West Virginia Democrat. [volume] (Charles Town, W. Va.) 1885-1890, 1888-10-19
GOV. LARRABEE ON RAILROADS.
Assailing the Corporations Which Have
Lines in Iowa.

Assailing the Corporations Which Have
Lines in Iowa.
These are the head lines in the n.
Y. Tribune to the following notice of
a speech by Gov. Larrabee at Guth-
rie Centre on the 18th:
In opening his campaign in Iowa yes
terday, Gov. Larrabee made speech at
Guthrie Centre, in which he violently
aSsailed the railway corporations. In
discussing the laws passed by the Iowa
Legislature and the means taken by the
railways 10 defeat them, he said:
Whenever an attempt is made to bring
railroads under the control of the law,
we are accused by their managers of con-
tiscating property, bankrupting roads,
driving capital out of the State, depriv-
ing property of the right of control by
its owners, and multitude of other sins
and follies are echoed by their organs.
1t is the old cry which we have heard
for thirty years. Yet during all this time
these gentlemen have continued To draw
their princely salaries, travel i'll their
special ears, extend their roads, and levy
al will on the people of the State. The
men in charge of these railroads do not
intend to obey the laws of this or any
other State except when il is convenient
for them to do SO. Intrenched by wealth
and power, they have little regard for
lawful authority. They are now at lib
erty TO levy at pleasure upon the COM
merce of the State. Ii the collection of
an additional tax of 81 100000, instead Of
being decreed by cOnclave of freight
agents in Chicago, were ordered by your
- IL fl.,1 ffN.-x
benefit, YOU would condemn their action
and request them To resign. Are these
gentlemen who thus till the Golfers of
Wall street spectators TO be permitted
20 continue their buying without reStrlc-
ton? If after paying a fair rate OF inter
est on the money invested, they would
expend their surplus earnings for the
imDrOyement of their lines, we should
not complain; but we do object to every
unjust and illegal tax which is eXtorted
from us TO swell the dividends paid on
imaginary investments. The men who
really control these roads have little re-
gard for the welfare of our people. They
are aliens. They feed upon the misfor-
tunes of the country. y prospect of war.
the death of noted person, are seized
upon bv them as occasions for rich
harvest. They arc more interested in
of value and i'll securing
dividends on their watered stocks than
i'm the fair treatment of the patrons and
of the road.
The Tribune is the organ Of the
millionaire class a more venal pa
per is not printed Gov Larrabee
has the people with him, even altho
the railroads control tie press.
The Tribune of last Sunday, from
which the above is taken, has the
following editorial on the threatened
strike in England:
The approach of winter brings on the
usual threat of a strike among the min
ers. This time it looks serious. The
miners demand ten per cent increase OF
wages, and the cOlliery owners refuse 1t.
This demand, first made in Yorkshire,
has been taken up in Scotland, Lanca-
shire. Wales and other great mining dis
trictS. Everywhere the owners, as we'll
as the miners, stand by each other. I'm
less arbitration be accomplished. more
than 100000 miners are expected to go
out. A large owner told me lately that
the railway rates were the real cause OF
trouble. The railway gets the lions
share. Miners wages and owners pro-
fits are alike below the living point.
We call attention to these words,
"the real cause of trouble is, the
railways get the lions share" Coal
at FairmOnt, Clarksburg, &c, is less
than 81 a ton on the ears. We pay
81 or $3.50. The miners get 30 or
40 cents.
Will somebody tell us why 10
cents tarifr-tax on coal is necessary
to enable the mine owner to pay 40
cents? If the miner got Is cents q
ton we could understand it.
The men who WELD the pick far
down in the dark of the coal shaft
will presently come to understand
that low wages are the result of ex-
cessive railroad charges and not Of
a lew tariff-taX. The consumer pays
from $3.50 to $3.50 ton; the owner
of the mine gets 80 cents and the
miner 40 cents. 1.-THE miners would
vote against railroad politicians
they would get better wages. I'm
fortunately the miners are ignorant
and easily fooled.
The miners of West Virginia,
Pennsylvania and Maryland are
about to hold a convention to make
a better organization to demand
higher wages. 1t would be wiser to
consult how to defeat the emissaries
OF monopoly.
Detectives are at work on the dy-
Mantle case in Tyler county.