Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1881-03-04

himself appears to be, and it is easy to
comprehend the bitter feelings that such
supposed robberies as these mu st engender
in the public mind.
Tins is the kind of stuff upon which
railroad agitators and reformers feed the
people, and then they prove by complaints
from the people. complaints which are
created by and based upon these miserable
Misrepresentation, that railroad companies /
are public robbers, that the Legislature
must control them and keep them from |
robbing the people of S675,OO0,0O0 every
year, although the whole sum the people |
pay for transportation services is only |
1886, 900, 900. | do not need to say that in
the management of thirty thousand miles
of railroads many just grounds for COM
plant may exist on the part of individuals,
and | am willing to, and have always
acknowledged, that there are great many
abuses that have crept into railroad mans
agement, which it is desirable to remedy,
and which no one is more anxious to
remedy than the railroad companies
| themselves. Some of these difficulties
are, however, of a nature almost insepara~
| BILE from the management of great affairs,
and it would be impossible to so manage
the railroad system of this country as to
| place each individual of the millions OF
customers with which the railroads come
| in contact each of whom wants the rail-
roads run in his particular interest, and Is
apt to complain whrn he discovers that
this is impossible The thousand COM
plants that come from the people must be
sifted, and no Judgment must be rendered
until it has been ascertalned that the COM
plants are based upon ! uSt ground, and
that they are susceptible of a remedy. Mr..
Thurber and the Board of Trade and trans
portation claim that New York should not
pay more for transportation to or from Gin
cinnati than Baltimore pays, which latter
city is nearer Cincinnati by 288 miles.
| How do the citizens Of Baltimore like such
a proposition? They say it would exclude
that city practically from participation in
the trade of the country. The railroad COM
panies, by long experience, have agreed
upon certain differences, in the rates from
E both cities. under which it is demonstrated
, that the trade of both cities prospers and
that the advance and increase of business
in both keeps pace in about the same rate
o The railroad companies believe that they
do Justice to both communities. Yet New
, York is not satisfied and Baltimore is moi
, either source, and if you take the justice o
i these complaints for granted without am
f investigation, and multiply them by every
e Individual similarly situated, you may readi
Y ly account for the thousand complaints tina
: come to Judge Black on the wings of the
$ wind, but when these complaints are an
g alyzad, they disappear as Judge Black
4 figures, according to which the countr
4 is robbed of $675,OOO,0O0 annual
= by the railroad companies. Til
!. great mistake that is made by the railroa
/. abusers is that they take up an individua
|. one without examination, and men assum
10 it to be just comp amt, and then turtle
At assume that the complaint applies to ever
= individual in the country. In order TO put
q check on these false reasonings, which lea
- to such ridiculous results, we must regar
70 the railroad system as whole, and II
of can be shown that the railroad companie
- did not receive even sufficient compenss
* ton to cover the expense of the servlt
o they render, it is impossible for the con
-. plant of extortion and undue exercise
" supposed monopoly power can be just fe
q because the aggregate of these wrongf
~ acts would certainly show some trace
70 the general results, whereas the gener
nv results prove that these complaints a
= not based upon facts. They are as Ill
founded as the statements made
es Judge Black as to robberes committed
lat railroad companies, and the impressions
II generally believed in that railroad cor
ice panies are immense monopolies WIFI
n abuse their power and exact unjust tax
lus from the people. Statistics show tn
2gs during the last five years one-fourth
ne the whole railroad property has go
ler through bankruptcy. The cost of tn,
aus property amounted to $3.50, 100000. L
la' stockholders have lost their whole inveE
"A ment, and a great proportion OF 1t
lne inc been lost By the bondhoders. How C
Vi any sane man make the charge against
VI railroad companies that they are monop
'ail lists and extortionlsts that can, and
on charge what they please? Would thu
1ge several hundred railroad companies t
M have suffered in this way have gone IL
en- bankruptcy if they Guild have chare
'ad what they pleased? The fact is that
the charges of railroad companies are circu
the scribed and limited by laws so power
ana that those who understand them can o
up- laugh at the assertion made by Sena
ncy Window and Judge Black, that four r;
age road Presidents have it in their power
OF . arbitrarily make transportation char
ana what they please. They can no more
34,s so than the agriculturist can fix the pr
lted of the products he raises, or the vari
So manufacturers of the country can fix
ney price of their wares and force people
to buy at the prices so fixed. The CORE
ms, ness of this proposition can be clearly d.
all onstrated to every intelligent man, bu
> o, would require too much space in this &C
DAD munication, and | fear that have alre
49,, extended my remarks to too great a len
1t OF although there is much that would lik
mes say upon many other misstatements
rom were made before the Anti Monopoly M
say ing. If time permit and you will ac'
heir further commun;ca tions ON the subiec
men may refer to it again. ALBERT FIN
nent