The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1884-05-08
THESE KILLIoNALREs NUsT

THESE KILLI0NALRES KUST
PAY.
Chicago Tribune: The announcement
that the majority Of the house Pacific
railroad committee have decided TO re-
port the amendments Of the Thurman
act recommended by Representative
Thompson, of Kentucky, TO compel the
millionaire owners OF the Pacific roads
TO pay their debts to the people of the
United States when they fall due Is very
satisfactory. There are some men on
that committee, like Post, OF Pennsyl-
wanna, and Wilson, of lows, who are
more in favor Of the railroads
than Of the community that
is being robbed by them; but, for
tunately, Representative Thompson and
his associates Of the majority are not of
that kind.
The manner in which the Pacific rail-
roads have sWindled us Is one Of the
most shameful chapters in the history of
corporate and individual greed and cor
ruption. The subject lie one which Is
not generally understood on account Of
lis completely; and yet, when its bear
ings on our politics and Law and the re-
latons Of the corporations 70 the peo-
pie are considered, il may be doubted If
there IL another question before rs
which II is 30 important should be gen
orally compFehended as ihIs. The 500,
OOOOO which tLese subsidized roads al.
ready owe the people and the three or
four millions . year which are being
added to this debt are che least impOr-
tant aspects OF the matter
The central problem Of all Is. Are the
corporations to rule rs, OF are We to rule
ihemf Is this 70 be 9 government by
corporations or by citizens? If q few
rich and ''smsrt" men, grouped under q
charter and having q concrete interest In
few score of millions to protect and
extend, can hoodwInk, corrupt and bam-
6oOzel our congress, and if the con-
stituencIes that stretch out into the po-
litical vistas behind congress are so un-
intelligent and so careless, or both, that
they will lie suplne and do nothing, we
ma1 be assured that the destiny of the
United States 70 become the preserve of
an arisiocracy of corporations is not TO
be arrested.
The adjustment of the Indebtedness of
the Pacific railroads is q test question for
this very reason. The money it involves
Is OF far less consequence than the NOR
ais and citizenship which are to be put
Into the balance against the power and
greed and anarchicsl spirit of the great
transcontinentsl railway companies.
When the Pacific roads began
their existence they owed the United
States $64,623.512 At the date OF
the last annual report OF the COM
missioner Of railroads this debt had, by
the failure OF the subsidized companies
to pay INTEREST, swellei to $102, SIC, 312.
That was July l., 1888. Every month
tens of thousands Of dollars are added TO
the debt. for the companies, although
they are all paying dividends TO their
Stockholders. will not nay the interest
ON the bonds which built tho roads that
earn these dividends.
Not only are these companies allow
ing this enormous debt TO accumulate
against their properties. but Representa-
tive Thompson asserts that they are dis
eliminating in through freights against
the subsidized roads. He says that the
companies have built parallel roads over
which they are diVerting business. They
are thus building up out of the profits
of that which the governmCn mt gave them
q competing line Of roads to the great
depreciation OF The roads built by the
government.
When the government debt falls due
they will quietly abandon to the United
States the rusty rails-and the mortgage
land will serenely go on with
their business over the parallel
lines. AS Representative Thompson
says, How far 1t may be to the interest
Of the Central Pacific and the Union
Pacific to build parallel and competing
roads, surround ami cut of the trade
legitimately belonging to the subsidized
roads as population increase s in the west
and states grow up, thereby rendering
these subsidized lines useful only to
them. can only be determined by their
present conduct. Ifthey are thus strang-
ling them now, It Is not without pur-
pose, and we may expect a continuation
of this policy. The tendency of this is
to endanger the final payment of their
debt to the United States"
The people Of the United States will
hGvs no difficulty in mastering this
simple platform with regard to the
Pacific roads The money they owe
they must pay, and they must pay
when IL falls due. Tie San Francisco
Chronicle says with regard to the Gen.
trail Pacific mGgnates that the net earn
ings Of the road which the government
made them present Of have made four
OF them worth $4,000 900 in less than
sixteen years. This being so, why
should they not be required to pay their
debts when they come due? Why not,
indeedf Precisely the same argument
will apply to the owners Of the other
Pacific roads. They must pay. The
Union Pacific alone has q surplus of
stocks and bonds out OF which 1t could
to-day pay every cent it owes 70 the
government, principal ana interest, and
go on earning dividends for the stock