Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1884-04-04
STRONG RAlLROADrALE.

The article following was written 70.
the New York San by Frank wilkeson,
son of the Secretary of the Northern
Pacific Railroad Company. and is about
as clear and strong statement of the
erievaLce of the pe Jple caused By the
railroads of she country as has vet been
put forward:
The Western treSdsiQf producers re-
aii1e that they are hes Willy handicapped
Ia the race noE 20 se run bet y cen them
ana the poveFtv-s'rickeu tilierS % the
INDIAN wheat fields. by the excessive
cost OF transporting their produce to
| our export port. lnis cost /, due not
10 the tariff Oh iron. AS the British free
{ adcrs would have Us believe. but 10
| the practice that has been foster.d uu-
der Repu alIcan rule ef allowing shrewd.
nnsSrLpulous mcu to mortgage the
groSta and Industry # our c,,untrv by
builolng railroads with money o1fai ned
from the sale OF bonds, while they REQ
l0tely refused to pav n cen; for the stock
tha; repre- ,euts the road This ~ystem.
conceived in dishonesty and Crown TO
full maturity under the mono, ,Iuly-fos-
terlng care of the Republicans, IL called
developing the c,rntrv Ra lro.d4 arr.
built through unlnn. .bitei regions. The
stock Is issued to III. promoters of the
scheme. and they hold 1t 1nt'l the con-
tr, Is settled. Then thev extort suffi-
cient transportation charges on tae aurl-
/ cultural produ"e - ped 20 market to
| pay olVldsndS o. VS. paper estates
that have been ere ,tea by the eugraver's
art
/ IN q
| along the line Of the greatest rriIroad
| III the State of New York. :,,id fhe in.
crease IN manafac .urIng r~suiting from
the rapidly growing population, supple
mrntod by the growth of the agrlcrI-
tural West, has been the us, of tie
| prosperity of that road, and not the
marvellous ability displayed In its mar
agement. as the modest owners would
have Us believe. As the people
furnished more aud more materials to
be- transported to market, the road he
came crowded with business, and the
stock was watered and watsred to keep
the dividends within the lawful limit
The owners of the road falsel, claimed
that they had added to the value of the
property bv their able management,
and that they had right TO its in
CREASED valae. They ignored the truth
that every child born, every whe-l built
ever vine planted, every blow struck in
labor by the people living In the vast
territory tributary to the road, added to
Its value, and that the people were en-
titled to the increase. But it WAS bold
ly APP rOprIated by the family owning
the road, aud is held today bv them
Tney gloat over this wealth. and cheer
fully damn the public tina. created it. |
The arrogance of the claim has been
submitted to by the people, and they
have paid into the packets of this fami- |
ly alone sum that is greater til IN the |
estimated cost of 4 system of ,nals |
that would speedily revolutiopiz. trans |
p"rtation III thus country, and reduce it's
cost TO a nominal SUN.
In tie West things are worse. There |
the arrogant mauAgers of the railroads |
parce! out tho States. They agree that |
certain Territories ard reOples Shall be- |
long exclusively t. certain TO Is St,,e |
lines are ignored. 1t is the North |
western rerr!tory.' the Rock Island |
Territory" the "Northern Pacific Ter |
ritory," and the people living on the |
land are spoken of rs our people" Ia |
railroad offices. That the revenues of |
tue holders oi tue paper estates may DE |
rendered stable, a policy of pooling the |
prohts, and of preventing competition |
between the transportation Companies !
has been adopted. The last cent that !
the producers can afford to pay ia DR. avn |
from them. But the ti,ne is near when |
they cin no longer pay. The breadstnff |
consumers of Europe have become im-
patient of belpin to pay the revena. Of
the paper estates he 4 by American rail- |
road owners. They demanded cheaper |
breadstntfs, and they nave opened a
wheat field which will nrcessltate \ re-
duction in the cost of transportation in
this country. or "A O ssatiou Of the ex-
portatlOn Oi bre ldstuffs.
Our new countries, where the virgin
wheat lands lie, that Wa depend on for
food and expected to control the mar
kets of the world by, are gridironed
with railroads built, and dishonesty
bonds. Not cent was put into the
stock. FROM the Canadian Pacific
southwark to the Gulf of Mexico, the
east and west lines. with a single ex-
ception, are roads built for the sole
purpose of plundering the people.
Their stock represen .s nothing. But
by the most outrageous laws ever sub
mitted to by IN intelligent people, the
directors of those roads will be allowed
(have been allowed III some cas's) to
wiring out of the people sufficient money
to pay dividend on stock that has no
more actual value than circus posters.
Tax collectors sit In every freight office
throughout our land, who gather the
trib1te paid to the dlgnita les OF trans
portatiun, who were created by the Re
publican party.
There are hundreds of millions of
dollars of railroad stock. mortgages on
the industry of the people, on which
dividends are being paid that represent
nothing but the etfrontery of railroad
directors. One of the Fundamental laws
of our system of government Is that the
people shall Lot be taxed without their
consent. This law Is rigidly adhered to
in all matters of State, county. town and
school district taxation. A bond that
has the faint of irregularity about 1t Is
worthless. The people have never hest
tated to Tepudiate an illegal obligation
but they have tamely submitted to the
outrage of allowing men to issue hun
dreds of millions Of dollars of railroad
stock that represents nothing but the
cost of printing, and they have paid
| dividend. on this stock Annually mill
| ions of dollars are collected from the
violation of the natural rights Of man
kind If the people murmur and threat
ell unfavorable legislation. their repre-
sen,atives are purchased with the money
they have ptii to the roads. They have
not been able to obtain relief. State
representatives, Congressman, Senators,
Judges, all are controlled. purchased
with money that has been drawn from
the people under the cover of unjust
laws.
The CoMINa RUsH.-From late
| Hell. ma Indepef.dent We take this: Mon
day last was the big tram day on the
| Utah 4 Northern. the nerth boand ex-
press running in two sections, bringing
400 emigrants. nearly all destined for
| Washing ton Territory. When congre-
| gated at Garrison. the platform there
looked, iu all save the foreign aspect.
| like a scene at Castle Garden. North
ern Pacific train was awaiting their ar
rival. ard probably before this they are
looking for homes and farms in our
n-ishboring Territory. They were a
1 49, ,>..nnlS and mostly