The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1891-02-10

such foreclosure, the Un1GeQ 0GaGeS
will lose its entire debt; that the in
come of these railways has been upon
an average eleven million dollars an
nually, a sum amply sufficient to have
paid the debt to the United States;
and that the United States has no
power to fore ;los9 it's mortgage upon
the non pay nent of interest now due.
From the foregoing summation of
facts it appears that the United States
has been pretty liberal and patient with
these corporations. Indeed, we may
say, the United States has been liberal
and patient with these corporations to
an extent that finds no parallel so far
as we know, in the history of govern
ment.
We want to say distinctly and with
emphasis, that not one dollar of the
millions voted by the Congress of the
United States to these corporations
belonged to the government. Every
dollar of these millions belonged to
the people of this country. Every
dollar of this money was wrung ou'
of the people by taxation, ostensiSly
to meet the necessary expenses OF
economical government; really to be
voted away to enrich shese private
corporations. Not one dollar of the
one hundred and twenty six and a half
million now due the United States
from these corporations belongs to the
government. This enormous sum be
longs to the whole people of the
United States; and should be in the
Treasury this minute to help lessen the
burdens of taxation under which the
people are groaning.
W. think we are moderate, and we
hope we are fair. minded. But we say
with deliberation, shat to vote the
peoples money to these private or
porations was an action with no
higher moral grade than that of theft.
When these taxes were collected
there was no purpose expressed or i'm
piled to make any such use of it. The
purpose, both expressed and implied,
was, that it should be used to pay the
necessary expenses of the govern,
ment. And to take money from a
people 10 be used for their benefit,
and then vote it away to private o
porations is, to obtain money under
false pretences and is no better than
theft. Every man who took part in
voting this enormous pile of the PEG
ple's money to these corporations has
the essential crime of theft upon his
soul. It matters not how it was done,
what arguments of expediency were
used, what hopes of material devel
opment were held out, the fact re-
mains plain and bald, that Congress
men voted to private corporations
millions of money, not n cent of
which belonged to those who did the
voting, or was in their hands for any
such purpose.
But what we have said only indi.
Gates q part of this shameless thieving
legislative transaction. The men who
put their dirty hands into the coun
try's Treasury and gave the peoples
money to these corporations took as
security a second mortgage upon the
subsidized roads. Tney deliberately,
knowingly, corruptly and wickedly
allowed these roads to borrow money
in enormous sums from the outside
world and give for the securing of
these outside debts a first mortgage on
all their property and franchises, thus
making it certain that the United
States would lose its entire debt inter
est and all.
In the examination of this transac.
ton of unparalleled wickedness it
further appears that the Congress did
not provide for the foreclosure of its
mortgage upon the failure of the
roads to make prompt payment of the
interest upon the debt. For the Su
preme Court has decided that default
in the payment~o interest did not,
does not, and cannot, confer upon the
United States any power to foreclose