The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1892-05-31

some value or government ownership
substituted. There is too sides to this
question Many smart men on both
eidoo are talking and writing on the
question. :,
One objection has been that it would
give the party in power too great a
leverage; that it would be impossible
to dislodge them. With a Jeffersonian-
Republican form of government there
is no danger of this. All the govern
ment employees now in office and the
railroad employees added would not
amount to quite one twelfth of the total
voting population. If twelve men
can't outvote one, then it is time to call
a halt. In other words, if the railroad
business is such an immense giant it
should be bound and gagged before it
gets so large that no power can con-
troll it.
Another objection urged against
railroad ownership is the great cost.
The people have paid for them once;
they can do SC again. But the cost has
been overstated. Some claim that the
cost or value at present would reach
from twelve to fifteen billion dollars,
Some estimate it at as much as twenty
billions.
Now let u5 see what an authority on
the subject says. We will now Gull
from an exhaustive argument by Mr..
Geo. @. Ward, published in The Loco
mOtiUe FIremlGn'S Magazine:
G. Wood Davis, who is considered
by experts good authority on their
cost, and who has superintendent the
building of many roads, figures the
cost of existing roads per mile as fol
lows:
Grabbing and clearing. .......... ........S 100
Right of way a d land damage. , 800
Earth work and rock cuttings. ...... 49,. 1850
Bridges, ~culVerts and masOnry......... 1900
Rails. Spices, bolts and pikes............ 1900
Switches, siIe-tracks, cattle guards, road
Track laying, surfacing and baIlasting.: 800
and terminals ...... $500
..,............ 4,5Oi
Engineering, rents, interests and cOEtin-
gencles. ,............... Z,5UO
Total cost per mile ................... $4,000
This on the existing 156, OS2 miles of
railway June 80, 1889, was 81, 682, 246,
600. We will presume that the govern
ment first exercises it's undOubted pre-
negative of eminent domain" and
condemns for public used the national
highways of the country now used by
private individuals for private gain.
What is the next step? Compensation
for property taken. How and in what
manner? First, by direct offer of fair
and reasonable compensation. If the
offer is refused, the second step is to
appoint appraisers and have them afix
q valuation CT damages to be paid the
owner OF the property thus condemned
for public use.
What then would be the fairest,
surest and most appropriate thing for
a commission of arbitration and ap-
praisement" appointed by the people,
to do, in order to arrive at a just vaIu
alton of the railroads of the United
States? The question should be easily
answered. They should go to the
records of the New York stock ex
change and see what their market
value is. That IS. by au examination
of the records of the past sales, they
should see what private individuals
are in the habit OF paying for railroads
when they buy them. For the owners
of the stock shares of q railroad com
pany are the owners of the railroad,
subject to the mortgage upon it.
Let us then take a glance at the
record and see if we can find out what
railroads were selling at during the
year 1890. Following are the highest
and lowest prices of shares sold on the
New York stock exchange in 100: