The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1883-01-04
RAILROADS.

It is a recognized fact that railroads
have, in sense, made our state. They
have by means of circulars and pamph-
lets extensively advertised the state,
and thus brought it to the attention of
thousands of immigrants who haYe set
tied amongst US, and are now an I'M
portant class of our population. They
have aided in the general material de-
velopment of our resources, and
have proved themselves an Invaluable
agency; and all this is thoroughly APP
preciated by the pablo.
While this i true, 1T is equally true
that the state has made the railroads,
so that mutual obligation exists be-
| tween them. To encourage, and pro-
mote, and aid the building of railroads
throughout the state, our citizens very
| wisely procured from the general gov
eminent large grants of land, supple
| mented by a donation from our own
state of 100000 acres of our school lands,
and government and municipal bonds,
with first mortgage guaranteed bonds,
amounting to about $27, BOG, 10000, SO
that millions of acres of land and mil
lions of dollars OF money have been do
mated to aid In the construction OF the
various railroads of our state.
| These generous donations of lands
and bonds were made by the people of
Kansas for the purpose of building the
magnificent railroad system of our
state, and for their generous treatme emit
they expected generous, or at least fair
treatment in return, and for years this
expectation was fully met. These lib
eral subsidies at the outset enabled the
projectors of our railroads not only to
build and equip and maintain the roads
in question IN a style second to none in
the country, but they also placed the
original constructors in position to
greatly enrich themselves as individuals.
The actual cost OF building, equippinR
and maintaining these roads did not ex
coed more than one half of the cash
/, value of the lands, mortgages and
bonds donated to them, thus leaving
about fifty per cent of what has been
donated for the construction of railroads
to 90 into the pockets of the manage
ment. And yet, profitable as railroad
building has been to the construction
companies, the state, and che people
did not complain, or interpose any OBJ
stacles to the successful construction of
railroads, until after the passage of the
consolidation act, authorizing rail-
roads to consolidate and lease railroads.
u Up to this period IN the history of the
state there was a perfect understand
ing, and the best of feeling between the
public and the railroads. Competition
existed between the roads, and fair and
generous treatment was accorded to the
public But soon after the passage of the
"act" above referred to, the original
railroad companies, haying sold or leas-
ed their roads to second parties, these
new corporations, taking advantage of
this law, proceeded to consolidate their
interests, to the detriment and injury
of the public.
| From that hour the antagonism be-
tween the people and these corporations
has steadily increased, until to-day we
nave in our midst the strange spectacle
of rich, strong, influential and solidi.-
fed monopoly, greedily encroaching
upon the rights of the very people
whose creature they are, and to whom
they owe. not only their existence. but
the very patronage which enables them
TO weld a power whose possibilities are
simply appalling. Steadily have these
corporations invaded the rights of the
people. They have taken advantage of
the necessities of business and COM
merce; they have, upon the hImsiest pre-
text, presumed to do high banded and
outrageous things; they haYe ignored
the real interests of the state, and have
simply used the state and its resources
TO the detriment and injury of ifs agri-
cultural, commercial and manufacture
ing interests, SO that by systematic
and thoroughly organized method of
pooling their earnings" by unjust dis
examinations against localities and indi
viduals, by excessive and exorbitant
| freight and passenger rates, by draw
backs secretly allowed, thus demanding
other patrons, as we'll as by an AFRO
| CANT and intolerant policy, they have
made it practically impossible for our
merchants and manufacturers to COM