The farmers' union. (Memphis, Mo.) 1891-1895, 1891-06-11
prove their statements. II was replied to
HON that the cttrnnrat inns la yn 4 h,i nd nt


thought of mere than two parties in the
case. The more important and tlangcro,i,
party which has been pocketing its tiiutlS-
and>. miliinh:, and hundreds of millions of
dollars. Will" th" fan and railroad
workers have bern grabbing and q,Iarrcling
over pennies. WAS hy thcs" railroad club
men left entirely out rf the arrnunt 30
prohlc.a can he properly and truthfuiIy
solved unless all tie f,i,'turS in The :';,$r are
duly c"nSi;icrcd In this case we have the
{ operations whn manage the roads, the
wnrSingtncn who op.rat" them. and the
farmers ami general public who patronizc
them. They work with little noise or fric-
tinn. They lay tirlr plans carefully and
secretly. and carry them ont with certainty
and constituencies precision. Laws. con-
stitutions. court decisions and public opin-
ion brushed aside as cobweh- by the
and Of a giant. The men composing these
corporations are usually millonaircs and
are SPOKEN of a. "Nagnatrs." beginning
business sometimes ON the mniisc-
trap plane. In a very few years
their wealth is rcrknned by hundreds Of
millions. tn" ''t'oming Biiinnairc,' IL j.
predicted, will soon arrive by railroad
iioatrd in hv the floods and forg"ries of his
own watered stacks. These millionaire
corporations are one factor in cur railroad
problem. They cannot be left out Of IN"
calculation. Whcrt did they get their
wealth: They acquired it from the men
with whom they have been dealing. They
acquired it from the other two factors Of
the problcnl-from the laboring men Who
operate the railroads. and from The farmers
and general public. These magnatcS crowd
their employees down down-d -down-into
the most mcrriless slavery, utterly uu-
known In tn" annals Of our once peculiar
institution n-rhatt.l slavery. They work
Inrn it is. said, ten, twenty. thirty. forty
or nifty hours at 4 stretch. suits their
own sweet will and pleasure. until. in some
~
much exhausted tn be proper custodiuns of
n train. Many lives and much property
have been sacrificed by the inability of men
10 keep awake. TIL" corporations do not
drive their men to their tasks with whips.
Shot-uns and blocdhmunds. but through
hunger distress. lack of fair wages for fair
work. and threats of discharge. That is tine
millionaire treatment Of employees ON the
other hand, as described by Mr. Garfield in
June. 1874, these modern Naroms, more
powerful than their military prototypes fuf
the fndtllr ages nwu our greatest highways
and levy tribute at will on all our vast in
du>tric>.
Senator Window. in an official report to
congress in 1874 described our presen, haas
tors and "pprcsSors aS follows:
In matters of taxation. there are to-day four
men representing the four great trunk lines he
tween Chicago and New York who possess and
who not tntreguently exercise powers which
the congress of the United States would no;
venture to exert. They may at any time. and
for any reason satisfactory to themselves. by
single stroke Of tn" pen. reduce the value of
property in this country by hundreds of mil
lions of dollars An additional charge Of .
cents per bushcl on the transportation OF cereals
would have been equivalent to tax of A5n o.,
90 on the crop Of 1919. No congress would dare
to exercise so vast a power except upon Il
necessity of the most Imperative nature, ana
yet these gentlemen exercise IL whenever 1t
suits their supreme Will and pleasure. without
| explanation or apology With the rapid and
| inevitable progress Of consolidation and com
llTyl- inns IN.
| coming daily stronger and more fInperious.
