Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-07-29
TRAVELLING IN A VICIOUS CIRCLE.

before the people, and so they have under
taken TO manufacture one out Of pretended
hostility to the railroads. 1t is notorious
that these same Democratic managers
made the most desperate efforts to form an
alliance with the railroads prior to the
Convention at San jose. The extent OF
their sincerity may be judged from this.
Bat the whole line they have taken is not
only old but utterly discredited. They
have. in the recklessness OF their dema-
gogisg,. put behind them the experience OF
the past twenty years. They have set out
to make war upon the railroads which is
foredoomed to result in nothing because of
its folly and ignorance and perverseneas'
The railroads have nothing to apprehend
from men who attack them with PROPOSE
.ions for twenty per cent. fiat reduction
on fares and freights. The very extravs-
gance of such propositions renders them
entirely harmless. But they are by no
means as harmless to the people. The I'M
scrupulous rogues who masquerade behind
anti-monopoly DISCUSSES, and who are 81
ways prepared to sell out at half an hours
notice, have never done anything but to
DELAY the accomplishment of real reforms.
They are arrant quacks, who only aggra-
vate the diseases they pretend to cure, and
who, by confusing the public mind, render
insoluble problems which would yield to
sober and dispassionate and patient treat
ment.
Several years ago Charles Francis Ad-
ans observed, in the same connection
'.What is called the railroad problem
" seems to me, now more than ever,
thing perfectly easy OF solution; and
& vet one the practical solution OF which
,'is. under existing circumstances, hardly
to be hoped for. The difficulties in the
way are very obvious. Our laws, the
political catch-words which outweigh
81 all argument, and an uniformed pubic
"opinion, do not allow the railroad sys'
Item to follow out quietly its natural
course OF development, subject to an IN
"telligent restraint when that develop
"nent runs into essential abuses. We
"are always pounding away at 1t, 1t IS
true. but generally after crazy,
mistaken fashion, or on some false or
"ouite MINISTERIAL issue. The weak points
"of the system are not generally known ;
"the patience necessary to find them out
"is looked upon as sign of timidity or
treachery and thus every attempt at
dealing with really great and intricate
"subiect takes, soon or late, the form of
"a new quack cureall legislative pill.
Does not every word of this apply to
the history of the railroad question in
California That history is a record of
numerous crazy, mistaken assaults upon
the railroads, inspired by ferocious malig-
nifty, united with blind desire to destroy
the corporations, destitute of reason or
tolerance or patience or common sense.
And what has been the result of these vio-
lent assaults We reply, nothing but
froth and noise. The absence of INTEL
igence in the movements has deprived
them OF all significance, and they have
every one ultimately broken up as a roar
ing line of pillows is broken up when 1T
hurls itself upon rocky coast.
The sound and fury of these Anti Monop-
oily movements have availed them nothing
but to delude the people. They have gone
on to the last pursuing phantoms of their
own creation, and at the first touch of cold
facts they have dissolved and disappeared.
It might have been thought that this ex.
perience, which has been repeated several
times, should have by this time enlght-
ened the public. Perhaps it has. OF that
the election will be the best test. But
the Democratic politicians evidently be-
lieve that the WORKOUT and discredited old
barbarous methods are still good enough to
bait their hooks with, and 30 they proceed
to beat TIE Anti-Railroad tom.toms in the
familiar fashion. The Republican party
has now an opportunity to utilize the
Democracy as shocking example. 1t is
left to the Republicans to show their ap-
probation of the intelligence of the public
by avoiding the plumbers and crudities
into which the demagogism of their OPP
ponents has led the latter, Experience
has proved in the most defnitive way that
the railroad problem never can be solved
in the way the Democrats propose to solve
it. That has been tried, again and again,
and has failed. 1t has been tried SO often,
and has failed so signally, that only an an
commonly impudent knave or stupid fool
would pledge himself at this time to try it
again, or would pretend to regard it as
practical line of policy.
Even when demagogues find themselves
in office they are often compelled by the
inexorable force of circumstances to reason
logically. As an instance of this we will
give an extract from the report of General
Stoneman when he was Chairman of the
Railroad Commission. He then said,
officially: GA proposition to fix by law
"the rates of freight on each commodity
transported, is proposal todetermine the
proportions in which the difference in
"terminal values shall be divided between
{" the producer and the carrier, and to
"value the share allotted to the latter in
advance. But difference of terminal
"values is SO utterly different in the cases
"ot the innumerable variety of different
commodities carried; so varies, even in
"the case of the same commodity, with
seasons, places and circumstances; isso de-
pendent, in many instances, on the course
"of market values abroad, which fuctuate
"even from day to day, that it is simply
impossible to frame tariff based on such
division, which will not prove either in
"effectual on the one hand, or unjust on
ttG ha1 70,