The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1882-04-19

than party, saying who shall fill the offices
and shall remain in private life.
In proof of what / have said l will let
two of the railroad magnates speak for them
selves Jay Gould was calldd before said
New York committee, and when asked if
the Erie Railroad under his management
interferred in politics, said:
Certainly we do. If friend is running for
the Legislature or judiciary, we help him both
with railroad votes and money.
Do you consider that this cancels all obliga-
Wen, not always. Ny experience is that it
is cheaper to buy man after h Us elected than
What is your politics, Mr. Gould?
In Republican district | am a Republican; !;
in Democratic district, Democrat; In a
doubtful district, doubtful; but am always an
Erie man.
Mr.. William H. Vanderbilt, in speaking
of prospective railroad commission, said,
with a most remarkable air of nonehal-
ance:
Either the road must belong to the commits
sion or the commission to the road.
Is it matter of special wonder, when men
of their rank and position publish to the
world such facts and opinions, that appre-
hension of pending evils should quicken
the public pulse and demand legislative
action for publication and control of these
corporations, which, though generally con-
sidered soulless, have through their char
ters secured the boon of Immortality.
To show the estimation in which railroad
companies are held, their usurpations of
power. and the danger to be apprehended
from Them l quote from a report made by a
Senate committee raised to look into rail-
roads and their management. On page los
of that report they say:
In the matter of taxation, there are to-day four
| men, representing the four great trunk lines
| between Chicago and New York, who possess,
and who not unfrequently exercise, powers
which the Congress of the United States would
not venture to exert. They may at any time,
and for any reasons satisfactory to themselves,
by single stroke of the pen, reduce the value
OF property in this country by hundreds Of mil
lions of dollars. An additional charge OF hve
cents per bushel on the transportation OF cereals
would have been equivalent to a tax OF S4o,VJV
coo on the crop Of 1873. No Congress would
! dare to exercise SO vast power, except upon a
necessity of the most imperative nature; and
! vet these gentlemen exercise 1t whenever II
/ suits their supreme viii and pleasure, without
explanation or apology. With the rapid and
| inevitable progress of combination and eonsoli-
dation, those colossal organizations are daily
becoming stronger and more lmperlOus.
With such an announcement coming from
a bipartisan committee of the United
States Senate, is it not time something was
done to check them in the exercise of un-
| licensed power? There is no want of power
! in Congress to interpose; the necessity tor
| its-exercise is most clear; the public inter
ests demand protection; that protection can
be secured alone through the action of Con-
gress; longer delay will but intensity tie
| evils and render the fight with the railroads
more obstinate Then, why not act
promptly and energetically, thus showing
! to the world that we stand for the rights of
! the people, unawed by the power, unbought
| by the money, and unseduced by the bland
| ishments of railroad officials
! do not counsel hasty or inconslder2te
action, which would bring only contempt
| upon ourselves and fail to meet the end con-
| templated Let us give thought to this
subject, hear the arguments for and against
! discuss it freely in this House, and then
/ agree upon some measure just and moderate
| in character to which the people and the
roads can cheerfully subscribe.
While l favor such course as indicated,
| deprecate, and will resist, any Incorporate
and senseless crusade against these COM
panes. They have invested their capital IN
public enterprises which have developed
our w SSJ6TH anu OOdGlOlh "tAAo3
have extended civilization to our geographical
limits and done so much to make our coun-
try great and glorious; and now, by intein-
perate, unwise legislation to so hamper them
as to destroy their usefulness and expungeII
their capital would set US back century
upon the dial of progress and civilization.
| repeat | am not now, and never have been,
the least inimical to railroads, but have
ALWAYS been their fast friend, and what
have said on this occasion is as much III
their interest as that of the general public.
speak advisedly, for I am from the people,
of the people, with the people, and know
they entertain general sentiment OF kind
ness toward railroads; but it comes coupled
with an earnest wish, ay, stronger than that,
determination to have justice and fair
dealing at their hands.
Will the managers of these roads give
heed to "the still small voice" heard in the
land and come up and help us to mature
some legislation which will quiet these MUIR
murings? Are they determined to listen to
no proposition for compromise, to make
no concession, but push their schemes OF
wealth and grandeur until mob violence
shall override the civil authorities, and they
witness the destruction of their railroad
tracks, iron bridges, round-houses and
palace cars?
lam yet to be persuaded that such men as
| Gould, Vanderbilt, Jewett, Huntingdon,
and Willard, are so blind as not to see the
cloud upon the horizon, so deaf as not to
hear the distant thunder which pOrtends the
| coming storm, and that they are soobstinate
| and seIEwilled as to yield nothing 10 public
sentiment, if prompted by no higher motive
than selfinterest. l know, and they es-
pecially know, the power of money, but they
and know full well the impetuosity aud
danger of outraged public sentiment
| The use and ownership of property is but
a conventional arrangement, and in this
| country as in others a class OF people are
| found who acquiesce impatiently IN this
arrangement, especially when large amounts
come to be centered in few hands. These
malcontents are daily making converts to
| their nefarious doctrines and have succeeded
| to an extent that few apprehend and while
| | would yield nothing to their demands,
and resist them with whatever of force IS
necessary to suppress and keep them under,
vet it is the part of wisdom to afford them
as little excuse as possible for any breach
of law or order.
THE REMEDY.
| approach this part of the subject with
great diffidence and distrust. In this case
| as IN most others 1t Is mucH easier W pOiut
out the evils and defects of system than to
offer a remedy for the same. The railroad
problem, however, cannot be considered as
wholly terra ineognita, since of late much
has been said and written on the subject, of
which l avail myself in coming to my
conclusions.
l premise by saying that all human
affairs must be conducted by means Of
human agencies and instrumentalities, and
while these may prove defective and uncer-
tain. yet no means of higher character can
be employed This Hall, the judges bench,
| the iury-box, and the pulpit are filled by
men finite in capacity and fallible in jndg-
ment. But when we have selected the best
men for these several positions, and have
guarded them as far as possible against
temptation to do wrong, we have gone to
the verge of human perfectibiiity and there
is no step beyond.
A NATIONAL RAILROAD COMMISSION.
l favor the establishment by law of a
tribunal to be called "a National Railroad
Commission" to act as far as possible in
concert with the several bodies of like
6,o.. ffslr 10 ha