The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1891-11-28
Government oxn,r.hip Of Railroads

It Is idle folly to longer ignore the fact,
too patent to every railroad manager. that
the aorarian agitation for the ownership
of the railroads by the government has
bean nroliAc of evil. It has drawn the
support of some of the ableat men IN the
nation; it is no longer easil yecombatted,
and it has gone to such lengths that We
now Ind not only the Knights at Labor
and Farmers Alliances pushing tho agl-
tation. but men who are stockholders and
directon of railroads are becoming con-
verts to the heresy. We can no longer
quiescently allow this agitation to pro-
coed. The folly of the proposition must
be exposed; the public press must be
used to oppose the measure; the best
thought We can control must be exer-
cised in defense Of the right to own.
manage and direct ohr own property free
from the dictation Of 4 government that
may he changed every four years.
The argumentative portion of the
above extract is as conspicuous for
its weakness as the cloven foot Of
monarchy is prominent in the last
sentence quoted. A government
that. could not be changed at the
will of the populace would no doubt
meet the hearty approval of those
lordly benefciaries of popular stu
pidity and official ignorance and
crime. They fear an aroused pub
lie will recover back the rights and
property stolen from it by corrupt
and Misunderstanding congresses
when the public was crazed by war,
and in their alarm admit that some
of the ablest men of the nation
have been drawn to the support of
government ownership and control
of neutrality-suspicious. to an ad-
mission that the proposition is
based upon a sound public policy.
In our opinion, however, their alarm
is uncaused. We think the rail
roads of this country will pass UNI
der government control, and should
do so; but instead of Selling what
belongs to them, or, at most, buy
ing them at the value at which they
are listed on the assessors books,
they will be purchased at such ex-
tortionate figures as their present
pretended owners shall put upon
them.
But our people are beginning to
learn that roads are public high
ways, and that railroads are roads
in precisely the same sense that
wagon roads are, and are therefore
public highways.
Public highways cannot legiti-
mately be made private property.
Hence the conversion of the roads
of this country into private prop
erty was an act Of spoliation. and
of usurpation to which a: people
acquainted with their rights, and
aware of their wrongs, would not
submit for a day.
Our railroads were built by the
government. and paid for by the
people; this in law, equity, good
morals and correct business princi-
Piles would make them the property
of the public, were they not public
highways.
Taxation is the most dangerous
power exercised by governments.
It is power so dangerous that it
has never been voluntarily entrusted
to or conferred upon any but gov
ernments by any intelligent people
anywhere. War chiefs and robber
knights usurped the privilege in the
old world, and in this and the Span
ish-American countries it came to
their descendants by inheritance
and was fixed upon US blythe power
of custom. We of the United States
did, indeed, attempt to limit its en-
ployment by our government to the
necessary purposes of revenue; but
the attempt has been futile. Not
only has our government taxed US
for its proper support, but it has
taxed US to build and equip rail-
roads, to subsidize steamships, to
pay bounties to sugar makers and for
many other unlawful purposes, and
has then authorized these recipients
of it's unlawful benifcence to con-
tinue the taxing process to the full.
est extent of their greed, until mill.
ions have been hopelessly imrov'
erished by the wrong. And this
farming out Of the power of taxa
ton to corporations was a greater
wrong than was that Of taxing the
people to endow them.
Exerting this stolen power OF tax
alton, the railroads, under theil
present management, exact from
the public and from each individual
member thereof double to triple
value for every service rendered, al
is proven by statistics and by th'
rates charged in New South Wales
where railroads are under public
control and management. By thei
expressions and extortions they
have acquired and now possess
property to the value of over tel
billions of dollars, and this ha
been accumulated in less than sixty
years. The rapidity of their accu
mutations, obeying the law of grav
itation, will be augmented as thei
possessions grow in immensely.
Their property is assessed at les
than Is per cent of it's value.
They refuse to pay the small sum!