Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1888-01-19

make truce with the enemy and thus avoid |
an implaciable conflict But when such step
can only be taken at the sacrifice OF honor,
when solemn obligation makes the conflict
an imperative duty, there Is no alternative, and
the evil which he must attack is solely to
blame for the result.
The main issue with which we are now con-
fronted concerns the mutual relations between
the people aud the great corporations.
RAILWAY TRANSFORMATION
While the transportation question has for
many years engaged the attention Of our PEG
Pile, the enactment of the interstate commerce
law by the last Congress has OF late given II
particular prominence, and there Is now wide
spread demand that the State Legislature sup
plement the Congressional act. That dealing
with questions so vital to our welfare requires
both wisdom and courage, there can be no
doubt; but il may safely be asserted that the
representatives OF our people will prove equal
to the task
In order to determine what to do, we should
nrSt know where we are and whittier we are
tending. Hence retrospective view and a sur
vey of Our situation with reference to the sub
ject in question may not be amiss. The abuses
which have grown out OF our modern system OF
transportation came to the State simultaneous
ly with the railroads. For many years, how
ever, the great desire OF the people to secure
new roads caused them to overlook these evils,
and this leniency continued Gctil large pro-
portion of the State was provided with trans
portation facilities. Then the demand upon
the Legislature to correct existing abuses in
creased from year to year, until In 1874 1t could
no longer be refused The Determinations aud
eXtortions which had SO long been practiccd by
the railroads resulted In the enactment OF what
Is known as the Grange law, which established
classification and Fixed maximum rates upon
all articles of produce and merchandise. This
act was strenuously opposed by the railroad
companies, reinforced by the representatives
from those parts OF the State which were not
vet amply supplied with roads and were be-
licved 10y them to be injured by such lcgisla-
ton. The Granger law remained part oil our
statutes for four years and was during this
whole period resisted by all the forces that
could be marshacd by the railroad companies,
The law was denounced by its opponents as
communistic in its tendency, destined to ruin
railroad interests and hence to prevent the con-
structun of new roads. IL was contested in
State and Federal Courts until 1t was finally
declared legal by the highest judicial tribunal
Of the Nation While the law was crude in
some respects, ii was nevertheless n great
achievement, illustrating the power OF the pco-
pie under our system of government to correct
evils even when defended by organized capital.
Failing to defeat the law In the courts, the
railroad managers again returned to the Lcgls-
lature, and plead ptcously for its repeal. Their
friends, supportcdb 10y members either inclined
to conservatism or representing localities dis
posed to hold out every possible encourage
lllellI 10 Tullfblu suNttcuci, dilCi
much augmentation, In having the Grangcr
law repealed and the present Commissioners
law enacted in It's stead. 1t has often been al
legged that the partial cessation of railroad con-
structiun following the enactment OF the
Granger law was its legitimate result. 1t will
be remembered, however, that the general
financial depression following the panic OF
1873 affected all interests, and the railroad
enterprise was no more stagnant In Iowa than
IN other States where these alleged causes did
not operate. II has also been stated that the
law was changed In obedience TO n demand OF
the people, but this allegation Is likewise con-
tiary to fact. II Is true, the railroads had SO
applied the law AS to make II odious TO some
localities aud had by their peculiar strategy
succeeded in pursliading some OF our best pub
lie men that 1t was not adapted To all Interests
and often worked Injustice; yet majority OF
our people regarded II upon the whole as Just
aud wholesome, and desired an amendment OF
several OF its PROVISIONS rather than Its repeal
Nevertheless, when the Commissioner system
was adopted they conceded TO 1t the right OF
an honest trial. Having once secured the right
to establish rates, they were prepared to accept
any legislation which promised an equitable
AL jusiment Of existing controversies. 10 en-
able cities and towns 10 secure new roads ana
obtain more favorable rates through compcti-
ton laws were also enacted permitting them to
vote tax to the extent OF i've per cent on their
| assessed value to aid In the construction OF
projected roads. Under this law millions OF
dollars were donated and many new roads were
constructed, and for time this new policy
seemed to accomplish its purpose. Railroad
managers soon learned, however, that 10y ar
| raugclncnts among themselves, such as pool
ing, division Of territory, and division OF bust
ness, they could manage to maintain unreason-
able rates. Owing to these various devices,
there is practically no competition us to rates
In the transportation business Of the State.
