National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1885-05-09

The New York World very aptly takes
the case Of tho elevated railroads of that
city to illustrate how great corporations
contrivo to rob tho people. Two COM
panies built tho elevated roads, the Metro
politan aud tho New York. The mort
gage debt of the two amounts to S21,3l9,-
600 and their stock to Si3,0O00O0. Under
their charters these corporations are
bound TO reduce thcir fares whenever
their receipts amount TO moro than
enough to pay running expenses, interest
on their bonds, and 10 per cent. dividend
on their stocks.
Their receipts last year were moro than
enough to do all this yet no reduction is
to DO made because Gould and the other
great capitalists who own the two roads
have contrivcd by legal evasion to pre-
vent IT, Owning the greater part of tho
stock Of the parent companies, thoy organ
lied the Manhattan Railway Company
with tl3,OOO,OOO capital stock representing
nothing and leased to It the structures,
rolling stock, and privileges Of the Metro
politau companies. Under this device
the people of New York arc not only
cheated out Of tho benefit OF lower fares,
but they are also forced to contribute
dividends upon tho $l3OOOOOO stock of
the Manhattan Railway Company that
does not represent single dollar Of
money spent in construction or in fact
for any purpose whatever.
Is it any wonder that men like Gould
can amass fortunes within lifetime
that amaze the world when they arc
suffered to Cypress the people by such
means of dishonest legal trickory as that
made use of in this case' Any ono Of
average information, Of course, knows
that tho case Of the elevated roads is not
singular 1t is typical of what has been
done in a score of instances with the re-
suit Of building up tho colossal for
tunes of tho Nanderbilts, Goulds, and
other plutocrats Of this country. At one
stroke Commodore Vanderbilt added to
| the debt of the New York Central $20.-
oOO,OOO of stock that was representative
of nothing, but on which tho revenues of
the road must furnish the means of pay
ing dividends to-day. And Gould has
piled up such watcrod stock mountain
| high to rest as an incubus on the reven-
ues of the Erie. tho Wabash, the Missouri
! Pacific, tho Western Union Telegraph,
and, in fact, 1t may DO said of every great
corporation upon which he has laid his
/ wizard touch.
The evil of the whole business is that
such transactions lay tax upon the peo-
pie without their consent, tho proceeds
OF which go to mon who arc not Of tran
scendent merit, but quite the reverse.
| Ninety-six millions Of people travelled by
| the elevated roads of New York city last
year, and over hundred millions will do
so this year. Under the law to which
the roads owe their existence the fares
should now be reduced, but since Gould
and his lesser allies can evoke the
subtletics of the law to defeat the law,
no reduction will be made, and every one
of the hundred millions of passengers
will be taxed in a sum which will consti-
tute great aggregate and go directly
into the pockets of these evil excrescences
of defective system. Similarly, every
barrel of flour, every bushei of wheat,
and every pound of meat that comes
east over tho great trunk lines must cost
tho consumer enough to pay the tax
levied to pay dividends upon watered
stocks held in the vaults of the money
kings. Tho day will yet come when the
American people will arise in their might
and throttle the controllers of the giant
corporations into obedience to the laws
that nominally were mado to bear with
equal force upon the poor man and the
rich man alike.