The Waco evening news. [volume] (Waco, Tex.) 1891-1894, 1892-04-21
Editor WACO News.

hope you will give space in your
paper for reply to an article headed |
1.-THE St. Louis Demands" in which
my name, as candidate for congress
is mentioned. | will 60 before the
people on the st. Louis demands, and
am willing to 60 into Joint discus
sion, with any man in the state on the
merits of the st. Louis platform, es-
pecially the ownership of railroads.
No one can form any just concep.
ton of the railroad question without
looking into the extent and wealth of
these vast corporations. Under the
influence of pools and combines they
abolish completely all competition and
fix the rates. They levy all tribute
on commerce that the article trans
ported will bear short of prohibition.
With the power of money to corrupt,
they use their money to purchase all
legislation in their favor both state
and national, aud they do not stop at
this. They purchase the decisions of
the courts both high and low; they
still go further than this, by purchas-
ing the influence of citizens, high in
position, to publish letters in the lead.
ing papers to justify their legalized
robbery, which is greater than that of
Sicily by Verris, that of Rome by
Crassus, or that of the ILdeas by
Hastings, and not stopping at this,
they purchase the most popular daily
and weekly newspapers of the country
and thereby control public opinion
politically and socially.
When we consider one hundred and
sixty thousand miles of railroad in the
United States, which is greater
length of mileage than all the railroads
in the balance of the world and when
we consider that they carry the mate
rial for more than one hundred and
thirty billions of commerce annually
and when we further take into con-
siderstion that the Tonnage of this one
, hundred and sixty thousand miles OF
road is annually more than one hun
dred and seventy millions of tons
more than all the tonnage Of all the
water navigation of the entire world, We
can then form some just conception OF
the power, influence and wealth Of
the monstrous corporations.
1t is proper in this connection to
look into one more crime OF the cor.
porations The real cost of all these
one hundred and sixty thousand
miles of railroad is about two and one
half billion dollars, they have wattered
this stock up to about nine billions
thus fixing, charging and collecting an
outrageous freight upon more than
seven thousand millions of watered
stock, independent of an exorbitani
rate of freight charged upon the
actual capital invested in the
roads. In order that the
reader may form some just conception
of the above statement it will be
proper for me to make reference to
Poor sManu and the census report OF
the United States for 1880; by doing
so it will be seen that prior to that
date and before the corporations pooled
their issues and consolidated then
general interests, and at a time wher
they were competing with each othei
as u business enterprise, that all the
roads running west from Boston, New
York, Baltimore aud Philadelphia
charged, at their own will, one cent {
ton per mile on all through hauls anC
one and sixth for all short hauls
The census report for 1880 shows tina
the average freight rate fer the UniteC
States was less than one cent tor
per mile, They also show that thu
roads from St. Louis to Galveston
prior to the general combination, anC
when she was competing as business
transaction, only charged seven tenth
of cent ton per mile on through
haul from city TO city. The census
reports and Poor's Manuel show tina
at the above dates, and the above
named rates 55 per cent of the gros
earnings of these roads was net profit
This most unquestionably settles th'
question as to whether one cent toI
per mile is a paying rate or not.
- The most authoritative statistic
II show As per cent net on the gros
II earnings of the principal Texas roads
10 and these roads have their stool
"a watered from 40 IN 90 ner cent, WhllI