The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1889-10-18
$25, 900 represents my profits. It is

D.
"watered stockp'
What is the result? A. B. takes
the case into court and the courts
decide that he is to pay C. D. a small,
reasonable compensation for this
trouble, but that he cannot collect
interest on capital that has no exist
ence.
This parallel precisely illustrates
the railroad watered stock question
in America today.
If half-a-dozen smart, moneyless
fellows, by the exercise of grit, nerve
and cheek, get up a railroad, every
foot of which is built with borrowed
capital, they deserve credit and a
compensationfor their time and labor;
they usually receive this by electing
themselves officers of the company,
with salaries ranging from five to
fifty thousand dollars each annu-
ally; and by inside 'soft-snaps' and
''steals" of sundry kinds. But when
they come to building a railroad for
$15, 900 a mile, and then bonding it
for ST. 900; and then issuing water
ed stock on top of the bonds for
SIS, 900 or $40, 900 more; and then
ask the people to pay interest on the
whole $50, 900 or $35, 900 per mile
forever, and pay it out of their toll
and sweat, for generations, they are
AS the darkey said when a fellow
put quid of tobacco into the coffee
pot 'making the coffee too darned
strong!' And only race that are
fit to be wooden-shod peasants
will sit down contentedly under
such an imposition. Our ancestors
went to war for eight years and
achieved their national independence
on less ground.
For the watered-stock of a rail-
road company is simply a blanket
mortgage spread over every man,
woman or child, every farmer me-
chanic, clerk, tradesman; everybody
along the line of that road. And
they have got to pay the interest
on it; for the railroad depot-agent
acts as the attorney and collector,
and they pay, in the increased trans
portation of all they buy and all
that they sell wheat, barley, corn,
potatoes, milk, butter, eggs; dry
goods, groceries, hardware, machin-
cry, Misunderstanding, in short,
from a threshing machine to a pair
of boots. The watered-stock in
creases the price of all they buy,
and decreases the price of all they
sell. The candle burns at both ends
the shears cut with both blades.
At every turn the producer is max
ing good those otherwise valueless
shares of watered Stockton every
security that pays interest is there
by rendered good. He is, in effect,
the bond-slave of the scamps who
issued those bogus securities; and
more completely in their power than
the serf in the olden time was in the
power OF the baron. He wears no
iron collar around his neck, mark
ed with his owners name; but he
might just as well brand his child
rem, the day they are born, with
these letters: est. P. M. &. NJ" or &c.
M. & St. P" or some other similar ca
balistic combination, for they are
doomed, from birth, to work for
their corporate taskmasters. And
if they attempt to escape, by flying
from one section OF country to an
other, they simply effect a change of
masters-for wherever they go, there
they will find another corporation
with branding-iron. And if they
cross the waters to the old world
they, in it's stead, will find, it is true,
no watered-stock, but in it's stead a
whole army of imposters and rob-
bers-kings, mobiles, established
churches, landlords-each ready with
his branding-iron, intent on 'preserv-
ing society," by reducing the toiling
men, or the people, to perjury and
misery.
HOW MUCH WATERED STOCKS
Have you any idea how much
watered stock there is in the United
States?
Itamounts to over four billion dol
lars? Think of it! The national
debt-the price OF the great Wharf.-The
price OF the national life-is a little
over one billion. But we got some
thing for that-if we are true to our
selves we got great deal. But four
billions OF water! Four billions of
stealage! -Four. billions of consoli-.
dated rascality! Think of it! Near
ly THREE HUNDRED MILLIONS paid an
nually as interest-three hundred
millions paid by labor to idlers-
paid by honesty to cunning paid
for nothing; paid to build up a shod-
dy aristocracy that hates liberty,
and that will be glad to overthrow
the republic, just as soon as it can do
SO, without risking it's own cowardly
limbs and life.
And you pay part of this. For re-
%1% ii III