The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1892-09-23
Government Ownership of
Railroads.

This Republic is body polite OF
joint stock corporation, in which every
citizen is an equal stakeholder 1t was
organized for the purpose of performing
certain specific upctions.
Political economy is the science OF
government, as the Greeks called it,
State Housekeeping
1t is the duty Of the State as nation
to own and manage all railgays in the
interest Of the body politics, that is, in
the interest Of the whole people. This
is the doctrine of the new school OF
political economist. 1t is therefore
scientific. In his latest work on "Po-
litical Economy" Prof. Ely says: "All
nature Of monopolies, such as railroads,
telegraphs, etc, should be owned and
managed by government" The speak
er quoted from Prof. Hadley and
Charles Francis Adams to show that
combination of railroads is a business
necessity, and from Prof. Taylor who
brings strong indictment against the
past and present railway system. "He
thinks it not unfair to say that the
three.fourths of all legislation corrup-
tion in this country for the past fftv
years is directly chargeable to railways,
and that one half of the litigation of
the country is due to the same cause.
He finds also a close and intimate con-
nection between the railway manage
ment and financial crises and panics
which we experience from time to time.
The trouble, he says. is increasing He
adds, if the people exist for the sake Of
the railways this is all right; if other.
wise, all wrong. What we term our
railway system merely represents mob
of interests struggling for supremacy
and trampling other interests under
foot. While this is the case, there can
never be any improvement of the rela-
tion between the railroads and the
people. On the contrary, the larger
the mob the fercer and more dana gins
will be the struggle. We must quel
the mob. We must put the road in al
States under one law. No two or more
men can possibly drive together team
of dozen or more horses. Put one
man on the box. The only hand strong
enough to hold the reins over thu
team is Uncle Sans"
England took control of her railway
not ownership but control-in 1910
1t was thus early discovered there tina
free competition between railroads wa
impossible. 1t inevitably degenerate(
into war. 1t was absolutely necessary
therefore, for the government to inter
fere in the interest of the people.
In France, the system is sort o
quas ownership, the government grant,
ing certain concessions to companies
not reserving right to purchase, ant
binding companies to observance o
certain conditions. But in all coun.
tries where the State owns part of tn
system the tendency is to absorb all.
We find, then, both in our owl
country and abroad, that the theory o
competition in railroad management ]
utterly abandoned, and that a move
ment toward government regulatio
and control is already we'll under way
with decided leaning on the part Q
many toward government owners hi
and control.
Those who have kept track of rail
road movements, even in the mos
general way, must have noted the in
creasing tendency to combination an
consolidation within the last few years
and the growing conviction, voice EN-
phatically by so great railroad mag
nate as c. Z. Huntington, that all rail
roads Of the country ought to be unde
one management.
The only question left them for dis
cussion is this; Should this manage
ment be national or corporate Indeed
there is hardly so much of the question
as this left for, as we have seen, tn
nation has already begun to take han,
in the management
Prof c. Wood Davis says: 'Nationa
ownership would ensure stability an,
practical uniformity of rates, a thin!
now impossible, as hundreds of official
have the power to change them 70
their own enrichment. Under Stat
aud National legislation, discrimina
tions are less numerous, and less publ
than before. parties having to be NOR
careful to cover their tracks, but ever,
we'll informed shipper knows they ar
still continued"