Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-08-09
RAILROADS IN poLTIcs.

RAILROADS IN policies.
One of the recent expressions of Chaun-
cey Depew is to the effect that a railroad
man is necessarily politician, or, to state
this in a different form, that railroads are
necessarily part of the governing forces
of the country and that Railroad employees
are, therefore, necessarily in politics. This
declaration is founded upon the false phi
losophy that the ownership of railroad
property differs in any essential material
from the ownership of any other species of
property. If railroads are necessarily in
politics, then railroad. employees are in the
very nature of things a separate political
party. To-day in the United States there
are nearly or quite one million men en-
ployed In operating the railroads of this
country. They and their lateral influence
may be said to aggregate vote equal to
two millions, which is more than balance
of power between the two political parties.
If the doctrines of Mr.. Depew are tenable,
therefore, a man accepting railroad en-
ployment accepts at the same time place
in a separate political organization. If
the property giving him employment has
political commands he is bound to obey,
then he abdicates the natural right of
citizenship and hires his conviction for SO
much day or so much month. All
this is the logical outcome of ar. Depew's
position.
There is kind of politics in which rail-
road men have been called upon to engage,
and that is defensive politics. To render
this into the plainest language-it is
claimed that there exists in every COM
munity men who make assaults on the
ownership of railroad property, and rail-
roads must necessarily control Govern
ments, in order thai thieves, who propose
to rob them, shall not get such control as
will enable them to inhict upon railroad
property a sort Of legal confscation. This
is largely a pretense. The pablo at large
Ft1O III AhOlO AAsB OSNo W wv
of railroads of their property, than they
are to rob banks, or gas companies, or water
companies, or mining companies; in short,
the property rights of proprietors of rail
roads are not held under greater risk of
public honesty than the property rights of
other citizens The same disposition of
dishonesty which would lead lobbyist to
propose legislation inimical to the interests
of railroads can be exercised with greater
facility toward water companies, gas COM
panies, mining corporations, or the farming
interests, or milling interests, or, in short,
any other species Of ownership. The diff
ference between railroads and other prop
erty, however, is that the former employ a
great number Of men, and as men in any
employment are more or less amenable to
the influence of employers, there has been
a constant temptation in the minds of the
owners of railroad property 20 avail
themselves of the political power
placed within their easy reach. The
tendency of the great transportation inter
ests of the United States is in the direction
of consolidation. In less than ten years
there viii be not to exceed three great
railroad competitors in the United States /
two in the North and one in the South /
Within twenty years there will be princi-
pally but two, and following the natural
trend, we can, without straining the Wis
ion, look for a time when the entire in
land commerce will be under the manage
ment of single great trust. This is
measurably the case at the present time,
because a consolidation of railroad prop
erty differs but slightly from oombina-
ton of railroad managers to keep up the
rates Of transportation. But looking for
ward to time when there shall be but
two or three great railroad combinations
in this republic, it is easy to see modif-
cation of our political system, very greatly
to the detriment Of independent, self-re-
speeding citizenship; and this is true for
the undeniable reason that where employ
ment leaves the individual perfectly free
in his political conscience. the employment
is honorable; bat where employment fet-
tiers the conscience, carrying with it an
abdication of all right to think and to act
IS an independent elector. or as an inte-
grail portion of the sovereignty, employ
ment under such conditions becomes de-
basiug servitude. The clear broad field of {
The truth in this matter is that Chauneey
Depew is mistaken. He is at the head of
one Of the great railroad corporations
.he country, one rapidly extending its line
md conquesting broader territorial areas. 1
The great combination of which he is the !