The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-01-17
TELEGRAPH AND RAILROAD.

TELEGRAPH AND RAILROAD.
The Difference Between Private - Pub
lie Ownership.
In 1857 the capital stock of the West
ern Union Telegraph company was $685.
600. An investment of 81 900 in the
stock at that time had increased in 1890
to $50, 900, besides earning for its owner in
dividends the sum of 800, 900. The first
line ever built was built between Balti-
more and Washington by congress and
in 1847 was given to the Western Union
for nothing. Since then the latter COM
pany has had a practical monopoly of
the telegraph business and has exacted
tribute from the people to pay dividends
on its stock, three-fourths of which are
watered. It has crushed or bought up
all opposition lines and under the regime
of Jay Gould laughed at all attempts at
legislative regulation.
Besides this it has built up great press
monopolies, which are controlled by the
daily newspapers of the country, and
through them corrupted public opinion
and strangled the free press. It discrim-
mates in rates against the people and in
favor of the few, and by furnishing con-
gressmen and state legislators with the
privilege of sending messages over its
lines free it brides the servants of the
people not to do anything in the direc-
ton of bringing about public ownership
of telegraph lines. The telegraph lines
should be owned and operated by the
government. The same reason that ap-
plies to the government postal system is
equally applicable to the telegraph-the
people have just as much right to cheap
telegraph and telephone communication
as cheap postal communication the
people should let congress understand in
no uncertain terms that they must have
government ownership of the telegraph.
The Cleveland Leader, in its issue of
Dec. %, points out the tendency of the
government to control, through receiv.
ers, the railroads of Tho country. ~
or three railroads are being placed in
the hands of receivers every week by the
United States courts, the courts thus as
Stunning that they have entire jurisdic-
ton over the railroads by virtue of the
laws of congress.
There are at the present time over 100
railroads in the hands of receivers, in
Guiding the Union Pacific, Northern Pa
cific, and Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe,
which are the three longest lines in the
country. This condition of affairs indi-
Gates that, with Encouragement, water
ed stock and useless competitive lines
built where they are not needed, the
railroads cannot be made to pay divi-
dends on their aggregate capital. The
aggregate capitalization of the railroads
of the United States is over $40, OO0, OOO,-
600, but they could be duplicated for
less than $4,000, 100000. Is it any won
der that railroads are going into the
hands of receivers? Parallel lines are
built where one line could carry all the
traffic, thus dividing between two lines
what one line could do, and when the
traffic must be made to yield dividends
on watered stock the rates must be kept
abnormally high, while competition
tends to keep them down.
The result can easily be foreseen.
Sooner or later one or both of two COM
peting lines will have to 60 into the
hands of receivers unless they combine
to protect their own interests. The tend
ency of the railroads to combine into
great trusts, like the Sugar, Oil and Iron
trusts, must eventually form the rail-
roads into the hands of few great
trusts unless the government takes
them into its hands before that time has
come. The authority which congress
now exercises over railroads through
the courts need only be extended a little
further to place them in the hands of
the government.-Clev Citizen.