Occasionally one road will become dissatisfied
with the division Of the spells and cut under
the combination schedule; but treaty Is soon
effected and the old rates are restored. The
charges for transportation ut present prevail
Ing in the State are by far too high, and bear
little or no relation to the cost OF the service.
Although steel rails can now be purchased Tor
| ouc-third of the price paid for the iron rails
that were laid upon the roads built fifteen
years ago, aud engines, cars and coal have de-
prcciatcd IN value in nearly the same proper
ton, local freight and passenger rates have not
decreased TO any perceptible degree. Railroad
| companies should not be allowed to reap all
| the profits growing out of modern inventions
and the reduced cost of cquipping and opcrat-
| ing their roads. With almost equal propricty
might WOODEN and cotton fabrics still be sold at
colonial prices. But railroad managers aver
that the interest paid on their bonded iDdcbt
| edness and the dividends earned by their stock
are not excessive, and that capital invested In
railroads on the whole enjoys no better returns
| than capital invested In any other enterprise.
| l
| ever, is no indication OF the amount actually
invested in it, nor is the latter an indication OF
| the actual present value of the road. Mr..
| Poor In reviewing the railroad earnings for
1888 affirms that II the fictitious capital could
| be eliminated from their accounts, their sue
| cess as investments would have no parallel.
| The railroads of Iowa have received as dona-
tons from various sources value OF over fifty
| million dollars. The tracts of land granted TO
them at various times by the Nation and the
| State and by counties, municipalities and pri-
vate individuals aggregate an area equal to
more than one-eighth Of the total area of the
| State. The total amount of money actually in
vested in Iowa roads by stockholders and boud-
| holders probably does not average to exceed
fifteen thousand dollars per mile, and the
thirteen million dollars Of net earnings which
| are annually distributed among them would be
have actually invested. The men who conttol
| our railroads labor under q serious delufon,
| inasmuch as they entertain an exaggerated
| opinion Of the obligations under which they
have placed the public. They attribute to
| themselves the unparalleled material progress
which this country has made, and claim the
| wealth which by their agency has been accumu-
| lated as their reward. They reason that they
| are entitled to the value of the difference be-
tween various places In the prices of commo-
| dttics, because they furnish the means for
| making the exchange. Ii appears to me that
| this argument II carried To its logical result,
would transfer the title to large share of their
| income to the heirs of Mr. Watts, the inventor
OF the steam engine. A similar reasoning
would also give to Mccormick all the profits o
the reaper, and to Whitney those OF the cotton
| gin. Owners of railroads are no more entitled
| to a perpetual royalty than inventors. For a
| certain period of time, perhaps as long as sim
liar privileges are enjoyed by patentecs, rail
roads should be allowed liberal returns for
their capital and enterprise, and II at the end
of such period 1t be found that similar roads
could be constructed and equipped al reduced
cost, then their rates Of transportation should
be proportionately reduced. But II is urged by
railroad managers that a reduction in their
rates would necesstate reduction In the
wages of their employees. Such reasoning
might apply, II those men were now paid a
proper share of the receipts Of the road. This,
| however, Is not the case. Railroad employees
receive C.hallcr percentage Of the total earn
ings Of their employers than wage-worl<ers of
other occupations. They receive little more
| than one-thlrd Of the total receipts Of the com
panies, while the farmer, for instance, gives
one-half Of the produce Of his farm for Its cul-
| tivation. II Is but natural to suppose that
railroads deal as unjustly with their employees
as they do with the public, and the correction
Of one evil would be likely to ultimately result
| In the correction Of the other.
| Unreasonable rates are not only prejudicial
to the best interests OF the public but to those
OF the railroad companies as well, since they
/ constantly tpmDt c,uitalists invest I'm new