Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1890-10-01
J. o. BARREr'
THE RAILROAD QUESTION.


j. o. BARRETT
THE RAILROAD QUESTION.
A Necessity For Public Highways, But No
Necessity For Grasping Corporate Mo-
nOpOlIes-What j 'mes A. Garfield Said OF
Railroad Corporations A Dangerous
Power In the Hands of q Few Men.
Whoever controls the public highways
OF country is the master Of that coun-
try, says the Kansas Farmer. He
dictates it's policies. collects and
disburses it's revenues, controls the
administration of its government and is
complete master of the liberties and
destiny OF its people.
Good practical roads or highways for
travel and traffic are among the most
important and urgent necessities of
civilization. Without them there can
be no successful progress, industry or
commerce, nor even safety for free gov
ernment These facts are so fully
proven by common observation and the
lessons of history that argument is un-
necessary.
The Importance and necessity of the
public highways of a nation have rem
dered their control of paramount inter
est
Rome, under the Caesars, conquered
and governed the Germans the Gauls
and Britons because the Romans were
as expert road-builders as they were
fighters; and Rome was able to consoli-
date and rule with rod of iron the
numerous and widely extended prov
inces of her colossal Empire because OF
hor nvcollanf rooch-
ing for hundreds of miles in all direc.
tions from the capital city. Those great
highways were all owned and controlled
by the Central Government and were
used to facilitate the march of the le-
gions into every corner Of the Empire, to
expedite the communication of intel
ligence, and to serve the purposes Of
travel and commerce. The power that
controlled the public highways of the
Roman Empire, debating the terms and
conditions on which they might be
used, and who should enjoy their use
and for what purpose, was necessarily,
the master of the Roman Empire.
During the midd ages, when the
iron structures Of the Roman Govern
ment had worn away and had been sue
ceeded by the fragmentary systems Of
feudalism, we find the great feudal
barons struggling for the mastery Of
the highways Of Europe Castles were
built at the strategical points, near the
passes in the rugged countries where
travel, traffic and troops must pass.
Retainers and troops were maintained
by the great barons of the castles, with
which to enforce their demands, and
they made it regular business to tax
and rob every user Of the public thor
oughfares. These impositions on the
users of public roads were not intended
to prevent their use, but as matter of
profit to the master of tho situation.
They merely levied such tributes and
committed such robberies as in their es-
timation the traffic could bear" and
still live. The great robber barons Of
the middle ages knew, as the Romans
knew, and as all history proves, that
the masters of the highways OF any
nation are the masters Of that nation
that they dictate the policy of its gov
ernment and collect and enjoy the bulk
Of its revenues. And it was not until
the decay Of feudalism and the modifi-
cation of baronial claims and preroga-
tives that the highways Of Europe be-
came in reality the ''the Kings high
| ways free to all the people, on the
| payment OF small tribute or toll to
keep them in repair"
The people Of the United States are
making history. The beauty of the
page, the brilliancy of the record, the
happiness of our people, and the pres
ervation of American liberty all depend
upon the practical lessons we learn
from the teachings of history. The
first we'll settled fact of history is this:
Whoever controls the public highways
of country is master of that countryl
| The most perfect highways ever
known in all the world and in all the
ages, Is the modern road with steel rails,
on which moves the tireless locomotive,
drawing over hills and rivers, and
through valleys and mountains, tunnels,
canyons and gorges, straight as the bird
flies, thousands of tons of merchandise,
whole herds of living cattle, and thou
sands Of throbbing human hearts, swift
as the wind, and yet as tenderly as the
sleeping infant in it's mothers armsl II
is the cheapest most efficient and the
most important imperial highway known
to humanity! 1t surpasses the best
stone paved roads of ancient Rome
Gaul and Britain as those broad, smooth
and solid turnpikes surpassed the rude
and tortuous paths Of the savage through
the forest jungleS julius Cesar, with
all his marches, victories and triumphs
never dreamed of such q procession Al
the modern train of cars, snortins
and prancing through States as the
merest specks on the landscape. laugh
ing at distance without weariness and
brushing aside space and the obstaclel
of nature as OF no consequence MOI
did the proudest Augustus of all the
C@sars ever achieve or imagine victorie,
like those OF modern science, illustrated
and Glorified by the achievements o.
steam on our modern public highways.
The eall-importantqu question now arises
who owns or controls these cheap
efficient indispensable and imperia