Omaha daily bee., 1883-03-29

n's last message TO the Nevada legts-
~lature, made the people Of that state
"the victims Of an Injustice in the
matter Of transportation charges that
In well.nigh intolerable." 1t 10 by
this theory that tho same nan and his
fellows have, according to the off cial
statements of the surveyor.general OF
Nevada, made rates that destroyed
young manufacturing enterprises
struggling into life in Nevada, for the
reason that II goods we're made on the
ground the road would lose the trans.
portstion on them from the east and
from California. Huntington's Gen.
trial Pacific corporation also informed
the farmers Of Elko county that II
they assessed the property Of the cor
porstion In that county any higher
than the figures named BY the road 1t
would ship grain from California into
their own local markets at rates so
low that their crops would be unsal-
able even to their neighbors,
This theory was stated In it's most
aggressive and Offensive form by Lo.
land Stanford, Huntington's partner,
and the president of the Central Pa.
cifie, In o communication which he
sent to the chamber Of commerce Of
New York. He denied In substance
that the railways were public high.
ways and common carriers deriving
their existence from the state, and
asserted that they owed 40 duties to
the public other than those of the
merchant, the farmer, or the lsborer.
He repudiated the idea Of state regu-
~lation, which he said was on a par with
the principles OF the communists. As
to the decisions of the supreme court
he declared that the "sgitator Kear-
ney advocated no doctrine with regard
to property more atroolous than the
principles embodied In the Granger
decisions and the laws they sustain. "
The u~tterances of Messrs. Huntington
and Stanford taken together rise to
the very ecstasy of insolence, consider.
Ing that their enormous fortunes are
the result of the gift to them from the
state of charters with almost unlimited
privileges, and of tens of millions of
acres of public lands, and tens of mill
Hons Of dollars IN money. The citizen
who, bearing these facts In mind, can
read these utterances of the creatures
OF his bounty without flaming into
anger must be q very equable person.
Railroad property is not like other
property, either practically, or legally,
or historically, or In any other light
in which 1t might be regarded. If II
is like other property, like the farm by
Its side, then its owners may, If they
choose, operate 1t or not. The farmer
need not pillow. The railroad, accord
Ing to Huntington, need not run ita
trains. The farmer may charge what
he chooses. So, says Sanford, may
the railroad. These men by the favor
of their fellow citizens get possession
of the highways of travel and traffic
and then say to their creators and VIC
Tins, we will do as we please with
"our property"
The people of Tennessee will be per.
fectlv safe In repelling the reptllisn
embrace which has caught Nevada In
such q deadly grip. Huntington and
Stanford do not monopolize the cap.
ital and enterprise Of the world. Every
civilized nation except the United
States has q national regulation of the
railroads in force. More than twenty
states In the Union have railroad com.
missions. In M case have they been
sught but q co%nservator of railroad
welfare. In their last report the rail.
road commissioners Of Massachusetts
say: "No one here has ever enforced
q penalty against q railroad corpora.
ton for determination. No one
whose case was proved has aver failed
OF redress when he sought q more
peaceful remedy before the commits.
sioners."
Railroad capital IL safer In q com.
munity where the common carrier and
the people meet before . tribunal like
the railway commissions Of Great
Britain and q majority of the states
than Ina community where the inso-
lent and purse.proud despotism Of beg.
CARS on horseback like Huntington and
Stanford defes the historic rights of
the public and Anglers the lower depths
of the population Into communicate
storms like those which have swept
over California, and will ravage q
wider area II the Central Pacific and
other great corporations do not learn
In time that they cannot continue for
ever to keep themselves outside the
law and keep the people inside the
law.