The day is net distant, if it has not already ar
rived, when II viii he the duty of the statesman
I" inquire whether there is less danger in leav-
ing the property and industrial interests OF the
people wholly at the mercy Of IA few men, who
| recognize no responsibility INIT to their stock
| holders and no principle OF action but personal
! and corporate ACKNOWLEDGEMENT than adding
| somewhat to the power and patronage of tn"
government directly responsible to the people
| and entirely Under their control.
| In all eases they act ON the robbers rule
when he sets out TO get rich by his calliuc.
| From the laboring men who operate the
| roads the corporations require all that flesh
| and blood can stand tand morei ~ the low
| est living or starving wages. OF the public
| they require ''ail that the traffic can bear
| regardless aS to the financial emharra>s-
| ment. the lpss Of homes or the means of life,
| by the individuals who compose the public.
| Now the question occurs about this way:
| suppose the farmers and the general public.
| on on" side. unite for mutual self protection
against III" corporate '",;tr,',a~' who operate
| the roads for the millions and billions they
! ma Ike ;it the business. suppose require
that workincmrn be paid better wages. and
| have shorter hours we'll. 81 that there
| will hc more irtcn at work and more money
| Ia spend Ia the channels of business. That
| viii mean better prices Tor farm products
| and more active trade for every line of
| business. Then on the other hand. let il be
| demanded that farmers and the public be
| served by the railroads at n rate not more
| than 6 to 10 per cent. above the cost of SER
| vice: and require that, in all cases the
! charges shall bear sonc sort of reasonable re-
| lat ion to the cost of service. II carload of
! commodities can be carried across the con-
t tincnt, from ocean to ocean. for $500. IL
surely cannot he just la charge $500 on the
| same roads and In the same train for two
| thirds Of that distance. If carload of
/ wheat can he carried from points in south
crn California te san Francisco for SEA. it
| surely cannot be just and equitable to
| charge :, for a carload of alfalfa seed
| from the same points to III" same market
| II ewly-arrived Europeans can he carried
| from New York 10 Chicago Al 81 per head,
| II must certainly he unfair to charge native
| born Americans eighteen times as much
over the same roads between the same
| points. Yet these rchear>aIs are but the
| cnminan place occurrences under our pres
| ent rubhrr management. They have the
drop on the public, and, rule, levy
| all our vast INDUSTRIES
| Having raised frriEhtS on the one side
| and suppressed wages on the Other until the
margin nf profits is large. then comes the
opportunity To swell capitalization"
| hy the sale of manufactured or forged
stocks and bonds. These arc known as
| ..waterrd stocks" An agent of the com
| pauy orders printed blank stock certif-
Gates and blank bonds. These blanks.
| which cost merely the price Of printing, are
| then flied out with large amounts. signed,
| and sold for cash In the market at the
| market prcc-at par. moro or less. IL sold
| at only 80 cents on the dollar. the transac-
| tion is bold robbery. bit Of paper cost
| ing the company only cent may he sold
! for $4,000 tcash to the rorporation) Then,
| after that sale. there will be 100000 moro
.'captalzation" for the public to pay inter
| est or dividends upon. To meet this IN
| creased demand freghtS are crowded
| little higher and employees are crushed n
| little lower. lin order to provide for the OBJ
| legations of the company" In this way
| the railroad burdens of the United States
| amounted in 1889 to 50. .a3l 1881 As the
| amount is increasing over half billion
annually. it is within the truth to call the
| present tota! burden ten billions. Accord
| ing to the best railroad authorities one
| half of this inromprchcnsihlc sum is fraud
| watcred stocks. Five billions of water.
If sold al par 1t brought enough money to
make five thousa nd new milionaires. At
! per cent per annum the incoIi'" Is enough to
| make two hundred new millonaires each
| year from this watercd capitalization,
| which represents no honest value
| The proposition that make now is this:
Let Us cut down frc1ghts and fares on the
| railroads in the interest OF the farmers: in
| the interest of all merchants and business
| men; In the irtcrestS OF all the men, women
| and children in this broad land who eat
| victuals aud wear clothes; also al the same
| time let us shorten the hours of railroad
| working men, until about fifty per cent
| more men are employed. and raise wages
| until about one hundred millions of dollars
| more II oney per annum shall go into their
pockets than now finds its way there. L
| would do this shortening Of hours and rails
| ing of wages, primarily. III the interest of
| the laboring men: scrondarily in the inter
| est of the farmers, making larger and bet
| ter markets for farm products; and. thirdly,
| in the interest of all business men would
| then lower frcighas and fares. leaving more
| money in the channels of business: while.
| through increased sums paid to railway en-
| ployes, more money would be returned 10