The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1889-06-14

is at once engaged in a long and legal
TRADE against the wicked and soullesss
railroad, forgetful that the roadway is the
property OF the railroad company, who
bought, paid and pre-empted it for their
own use. and that the man or cow was the
real t-resspasser, sacrificing not only their
own lives but also making possible the loss
of others by derailing the train when in
motion. But the road is asked, oh yes,
and expected, too, to come down hand
somely with the dust in a case like
this.
And then did it ever strike you, dear
reader, how liberal these anne chronic
grumblers become when they find the road
in a cramped position and obliged to cross
their land? Don't they teach the Soul
less corporations then a lesson in real
observation-disclosures and public-spirited en-
terprise, by giving them every foot of land
desired, and more too. just to show them
how one can rise above the low level of a
petty contractor and sink a private gain
for the public good? Do they? or rather
do they ask, not how much the land to
be crossed by the railroad is worth, but
show much can l get" It may be that
a few do this thing, but that's the racket
these liberal fellows worked with ssthe
grinding railroad monopoly" at Salem,
Woodstown and Bridgeton. when asked to
help along a public enterprise and be mod
crate in their terms in selling the right-of-
way.
Who do we ever hear stand up in de-
Tense of the much-abused railroads? Is it
the original owner OF, at one time, a large
and valncless tract of land, who is suddenly
lifted to opulencc by the railroad running
through or near the premises? Is it the
fortunate possess0r of mill and factory
sites, at one time worthless but now rich
as gold nuggets, because of later railroad
facilities? Is it whole towns, in fact,
which have developed as focal points of
trade and population through the liner
c%enary'' railroad? Is it the thoughtIess
railroad strikers who, while enjoying i'm
mnnity from want in the employ OF the COM
pany, suddenly turn around and bite the
hand that feeds them, simply because told
to do SO by some one better paid to do
nothing than they for hard work? Is It the
newspaper man, who strikes not the
striker at this critical juncture, but at the
bread and butter of the workmen, in pat
ting him {the striker on the back as a
royal coed fellow, and advising him to go
ahead and pulyerize everything and every
body that gives employment to the work
men? Is it that cheap demagogue, ex-
Gov. Albeit, who, under the thin guise of
the ~workingman's friend, makes the very
welkin ring in denunciation of the ''bloated
b~ond-holdcr and heartless capitalist" to
elevate himself at the expense of his ignor-
ant dupes, while at the same time neither
UNIV Hing to ask or receive favors at the
hands of these same "bloated b%ond-holders
and heartless capitalists"
True, the railroad companies make
mistakes and sometimes do some very
bad things. They do a bad thing in
our estimation in running Sunday trains.
We think they should be compelled to give
their employees a rest OF that day and show
a proper respect for the moral and re-
ligious sentiment Of the people. They do
bad in corrupting legislators, if this be so as
sometimes alleged, and for this latter there
is no pailiation or defense; bat that they do
wrong, by trying IN a legitimate way to
make all the money possible and spending
it in any legitimate way they see proper,
we are not yet ready to concede, but are
entirely willing to believe and grant that
as a combination of capitalists possessing
great powers and certain reserved rights
indispensable to the exercise of those pow
ers, that the railroad companies of this
country are as wise in their counsel, as
conservative in their action, and as law
abiding in everything that pertains to the
business and their relation to the people
as any other combination of capitalists,
and that they (the railroad corporations
could get along a great deal better without
the help of the grumbling public than the
general public could get along without the
railroads,