The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1885-03-27

facilities have been steadily improving,
insomuch that a considerable proper
ton Of our population are continually
on the road. The time is sure to come
when travel on the railroads will be-
more than doubled aud even trebled !;
the fares on the roads will be but a
fraction of the present rates. so that
the poor will be enabled to travel by
rail as well as the rich. Is it in
quired how can this condition of things
possibly be reached? The government
will purchase and take possession of
the now existing roads, or build roads
of its own. This is not new idea.
for such action has already been taken
in some countries of Europe. and is
found TO work well, That the rail-
roads can be run under systematized
arrangement of the government vastly
cheaper than by corporations must be
manifest to all. The railroads are
a great monopoly, overshadowing the
country and controlling much of its
legislation. The annual profits of rail-
road investments amount to hundreds
of millions OF dollars. Their owners
are largely composed of millionaires
they invest in railways because of the
profits.
Contrast the railroad system, as
carried on by corporations, with that
of transporting the mails by the gov
eminent. The systematic and econom-
ic methods adopted by the govern
ment gives us cheap letter and paper
postage.
The difference between the govern
ment and corporations is, that the
former does not do bushes for profit
but at the least possible cost to cover
actual expenses. Corporations do bust.
ness to make money. Less than a
half century ago it was proposed to let
the work of carrying the mails to in
corporated companies. It is true the
project did not meet with great favor
but suppose such plan had been
adopted; a letter that now costs but
two cents postage would probably have
not cost less than fifteen or twenty
cents had the mail system been
placed in the hands of a corporation
Governments, state or national, never
undertake to do business for the PEG
pie with view of making a percent.
age of gain. The New York and Erie
canal, that first great enterprise of in
ternal improvement, owned bys the
state, always kept down the tolls te
the lowest figure sufficient to cover ex
penses. But had that great work beer
owned by a corporation, it would
never have served the public interest
as it did. but it would have beer
managed as money-making monopoly
There is margin for profits on rail
way passenger travel, even at the low
rates of fare to the New Orleans Elk
/ position. Some of these rates are no
more than one-fourth the regular fare
| We counsel no war on the railroad cor
poratlons for maintaining their rate
at a profit this is precisely what al
other kinds of corporations are doing
their purpose being to make gains.
Before the period of another gener
alton elapses railroad travel will b
revolutionized. There will be but few
if any, people so poor as not to affor,
riding on the cars with as much fire
quency as they may reasonably desire
These calculations of cheap travel a
no very distant future may be pre-
nounced extravagant, but SO were mos
Of the great improvements which hav
benefited the world in their first in
captions. 1t may be some other agenc,
than the general government will b
employed to inaugurate cheap travel
but control Of the railroads by th,
government appears now the mos
feasible.