The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-02-17
THE ERA OF MONOPOLY.
DR.. c. B. Spahr on Robbery
By Telegraph, Railway
and Gas Companies.

lures on social problems, in the Taber-
nacle Church lecture room last ev ening
The subject was. "Monopolies and the
People," After scoring the whtskey
trust, DR.. Spahr discussed the telegraph
monopoly, for which he can see but one
| remedy, government ownership. In
| England, under governor ownership OF
the telegraph. message OF twelve words
can be sent to any part for IL cents, and
| in London 100 words can be sent for IL
/ cents, IL the sender can write so many
words on a postal card. which is trans
mitted through a pneumatic tube as
quickly as over the wire. Oar telegraph
| could he operated proftably at half the
present rates. s'Here," said ''he offices
are established only where they Will pay,
| and many people have to go without ths
| advantage OF the telegraph. 10 England
| more than half the messages are social.
| Switzerland and Australia have also
| demonstrated the wisdom of govern
nj ent possession of the telegraph. The
| telegraph can be operated by the govern
ment as easily as the postal department.
THE RAILROAD MONOPOLY.
1.-THE railroads of the. United States
| have q capitalization OF ten thousand
! millions, hut much of this Capitalization
| is bogus. 1t keeps the public unconscious
| of the high rates IL is paying. An Eng
| iish writer gu American railways says
that while the railroad reports show that
| bonds are paying per cent. and stocks
1.8 per cent. on their race vaiue, me rates S
| are really per cent. on the hondS and 10
per cent. on the stock, If the true amount
| of money invested be registered.
when the South Pennsylvanta Kali
road was built, responsible contractor
| offered to buila the road for six aud q
half millions. but the contract was given
| to clerks in the Vanderbilt offices for +
| teen millions, and forty millions OF stock
| were issued
"The head of the Reading railway says
| that the company's coal properties paid
| interest. for the tirst time last year. IL
4 gave thirty millions for them and Is get,
| ting interest on sixty milliops and yet says
that the coal combine was right. because
i it was the way to get fair price for coal.
| The Reading was bondeu and stocked
! for four times what Ii could be replaced
| for"
| DR.. Spahr went among striking miners
| when he was doing newspaper WORK.
| Before the mines were bought up by the
Reading, when they were owned by COM
| peting corporations and individuals. the
| miners earned $500 year. Now there is
| but one owner and that owner does not
| bid against ltsslf 10 the labor market.
| So miners who get $3.50 a year for
/
! they are doing well. The company says.
'if you don't like it, you may CO." But
| wnere can they go? Not mile or SO
\ away to work for another miner, but
| they must leave their homes and 20 to
| another State. So they stay for what
they can get. The company has brought
| in HungariauS to compete with them.
| That is the way the Reading treats It's
| employees.
"How the Readlnd treats the public. 1t
mas advanced coal rs cents to $L00 per
ton. That means THAI thirty millions of
| dollars has been added 10 the cost of
| living among the people OF whom many
| are poor. II Il mob OF men should take
| thirty million dollars from the Reading,
| the country would shake with indigna-
| tion at the ROBBERY.
| The railroads, he said. are raining
net profit equal yearly TO s2S for every
| family in the country. The Reading
Railroad charged a rate of $50 for a
| haul TO Richmond and 4. 90 to Philadel-
! phia, q shorter haul Ii charged more
for haul to Philsdelphia than to New
| York, because it hac competition to New
YORK.
| BUILDING A RAILROAD.
| DR.. Spahr quoted at length from an in
| terview with President Stickney of the
Chicago, st. Paul and Kansas Railroad,
| who said that he would take the word of
| anyone of his railroad associates in pri-
vate matters for million dollars; but as
railroad men. he would not take their
| word for one dollar. President Stickuey
said the method of building railroad
| was to get grants of six square miles OF
| land to the mile of road: then TO bond the
| towns along the route under threat. IL
| the bonds were not given. to go through
| another town. After the public has been
| squeezed for all 1t was worth, the rail-
l 1on nv sI,tfa Far
prise, but purely private business. 1t
| made its laborers vote AS, the company
| desired, It gave passes TO all who could
| afford to pay. and then, worst of all. re-
| sorted to making different rates to differ
| eut customers. A great concern in Chi
| cago owed its success TO its good luck in
| getting preference In transportation
rates. The Standard OIL Company got u
! rate Of 10 cents, whsn others paid S5,
| and then had The assumption 80 ask
! the company to give it the 25 cents re-
| ceived from its competitors. These facts
| were brought out in an investigation
| few years ago. This discrimination In
| rate Is disastrous to merchants in the
smaller Interior cities and towns which
| have but one railroad. The transporta-
| tion rates are made fearfully high, and
| the country merchants cannot compete
| with their rivals in he large cities. Trade
| is forced 10 the larger Cities Some of
! the Western States have taken hold Of the
| pass and rate Discrimination evils.
LOCAL MONoPLIEs.
| DIR. Spahr spoke OF the street and ele-
vated railways and gas works as local
| monopolies. The New York elevated
| railroad was built for twentv-three mill
| lions and stocked for forty-seyen mill
| lions 1t is now paying five millions a
| year. The cost of carrying a. passenger
| is two ard six-tenths cents. So the road
makes profit of nearly five ceuts day
| on every traveller. This is too much In
| Toronto the street railways carry children
| to school Tor two and half cents and
| adults for three cents. and the roads are
| doing we'll. Street railways can do
| profitable business at three cents pas
| senger where the business is good.
| Cleveland has contracted for gas at
| 80 cents thousand. and Wheeling, w.
| Va, sells gas TO its inhabitants at 75 cents
ana makes money. In England the cities
| furnish gas at GO cents and make u good
| profit.
| The only remedy for these evils, Dr.
| Spanr could see was in Government
ownership OF telegraph and railways.
and municipal possession OF street
railways and gas works. 1t was urged
| that this was Il step toward socialism. 1t
! might just as logically be said that man
| about To marry was takiug step toward
polygamy- Private corporations are col
| rupters of politics. They carry their ends
| by wholesale brioary. Extortion from
| the public bya corporation is as batl-in
every respect as extortion between in
! dividuals.