Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-01-16

of their business the interest upon the
investment, so that the people did
not have to stand taxation for
their railroad property. In Russia,
where there are some eighty railroad
corporations, nearly every one of them
| is bound to become government property
| in the course of from thirty-fiye 10 sew
enty-fiye years. Their constructions are
| given all reasonable subsidy and help by
the government, but before Russia is
| three-quarters of century older her
people viii own their own railways. In
| this country the government was per-
fectly willing for twenty years 10 make
the same arrangement, but the people,
under the evil traditions OF their politics,
were afraid to have the government
/ come to their help. The cry was raised
that it was no business of the govern
ment ever to OWN railroads. This
| is nonsense, for we know
that the state of New York has
owned the Erie canal for the past
seventy years, and it is still a state work,
and having given great embarrassment
to the state, as well as immense help TO
all other states, it is now made free
highway and keeps the railroad competi-
tons down. This canal has been offered,
think, to the general government. We
DuIluiuS
of people, ,conveniences and wealth,
without any adequate system of control
ling it. The old adage that the people
must do everything has generally meant
that the people do nothing. In France the
railroad corporations are few in number,
and the government long ago took hand
in locating them, in developing them
and in putting them on their feet, but
the government is ali the time a part of
their system and direction. Hence, there
are no ruiuous competitions in France,
while the rates are considered reasonable
by the people, though we would consider
most French rates as very unreasonable.
In no country is there anything like the
movement of population which is hap
pening every day in America, and yet
over this most important subject the
Federal state has had no con-
troll until within two or three
years, and that control now
seems to have been ilI-advised, not
having been bold, fair and clear, but
rather dictated from that blind luminosity
TO property which creates q certain
socialism wherever there is a republic.
The Interstate law was 2 mere makeshift
to get over the absurdity Of states con-
trolling the pieces of railroad which
happened to cross them. Since slavery
has been destroyed and the land made
homogeneous il will be found that there
is much less objection among the people
to the government putting its paternal
hand upon affairs than the politicians
have been in the habit of saying. The
late election was to some extent an ad-
dress on this point. The American gov
eminent has not exercised the simplest
cautionary protection concerning foreign
corporations. While our coastwise COM
merce is, by an ancient law, reserved for
our own people, the Canadian Pacific
railroad, which is nothing but q piece of
coastwise commerce for the United
States, expects to run into all our cities
and take freight from one or another,
running over the line to make the con-
nectiOn. Both the people and railroad
stockholders are to be protected in any
just measures which come up; men who
have advanced their money to give com
munications TO all parts of the land viii
always be entitled to equity when it was
in the power of our state, had the state
been properly organized; to have put a
clause in ali those railroad charters re-
calling the property at the end of
a reasonable number of years. The
railroads. however, have been in the
hands of petty princes, of corporation
barons, generally excellent men, but not
above the pride and passion of other
barons Seeing that one railroad was
pushing on to Denver, four or five others
CRASHED their teeth and went there too.
In the meantime the corporations be-
hind them are responsible for these
moneys advanced. Iapprehend that way
will be devised out of the necessities of
the railroads and the people for some
M Of sfn ho
present stock exchange system is
nothing but an immense gambling
house with ramifications where
property does not find its level except
through conspiracies, schemes and ma
nipulations which are unnatural. The
people have already declared their lntlif-
ference to stock exchanges by not trading
any more in them. 1t is very seldom that
a good day happens in the New York
stock exchange The last stock board
they set up in the Chicago board of trade
has wound up ANONYMOUSLY. The stock
sales in Baltimore city for years past have
been nothing but washers whereby
the people there considered that they
had the richest property in the coun-
try, when it was the poorest skeleton
of all. The railroad system being left to
the dear people without any government
anu 10 bueS6 DeduLlIuI
states which are law in themselves, has
reached a place where there is a general
cry for help from some real statesman
ship. We have no business to give men
chance to make such great fortunes in
this country as has been done in twenty
years past. The accumulation of these
fortunes of from $50 200 900 to 5000 ,OOO,-
600 has been n great scandal on the re-
public i'll other lands. The more matters
of this kind are looked into the more it
viii be found that we are in need in
America of truly national system of af-
fairs, and we have been compelled to de-
mand such system from time to time
whenever we got in a tight place. It was
not the state governments which declared
that the Union should be preserved, but
the congress of the United States. 1t
was not the state governments which
made the Pacific railroad a quick and
easy thing, but the government. The
disappearance of state lines has been rec