The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1893-04-21
THE READING COLLAPSE.
George W. Child's Hold Declaration
Government Control or Railroads,

George W. Child's hold Deolaration-
Government Control Of Railroads,
| Receivers have been appointed to
manage the bankrupt Reading. Be
| tween receiver and deceiver there ID
but the difference Of one little letter,
and that little letter will not prevent
the receiver from becoming a de-
! ceiver if self-interest can be served
| by the change. Let us examine into
this matter for q moment The Phil
adelphia Ledger made the announce
ment one day last week that the
hopelessness Of keeping the Reading
on it's financial feet was made known
to the insiders few days before the
| crash came and they were enabled to
unload. That is deliberate charge
of conspiracy against the insiders, and
if the statutes against conspiracy are
worth anything they should be en-
forced. Bear in mind, gentle reader,
that that charge is more serious than
any that T. V. Powderly ever made
against the Reading manipulators,
and, whatever doubt you may
entertain of my accuracy and verac-
ity, George w. Childs stands as a
truth-teller before the community,
writes I. V. Powderly in the Journal
of the Knights of Labor. Alexander
Mcleod was one of the insiders of the
Reading-there can be. no doubt of
that. He was one, only one. of the
promoters of the Reading combine;
he steered and engineered the ma
chine on to the point where it blew
up and scattered the fragments. He
promised great financial gains to
those who would invest and bolster
up the Reading. These promises
were not kept, his pledges were not
redeemed. He knew few days before
the Reading collapsed that the crash
would come, and. if the Ledger is right
he assisted his friends to unload. Some
one was robbed, some one did the rob-
bling. After the robber took possession
OF stolen booty, the great protecting
shadow of the United States govern
ment was invoked, and through
it's courts receivers were APP
pointed to conduct the immoral
and proaigate Reading back to
the paths of financial rectitude. If
Mcleod was one of the insiders re-
ferred to by the Ledger, he was one
of the robbers of the Reading; if he
was one of the robbers he should not
have been appointed as receiver of
the plundered concern. Another
strange thing that has caused no little
surmise is that the supreme bench of
the state was invaded for the purpose
of finding another receiver. Chief
| Justice Paxson would never have been
called to the receivership of the Read
ing had he not been a heavy stock
holder in Reading. If he was a stock
holder in the Reading he had no right
to sit on the supreme bench of this or
any other state. A justice on the
supreme bench in such common
wealth rs this must be expected to
deal with cases of dispute between
corporations and people; the justice
| is supposed 80 stand for equity, and,
while he should be impartial, he
should stand for the people in de-
Tense of their liberties, their rights
and their laws. Chief Justice Paxson
would find it extremely difficult
to administer the law impartially be-
tween John Smith, plaintiff, and
Reading railroad, defendant. He
would he more than human not to
lean a trifle toward his own interest
in the case, and that is why he should
| not sit on the bench. The chief JUS
tice of this state receives $500 a
year, and yet Mr.. Paxson is content
to occupy the petition ,c@:::cn Ct receiver Ct
" concern that has nothing rather
than remain chief justice of a state
that pays So, 500 year and has mil
lions in the treasury. Surely there
is food for thought in all of this, and
l ask the people to think OF it..
When from any cause a railroad
becomes financially unmanageab'e
and the directors are no longer able
to properly direct the affairs of the
concern, the United States govern
ment is asked to manage the institu-
ton until 1t again assumes an up
right position in the financial world.
Here is an argument in favor of gov
eminent ownership which must not
be lost sight OF. If our government
can honestly, fairly and economically
administer the affairs of bankrupt
concern, surely it can manage those
that are financially round. Think Of
this while thinking of Vie other thing.
I Now let me suppose case: Tom
Smith, James jackson and Harry
Robinson enter into a combination tC
get rich. They are not particular as
to the means they adopt and boom
the concern until opposition is about
dying out. Then they feel confident
of making a good haul, and, after
disposing of their surplus stock, they
being insiders-retain sufficient O
the securities to enable them to re
tain control of the concern. The,
then allow the props to be knocked
from under the edifice and take
themselves aside in time to escape
being crushed in the fall. After view
ing the wreck and Identifying tn,
remains of those who were caught il
the ruins they go to the United States
government and ask to be appointed
receivers of the concern that they
pillaged, and, strange to relate. ar
actually appointed to positions il
which they can cover up the mean
by which they conspired to rob thu
people. In order to lend respectable,