, 1883-12-01
Monopoly Cursed.

following morrnfnl picture of the grasp.
ing and unjust methods pursued By those
lines in this way:
Dc every hand one hears grieyous com.
plants OF the extortiors of the railroad
monopoly. Producer. cannot find a pro.
6tabie market for surplus, because the
cost Of transportation is so great. Fol
example, the wine men can sell q yer,
good sound wine in the wood for % cent.
q gallon. To transport this to New York
will cost 20 cents per gallon, leaving the
shipper TO bear the loss by leakage, etc.
The eastern demand is for cheaper grade.
OF wine The importer VIII not believe
that there ie produced in California any
wine worth more than % cents, although
he may know that the viticulturist has
spent years IN ripeni,'ss and hl.ading his
product. Ii goes'without saying that the
rates of freight practically place an EN-
hargo on any considerable Development
of the export trade in California wines.
For while there was an outlet BY way
of Cape Horn, although the time consum-
ed by the voyage, loss of interests and
other risks were an obstacle to shipping
wine by sea. But latterly the railway
ring has, to use the words of local ship
per, "corraled the. clippers" so that there
is no longer any competition between the
railroad and the clipper lines between
New York and San Francisco. The poli-
cy of the railroad managers is to put on
goods offered for shipment "all that the
traffic will bear" There is no attempt to
disguise this. The rates OF freight rise
and fail with the market prices Of the
commodities usually shipped. Thus a
grape grower in Sacramento valley asking
for the rate of freight on his crop to be
shipped to San Francisco is required TO
diyulge all details of the proposed trans
action. When the agent of the railroad
sscertains Just wha. the net profit of the
shipment will be, he fixes bis rate at a
figure that viii give the railroad company
nearly all that profit That is to say,
having learned that the shippers state
ment is correct, the railroad Company
charges him rate high enough to take
nearly all the profit from him, but not so
high rs to induce him to keep his crop at
home. Sometimes agent does over
reacn himself, and so We hear of crops
rotting on the ground for lack of means
of transportation. II the railroad compa-
ny declares that California shall not grind
whea. and ship -four, it claps on -four a
high tariff, but allows the wheat 10 es-
cape bv means Of low rate Ii any
branch OF manufacture is TO be discour-
aged in any section or at any point, 1T IS
done - means OF discriminating freight
charge one Esea-a.s OF 0prsc-=.ol 10
the special contract, an invention Of the
Central Pacific monopoly. By this the
shipper in consideration of what are call
ed special privileges, agrees not to ship by
any other line of transportation, nor to
in any way those who do.
In order TO bind him securely the special
contract contains clause by which the
railroad may overhaul and search the
books and papers whenever sus-
pic;on of his disingenuou.ness may arise
This is the true 'ironcland contract OF
which eastern readers may have heard.
Thus it viii be seen that the railway ring
has managed to seize powers rather sx-
ceed;ng those of any liberal form OF gov
ernment. 1t DEGREES what industry SHAH
crow and what shall be destroyed. lt
reserves to itself right of espionage into
a mans private business which Is esssnti-
ally unRepublican. Its rates are deter
mined. not BY the laws of trade, but by
the necessities and abilities of the people.
And this, toe, on a railroad built out OF
the treasury of the United States, San
Francisco people speak with something
like a shudder of the days of DeNoung
and ;Kallooh. It was diagraceful and
dismal epoch in the history OF the state
But in his Wild crusade against the rail-
way ring Kearney did strike on many q
vein of truth and common sense. Ii we
REGARD the matter of railway fares and
the accommodation and service on the
Union and Central Pacific roads We shall
see how grossly unjust it is that the ROADS
built as they were at the public expense
should be the most costly to the pubic.
For example, the westward-bound fra'ei-
er pays $50 30 for a frst-class passage
from New York to Omaha, 800 miles
From Omaha TO San Francisco, 1863
miles, he pays S95. That is to say, al
though the difference in the distance be-
tween the outer two points and Omaha Is
only 400 miles, he pays nearly three
times as much for his passage from onis'
h, to Ssp Francisco as he does fer his
passage from New York to Omaha Ana
when we consider the difference betwt1s
the service on the Central and Union IA
cifc railroads ard those east OF omaha'
the rate of speed and the accommodations
on the former are simply e1asPerating
The average rate of speed on the Psci'
&c roads is twenty miles an hour. Inc
meals, suatched at wayside dens, are al
once the despair and The ruin OF the ira''
eler. OF course, since the open'ns OF us
Northern Pacific railroad, there has oesr
some show of bettering the conditionI O
thincs on the overland route. IL IS sac
that the dingy 'silrer palace car
in Use OIL the Central Pacific, bui
| when the read was built and as an
| tiouated as It's general management, ar
| to be replaced by new COACHES. Inc 'ihi'
a.