The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1892-09-09
Carnegie's Fortune.
ONE OF IT'S SOURCES EXPLAINED B,
THE LATE F. B. GOWEN.

THE LATE F. B. GOWEN.
Aside from the help given him by
the national government through high
tariff to ward off foreign competition,
and thus through combination to choke
domestic competition. Mr.. Carnegie ap.
pears to have had other ways Of build.
ing himself up in riches at the expense
Of others. This hitherto unpublished
letter. addressed to citizen of Chicago
by the late Franklin B. Goweu, the
we'll known Philadelphia lawyer and
railroad man, will explain. 1t is dated
at Philadelphia, Aug. 8, 1899:
DEAR SIR know of no authentic
publication of Mr.. Csrnegie's secret
contract for rates on the Pennsylvania
railroad, and l cannot vouch for any OF
the facts. | have had a general knowl
edge 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 it possible that fortune
such as Mr.. Carnegie is credited with
could have been made if ordinary
freight rates had been paid to the Penn
sylvania railroad. / am quite satisfied
that during the last fifteen years the
officers Of the last named company. by
means Of secret rebates and other allow.
ances, have taken about 10O,000,OOO
out of the treasury Of the company and
distributed it as largesses to about half
a dozen concerns, of which Mr.. Car
negie's establishment was one. | am
told that MIR. Carpegie'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 COM
pany which has now passed. Whether
his attack availed anything or not
cannot tell, hut infer hat it did no.
and that therefore Mr.. CaEnegie's steel
works will not make any more money
than other similar establishments,
although still possessing the advantage
of the large capital drawn from the
treasury OF the Pennsylvania Railroad
company under the old contract, just as
the Standard Oil company now possesses
the advantage of the large capital OF
from S50,0O0,00O to SlOO,OOO,OOO
unjustly drawn from the trunk lines
since 1878.
This is method of getting wealthy
at the expense of others not unknown
to many another great fortune accumu u.
ulated in this country in the last twenty
years. AS We have before remarked,
you cannot examine closely into the
means by which these undue accumula
tions of wealth were made without
finding at the bottom in almost every
case a special privilege conceded by
law or taken in spite of law. Railroad
determinations have been a fruitful
source of these gross inequalities in
wealth distribution which now asitate
society and call out peoples parties.
And Andrew Carnegie here, as in the
case Of federal tariff determinations,
appears to he an entirely natural crea-
ton. We have no doubt at all that
the money thus taken in special rates
from the Pennsylvania railroads treas
ury-or rather from the pockets of the
roads other patrons and of the men
who may have sought without special
rates to compete with Carnegie and the
favored ones in their business only to
to be crushed in financial ruin-will be
spent in praiseworthy way, in accord
with the principles of "the gospel Of
wealth" But that unfortunately can.
not right any injustice done in the wav
of its acquiremet. What we need
today is less preaching of the gospel Of
how to dispose of large accumulations
of property and the application of more
gospel in the requirement of huge
fortunes.-Springfeld, Mass, Repub
lican.
NnI