The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1882-09-14
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ST.. Louis, Mo, September sth, 1852, Tine
recent purchase Of the Hannibal " St
Joseph railroad by the Gould syndicate Of
New York, has caused considerable com
ment, pro and con- by the press OF b. Louis.
II Is feared by some, that the control OF
500 100000 OF capital and 1900 men IN
the state Of Missouri, Is menace oil INC
rights and privileges Of freedom which must
be taken coRuizance Of the people. On the
other hand. it is argued, by the press, and by
members of the community at large, that
the policy which governs the conduct oil
the railways of the state will be the same,
whether they are managed ownedand con
trolled by one man or by five thousand
men. The influence OF railroad corpora
ton is no greater because one man or q
half dozen men own 1t, than II IT was
owned by ten thousand men. In TACT, IL
cannot be az great. These questions enter
somewhat into the political canvass which
Is going forward in the state of Missouri, as
pthey do into the political discussions now
taking place in the state Of Texas. Now
and then the cry of monopoly is heard, ana
the people are warned that their franchises
are about to be destroyed 1t seems to me
that this feeling or sentiment of hostility
towards corporations has no proper founda'
ton upon which to stand, and is the result
of prejudice, wholly or in part, of an unen-
lightened understanding. This unfriendly
feeling seems not to be confined TO the
simple alone, but is shared in by, II it
does not have its origin with, those
who are more or less the leaders
of public opinion. This hostility to corpo-
rations, and especially to railroad corpora,
tions, under the name OF "anti-monopoly,"
Is q misty generality, calculated TO mislead
the unthinking. and even to deceive the
elect.
The anti-mohopolists start out upon the
hypothesis that monopolies are inimical to
individual welfare, and are therefore vic
ious; that corporations are monopolies,
and the only monopolies, and that there
fore they should be suppressed, that rail
road corporations are the worst oil 1nonop-
olies, and should be dealt with accordingly.
A monopoly may be defined as having the
exclusive possession of anything. An in
dividual alone cannot create corporation;
a number of individuals associated together
are required to do that. Therefore, a cor
poration cannot be monopoly.
If the people of any state discover that
a certain railroad stock is profitable, they
have the right and all the facilities for pur-
chasing that stock in the market, and becom-
ing monopolists themselves. The simplest
methods possible are devised by the rail-
road corporations themselves, for the buy
ing and the selling of their stocks. The
theory which underlies the foundation of
corporations is opposed to monopolies.
They were invented for the purpose of dis.
tributing the risks and responsibilities OF
undertakings too great for the individual to
engage in. Real monopolists are individuals
who own trademarks, toll-bridges, patent
rights, etc. There is no law to limit
or regulate the monopoly of an individual,
but there exists plenty Of law to
regulate corporations. A corporation is o
cooperative association created by law in
order to afford the smallest capitalist an
equal opportunity with the largest, in any
business in which they may engage. While
it is true that money is required TO enter
corporation, no man will argue that he is
entitled to the benefit of capital without
money. Railway companies are monopo-
lies in the carrying trade only because they
transport goods and passengers at rates so
low as to defy competition. The only leg
islative action which can prevent them
from becoming monopolies is to cause laws
to be passed compelling them to charge
rates so high that other carriers, besides
themselves, can compete for the bust
ness. The aggregation of capital, in itself,
an evil, but when properly employed is a
benefit to community or commonwealth.
BY means of it the wants of the people are
supplied alta cheaper rate and with greater
facility than could otherwise be DONE on
the principle that a business can be con-
Quoted cheaper in bulk than by piece-neal.
ANYTHING that tends to
REDUCE THE OPERATING EXPENSES
OF q railroad corporation in any state, re-
duces the burdens of the public in Just
that proportion. 1t needs no argument to
prove that it costs more to operate two rail-
roads each one thousand miles long, with
two distinct sets of officers, than it does
one railroad two thousand miles in length,
with one set of officers. This is why rail-
roads are combined into systems. .Legisla-
tion tending to disturb those relations uni
formly results in additional expense OF OPP