The advocate and Topeka tribune., 1892-09-21
STAND UP FOB EUROPEAN BOND
HOLDERS,
CONTINUED from page u

buLuB uSSuS COkESCb4OuS bnu @S BVO0
republican authority, / wish to cite Mr..
James s. Clarkson In an interview after
his election as president Of the national
republican league. The interview was
published In the Boston Herald under
date Of April %, 1891. Mr.. Clarkson said:
"The labor question will figure in the
next campaign, and 1t ought to. Wealth
should be more evenly distributed. Some
thing is ready for correction when one
man can pile up his millions In few
years, while another has hard time to
make q living. The farmers are going to
assert themselves In public affairs, and
for the good of the race" Mr.. Clarkson
proved himself good prophet, and Mr..
Pestane and his friends can take courage,
for the farmers are asserting themselves
In public affairs for the good Of the
race"
But as further evidence as to the effect
Of the present railroad system, ] wish to
submit the following, taken from the
Chicago Tribune, which paper published
It without comment:
ONE SOURCE OF CARNEGIE FORTUNES.
Springfield (Mass.) Republican, July
20.: Aside from the help given him by
the national government through high
tariff to ward off foreign competition and
thus through combinations choke domes-
tic competition, Mr.. Carnegie appears to
have had other ways of building himself
up in riches at the expense Of others.
This hitherto unpublished letter ad-
dressed to q citizen Of Chicago by the
late franklin B. GoWen, the well-known
Philadelphia lawyer and railroad man,
viii explain. 1t is dated at Philadelphia,
August 3, 1889:
DEAR SIR:-L know of no authentic
publication Of the facts Of Mr.. Carnegle's
secret contract for rates on the Penn
sylvanla railroad and | cannot vouch for
any of the facts. have had q general
knowledge Of the legitimate profits Of
steel rail making and some particular
knowledge Of results at two very large
establishments for several years, and !
never believed 1t possible that a fortune
such as Mr.. Carnegie is credited with
could have been made if ordinary freight
rates had been paid to the PennsylvanIs
railroad. / am quite satisfied that dur
ing the last fifteen years the officers of
the last named company, by means Of
secret rebates and other allowances, have
taken about $l00,0O0,0O0 out of the treas
ury Of the company and distributed It as
largesses to about half dozen concerns,
Of which Mr.. Carnegies establishment
was one. / am told that Mr.. Carnegie's
contract was In writing and ran over
period OF ten or fifteen years, probably
the former. When it expired and was
not renewed, Mr.. Carnegie commenced
an attack upon the Pennsylvania railroad
company which has now passed. Whether
his attack avalled anything or not can
not tell, but | infer that It did not, and
that, therefore, Mr.. Csrnegle's steel
works will not make any more money
than other similar establishments, al
though still possessing the advantage of
the large capital drawn from the treasury
Of the Pennsylvania railroad company
under the old contract, just as the Stand
ard OIL Company now possesses the ad-
vantage NJ the large capital Of from
$50,000,000 to Sl00, 100000 unjustly drawn
from the trunk lines since 1878.
THIS is q method Of getting wealthy at
the expense Of others not unknown to
many another great fortune accumulated
In this country In the last twenty years.
Railroad Determinations have been q
fruitful source Of these gross inequall-
ties In wealth distribution which now
agitAte society and call out peoples
parties. And Andrew Carnegie appears
to be an entirely natural creation. We
have no doubt at all that the money thus
taken in special rates from the Penn
sylvanla railroads treasury-or rather