad man.
agement that would permit few men to
| accumulate hundreds of millions OF dollars.
while many millions of the laboring classes
| who created their wealth are in poverty and
want. Although we have nearly 1OO,OOC
miles of railroads in this country we have
| buu very few railroad companies. The nat
ural tendency Of railroad corporations is to
consolidation, for by so doing they secure
greater economy in management, are able tC
to break down competition and thus in.
crease their profits. The larger railroad
to defy competition, ruin its competitors
and absorb and consolidate their lines.
Unless some vigorous efforts are made by
the people to prevent it, in few years les:
than a dozen different corporations vii
doubtless control nearly all the railroad
lines OF tie country. BY controlling these
roads they practically control the prices o.
the products of the country. Even now
| dozen or more Presidents of railroad cor
porllions can come together aud in hal
hours time can raise the tariff for trans
| poriation and rates for travel to a degre,
that will take hundreds of millions out o
| the pockets OF the people and put 1t int
| their own pockets. They can increase the
cost for the transportation Of grain so mucl
| as to absorb the entire profits of grail
| growing. They can raise the freight OIL
manufactured goods SO to destroy al
profit both 10 the manufacturer and bi
employees. Such being the condition of tn
| railroad accommodations, and such tn
disposition exhibited by the managers, is j
not about time that new party was or
ganiZed that will, by suitable legislation
protect the interests Of those who Great
the wealth of the country by labor, agains
| the eXtortion of those who simply aid il
| securing exchanges of the products of labO
after they are created? ! see no way t
protect the masses of the people against tn
| exaclions of the mOnOpOlists, eXcep
through either State or National legislation
! The latter believe to be the most effective
There are three ways by either of which tn
| people can protect themselves against eX
cessive charges by railroads.
SUGGESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION.
Let Congress pass some general law b
| which uniform system of charges for tn
transportation of freights and for passenger
shall be established which shall be appli
cable to the whole country. In regulatin
these charges, of course due consideratiO
| must be given to differences in cost of con
| struction of roads, difference in grade
etc. While competition might compel a
roads to carry through freight at uniforl
rates, transportation must necessarily CO!
| less on roads with light than on roads wit
!. | heavy grades, and, as a matter of equit,
the latter should be permitted to chare
more for local travel and transportatio
: than the former.
The State or National Government Nigh
| without too great an expense, purchase
, | controlling interest in the stock of one
more trunk lines of roads across the cour
try, and by SO doing establish such rates
! traffic as would barely cover actual e1
penses, allowing a moderate interest on stot
investments. This would, Of course, comp
all otherTOads to conform in the main to tt
prices charged on the roads under Govern
| ment control.
. The Government might build two or thr,
trunk lines of track through the cOuntr
| and let the people furnish their own Gu
and have the use of the tracks, paying
fixed rate per ton per car per mile, sufficlel
: only to cover the cost of keeping the ira,
q in repair. All existing roads would tn
/, necessarily be compelled to compete wi
these Government roads.
, THE CURRENCY.
An important change, that the best inte
: ests of the people, independent of railro;
/, matters, require, should be made in ol
6 currency system; that would provide Il
:, | funds to purchase old roads or constru
z people. Let legal-tender Treasury notes
' | substituted for the $500, ,000, 900 of outstan
/ ing bank notes, and put these Treasu
r notes into circulation by purchasing sto
of old roads or by building new roadbed
BY doing this we obtain far better, sur
c and more uniform currency, and secure va
! liable and cheap transportation facilities t
= the people at the same time. Permit me
:, call the attention of your organization to
few facts in regard to our currency systel
which / think are deserving of the me
/. careful attention, and which regard as
: equal if not greater Importance than t
n question Of transportation. l regard I'll
{ National monopoly as one of t
= most powerful and dangerous of all mono
olies.
:, An organization that has legally grant
to it the power to increase and decrease t
:, amount of money that circulates among t
y people, or, in other words, that can crea
q and destroy the currency with which t
- business of the country is being transacte
becomes an exceedingly dangerous bod
; The National Banks as an organization C
!, initiate and contract the volume of curren
q at their pleasure. They now hold abo
N $3G0, ,000, 900 OF currency created for them
d the Government, given to them practica
, without cost, bearing the sanction of t
- Government, endowed with many of t
D. attributes of actual money, which is I
q ceived and circulated among the people
,s par with coin and legal-tender notes
r the Government, and which enters into
of the business transactions Of the countl