The Labor enquirer., 1888-04-21
DEW0'LDOMOYE
a Remarkable and Significant
Speech by a Millionaire
Ex-senator.
-
N.P.HILLTALESLIKEACRANK
sThs Wealth Of the Country Held BY
"The Wealth Of the Country Held BY
the Few-The Rich VIII Grew
Richer, the Poor Poorer"

Richer, tho Poor Poorer"
The following extracts are from
a speech delivered in Leadville a
few evenings since by ex-senator
Hill on the subject of Trusts and
Monopolies:"
There are many intelligent per
sons who believe, or profess to
believe, that the chief danger
which menaces the security of
private property comes from the
classes commonly described as
socialists or communists.
In these days, and especially in
this country, spoliations of prop
erty are in no appreciable degree
threatened by socialists and COM
munists. !. That danger menaces
us from an entirely different quar-
ter. 1t is not dreamers who wish
all property heldin common that
we need fear, but those who seek
to increase their share of the
worlds goods through crafty and
unscrupulous manipulations Of the
Legislative and sometimes of the
executive. and even the judicial
departments of the government.
Of the .spoliations of this latter
class, the greatest in amount, and
the most wide reaching, are made
possible by the careless or corrupt
granting. of such excessive priWi-
leges to, railroad, telegraph, water,
gas and similar companies as to
enable them 10 exact unequal and
oppressive charges for the services
which they render to the public,
and by the careless or corrupt
neglect to enforce against such
companies the powers of regula-
ton of which Legislators can never
divest themselves or their sue
cessors.
The corruptions which monop-
olies bring to bear upon legislators
and upon politicians who can in
fluence legislators, varies from the
mild form of the distribution of
railroad and telegraph passes,
which has now been so long
practiced that it hardly offends
the ordinary conscience, to the
gross form of directly bargaining
with legislators to pay them so
much money for their votes and
advocacy. intermediate between
these forms there are innumerable
kinds of indirect pecuniary in
Auence.
1t is the common belief, and the
general judgment seems to be well
within the mark, that taking rail-
roads as a whole the 81, ,ooo, ,ooo, 900,
speaking in round numbers, Of
their outstanding bonds, cover
more than all the capital which
has ever been put into them; that
the So, ,ooo, 900, 900 of their shares
are, as whole, nothing but pure
water.
Speaking of the elevated rail-
roads of New York and the frauds
in connection with the procuring
of the charters of the same, and
the immense amount of watering
of stock, Mr.. Hill said:
| The third commissioner of rail-
roads expressed himself in the
following still more vigorous
language:
This fraudulent aggregation Of
stock is only pyramid Of water
on a pedestal of transparent fraud.
A healthy breeze of public senti-
ment would dissipate it in the
spray of a waterfall, and an
honest administration of Law
would send Its arcnitects 10 tne
states prison"
Unfortunately there has been nc
healthy breeze of public sentiment
, and the architects of the fraud.
instead of being sent to the states
! prison are quietly enjoying theil
! ill-gotten gains, and what is o
: still more evil omen, q governor Q
. the state of New York. VIII
assisted in:makine thsse eains ;!