Omaha daily bee., 1888-02-03
CompOunding Felony.

Congressman Anderson, OF Kansas, is
blunt and outspoken westerner, who
has habit of calling things by their
right names. He has recently been in
terviewed on the subject of his bill di-
recting the attorney general to begin
suits against the various Pacific railroad
companies, and his remarks upon the
subject were more forcible than ele-
CANT. Mr.. Anderson has lived in Kan
sas long enough to know what the prac-
tical operations of the Pacific roads as
affecting the producers of the west have
: been. He has also studied the history
OF legislation sufficiently to be we'll
primed upon the various evasions and
disobediences of the laws which make
up the record of the Union and Central
Pacific railroads. The anti-monopoly
congressman from Kansas protests in
very strong language against any meas
ure which will extend the time for pay
ment of Pacific railroad debts. He
insists that the government has no
right to legalize the frauds and swindles
of the last twenty years, and says that
in his opinion such action would be
simply ''compounding felony"
This is the very essence of the mat
ter. The people of the west have been
for years compelled to pay exorbitant
and excessive freight and passenger
tariffs in order to maintain a conscience
less gang of robbers and swindlers who
have wrecked, run and ruined the Pa
cific railroads. Millions of dollars of
taxes through the increased cost of pro-
ducts due to high freight tariffs have
been wrung from the patrons of these
roads in order to pay dividends on mil
lions of dollars of watered stock. The
capitalization of the roads has been
swamped by water injected in defiance
Of the absolute prohibition of congress,
and the bonded indebtedness has been
increased to an alarming extent by
fraudulent consultations from which
the Goulds and Sages and billions have
added from $S5, 100000 to s4O,0OO,OOO to
their bank accounts.
Mr.. Anderson very properly says it
would be criminal to legalize
such transactions; that it would be
unworthy of the dignity OF the
government to fail to take cog
nizance of the defiance and disobedience
OF the companies in their various llle-
galities, and that it would be ruinous
to the people Of the west to force them
for years to come to pay freight and pas
senger rates based upon the over-capi-
talization of the companies. To do so,
in the words of Mr.. Anderson, would be
''to compound a felony"
Mr.. Anderson's position will meet with
general approval throughout the whole
trans-Missouri country. For years past
every complaint of shippers and every
| exposure of the press has been met by
these corporations with the reply of
Bill Tweed, "What are you going
to do about it," Now that
they have been finally forced
to their knees and are pleading for an
extension of the Date upon which their
debts are to be paid and which they
have refused to make any provision to
meet, the people Of the United States
are placed in a position where it is their
duty to demand the full payment of the
bond. They have right to demand
more. They have right to demand
that the law department of the govern
ment shall leave no stone unturned to
prosecute these criminals for their de-
fiant infraction OF laws and their inso-
lent disregard OF the plain construction
OF congress. No other method than one
which will force restitution from the
railroad robbers will meet the approval
OF the people of the west.