Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1883-04-12
BLACK ON RAILROADS.
His Argument in Favor Of an Anti-Dis-
elimination Freight Bill-How East
ern Railroad Companies Influence
and Control Corrupt Lagis-
latures.


presence of prominent railroad men
said in sociable, conversational way;
There is now, he said, IAN irrepres-
sible conflict between railroads and
their adherents on the one side and the
rights of the people to the use of their
own public highways on the other |
believe that the Gordon bill ought to
pass, but | don't mean in its present
shape, Us there are omissions and mad
vertences about IT, When the constitu-
tional provision which this bill propos-
es to enforce was proposed in the con-
vention there was no animost.y or bitter
feeling against railroads. Those cor
porations were well represented and de-
Tended there. Mr.. Cuyler represented
the Pennsylvania Railroad. That cor
poration caused his election. The next
greatest corporation in tine State had its
own President on the floor, Mr. Gowen
If either of those gentlemen had been
able to point out a single letter that was
unjustly harsh or severe upon the rail
roads it would have been stricken out
by unanimous vote. Neither of them
suggested that the rights of the railroads
were about to be endangered. 1t was
argued there, however, that some of
these railroads, having been chartered
with certain privileges, could make
rates to suit themselves
A REASONABLE LIMIT TO CHARGES.
81 hold that railroad charter with
out a reasonable limit to charges is void.
The road is not a public highway if the
managers may charge whatever they
please. That was settled as early as
1881 in the first great railroad case that
ever came before the courts the case
of Bonaparte against the Camden q Am
boy Railroad Company. To say the
State cannot save the people from such
extortion and fraud is to utter prepos-
ferrous absurdity. BY the right of en-
inent domain the State always has the
power to abate a monopoly. You can
regulate the railroads Just as you can
hackdrivers. The opinion of Judge
Waite in the case of Mann against the
State of Illinois is unanswerable and
settles that point completely. Mr.,
Gowen says the railroads have great
power with the courts. | don't know
how that is, but really they are weak
and powerless in any issue that brings
them before the people. For every
millionaire they have made thousand
paupers; for every man they've done a
favor to they've cheated ten thousand,
and these are the things that will be re-
membered in a popular issue. There's
nothing in the Lords Prayer more cor
rect than the seventeenth article of the
Constitution. Does anybody pretend
that railroad companies have a right to
manopolize not only railroads but other
business besides and fleece the country?
THE INFLUENCE OF FREE TICKETS.
"Does anybody believe free tickets a
good thing? | believe that any men,
Der of this Legislature could be influence
ed improperly by a free ticket. These
tickets may be worth to legislators who
are men of business from 500 TO $500
a year. Now. would there be any differ
ence in principle if Mr. Robins came up
here with cash enough to 90 around
and give that much money to each
member? While you re at it don per-
NIT any Judge, especially any Judge of
the Supreme Court, to take any such
accommodations. | think the judicial
integrity of the country should be like
Caesars wife-not only chaste, but I'M
impeachabe. The railroads ask you to
stop short when you come to something
hard for them to bear A tavernkeeper
indicted for keeping disorderly house
knows he's guilty. His friends and
customers are about to be called up as
witnesses. He knows that he viii be
convicted if they all tell the truth. He
has given them many free drink and
he promises them abundance of free
rum in future if they stop little short
as amply as an umbrella could cover an
ant hill;
"What were your profits in 1869,
from any trade, business or vocation,
wherever carried ong'
And that inquiry was backed up by
thirteen others of an equally searching
nature, the most modest OF which re-
CURED information as to whether | had
committed any burglary or highway
robbery, or by any arson or other secret
source of emolument in my statement
of income as set opposite to my inquiry
No. l.
1t was strange that the stranger had
enabled me to make an ass of myself
1t was very, very plain, and | went out
and hired another artist BY working
on my vanity the stranger had seduced
me into declaring an income OF SPA,
600. BY law 81 600 of this was exempt
from income tax-the only relief could
see, and it was onlya drop in the ocean.
At the legal five per cent. must pay over
to the government the appalling sum
of ten thousand six hundred and fifty
dollars income tax.
I am acquainted with very opulent
man whose house is palace, whose
table is regal, whose OUTLAWS are enor-
nous, vet man who has no income, as
have often noticed, by the revenue re-
turns; and to him | went for advice, in
my distress. We took my dreadful ex-
hibition of receipts, he put on his glass
es, he took his pen, and presto!-I was
apauperl Ii was the neatest thing that
ever was He did it simply by deftly
manipulating the bill of deductions
He set down my State, national and
municipal taxes" at so much; my Gloss
es by shipwreck, fire, etc, at so much;
my "losses on sales of real estate ~ on
&c -,