The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1881-03-09
,,dre HACKS Reply 20 Commissioners

have Jus. read MIR. Fink's article in the
lorla Of the 2j.h ult. Considering the
mai importance ofthe subject, your readers,
oweyer much they may admire and love the
resent style of managing railroads, will not
anne YOU for admitting short reply. his
teat point, il il eau be called point Is
II the abuses aud eXiortion of toe railway
k,poratious are not as great as | supposed.
may bs right in his assertions thst my e.
ma IS too high, but no does Dot convince
tdat his own is not entirely too low.
What the newspapers made me say | know
pt but what I did say substantially vas
At the carrying corporations hsi srght to
eh reasonable ireighis rs would reimburse
EN- the cost Of the service ard make fair
Fof. besides on too capital by them actual
invested in tho construction Of the roads
IN they ta&n beyond tina. is un!aWiu. md
kioriijnate How much tho aggregate Of
his excess amouut5 70 hss never been com
lted; could only gige sone general res
BIS for believing il 10 he very large, the
bllowioe sro tho bases OF th3 oasy cslcu'H-
on was able to mate:
First The through ratea are tho lowest
bat are anywhere charged, bud those fa'as
10 now from Chicago 10 New York, 80 cents
Ser 100 weight, or 81 per ton.
Secopd--rhe evidence Of perfectly reliable
|kperls, taken by the Hepburn committee,
Esyss no room to doubt t6at 10 cents per 100
Ieipht makes them profit, though perhaps
| OF large one, and ut 20 cents II is enor-
nous
Third-But the four great trunk lines
i tal I'll.
/ md combined to charge m excess Of Is
ent por 100 weight, or So ger ton above
h. highest ratio which law or justice author
Ee;.
| Fourth Ii the ibcis au6 calculations Of
|beocu sr,s.cnal compittaes sra 70 be Croft
Iej. na advance Of only cents GA the 100
gr would be equal 10 anad iton.l tux Of
i75 600 OU0 M he whole agricultural crop OF
| $50 N.d 10 cents, by simple arithmetic, is
k22j 900 900
Fiuu believe. though Of course | can
no. BE- are, ln4t tho transport, ton of the
! mp does no, constitute more than one.
|hird a the Whole business done On lie
|brougn railroads; therefore we multiply
hes OC0 900 by three to fl d what the whole
(Scess amounts to- Tho result is 1878 000-
MOO sum simply appalling.
Sixth i have no means OF knowing how
kuch Is the local freight ON The through
lines ard on the shorter broncoss. It is pro.
kably nucn less than the long hsu 8, but the
|ycesses are Internationally 50 much greater
|hat II Gems fair to add at least another
k225 900 900 on that account.
Now | do not pretend that this estimate il
Esctionslly accurate. but merely that it il
hsde in good fpith from the pest materials
|sd Its swfu!ly large. tske shame to
hyselt snd 10 nv fellow cr2pns when
blink !h4t We have beer tame and stupid
|nlu.h 10 bear such burdens 10 silence Mr.,
Fuk i'll relieve us greatly by showing that
be rsiiroad mcnopolies have been more
boder to in their exactiops than we suppos.
y. Bis efforts to that end will have nv
|s:t wls1e. foe their success. Tho less the
bu ; the better will be our cAaYcpe of RI.
brmnr them altogether. Our facts and
CURES ara submitted 20 the scrutiny of
|be ni!ruad advocates, in the fun consois
|usn,s. that they probably MED revision
Ehcn We ourselves are not nble 10 give
benz.
But Ar Flax must come up to this work
1ureiy AID in wny consistent with what
ou ci' "thp equity OF lis MAD" Wysl-
yer "Polr's MsnuaI" may say, he must not
!, u. TO disteirve the known and uc&powl.
ge5 nct thAt railway corporations have
bu.ed heir power to make charges oxtof-
in4.e, unjust and UNEQUAL. Mr. will H. 90
o. lin to show that one. fourth Of tho rail,
O,d rr,perty IN the cuuutry has gone
hr Ia bankruptcy in the last five years
llnbti,ss Tins is true, but these corporations
u not brought to Insolvency by their excess
70 honesty or the seeere mod, ration OF their
har!as. W-teied stock, the false sppropri-
ion Of mortgage bonds, and sham ntracts
II work at three times its value, which the
lsu sgeIs made by themselves, with them.
ives and for themselves, will sufficiently
count for their condition, without sup
oslng that their freights and fares were too
w.
AS spool Commissioners" Mr.. Fink doubt
ss understands this business very well, and
, can show, if ANYBODY can, ~ what OK.
NJ aud at what cost to the pubic tho rail
,ad corporation, have abused their trusts,
nd especially what share of the ipiquity has
one into tho pool of the confederated mo-
opolies. nm sure he will fnd no occasion
, retract his admission that many lust
rounds Of compl,iu exist, and that there
re- many abuses in railroad management,
hich demand remedy This being he
state ofthn casa, and assuming
Mink "A Ia "A the hind nf m lu van 1asnrih.