Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-06-28

right here l want TO say that after man
advanced to higher state of civilization
and began TO carry out large enterprises
in which great wealth and length of time
were necessary to complete, he saw the
necessity of living much longer than God
had permitted him to live, and he began
to try to find some means of
prolonging his life forever
If he could. He Owed deep
down in the secrets of alchemy for that
drug which would keep him young and
vigorous for ever, or at least until he
could complete his undertakings. Fail
ing in this he searched the earth over
and over for some pierian spring,
the water of which he fondly, but vainly
hoped, would keep him young, or if he
was old bring him back to youth and
vigor. In this he also failed. Something
must be done in order to carry on these
gigantic enterprises already undertaken
and which one man cannot live long
enough to finish. Well, man is finally
equal to the task. He creates q corpora
ton for the purpose of living till such
enterprise is finished, or for the
purpose of keeping it on
foot for ever if necessary
and we call a corporation an artificial
breathe into its nostrils the breath of
life, and make his creature living soul
like God made him. But man did not
give to the creature he created all the
rights and personal liberty that he pos
sessed himself. Man like his Creator re-
served the right to make such laws as he
saw proper from time to time for the
government of these corporations created
nv inn 10
to lay at the foot of the throne of unre-
strained powers? Mr.. Cook says that if
we pass the commission amendment that
will be laying our rights at the foot of
such power. Now the amendment sim
ply proposes to regulate freight and
passenger tariffs by means of
some agency If the legislature
deems the same necessary. Now 7 ask
in the name of common sense what per-
sonal rights and liberty are we laying at
any throne when we say We have got
the right TO govern the creature that we
created, to-wit-the railroad corpora
ton. But he seems to place the railroad
on the same footing with US. Perhaps
he means that they are giving up their
personal liberty by the passage of the
amendment. What personal liberty
have they got? AS l have already shown,
q corporation cannot do anything except
that which it IS created to do, and even
that under certain restrictions. But
these railroad corporations seem to have
a singular vitality, especially in Texas.
They are created with the injunction that
they should charge reasonable
freight and passenger rates and should
not discriminate in favor of one
person or town against another, and they
were granted millions of acres of land
for building the railroads, with the in
junction that they should ALLEVIATE said
lands within twelve years from the time
patents were issued on the same. Most
of-the land given them has been located
more than fifteen years, and they haven t
obtained patent on it yet. except such
as they are using or have sold. They
have put rates up to an unreasonable
price and made all sorts of discrimina-
tions. These must be the rights referred
to BY Mr. Cook as s'God given. The
railroads have been so lively that they
have fooled him and made him believe
that our Creator created them with equal
rights with US; and all the Cook men
are of. the same opinion, for
they always use this argument:
How would you like to have your
business regulated by law? To which
always reply am private citizen. 9