The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1894-06-06
Government owership Of Railroads.
To the Editor of the Dispatch:

The tine is coming soon for the political
struggle in South Carolina to begin and for
all the candidates for the different offices
to run the fiery gauntlet of issues and de-
mandS.
have some objections to the Ocala de-
mands, and deem il proper and timely
that should express these objections to
the advocates and supporters of the prin-
ciples embodied in those demands. | viii,
therefore try 10 reach the RetOrmerS Of
Lexington through the Dispatch, Cotton
| Plant and Register, and let them have my
! views aud have them corrected by any one
if they are wrong, or if [ misunderstood
the scope of their meaning
The one shall discuss in this article is
the one on ownership ands: operating the
railroads. The demand reads as followers:
Third Transportation being means
of exchange and Il public necessity, the
government shonld own and operate the
railroads in the interest of the people
When it says owned and operated in the
interest Of the people, supposeit means
1t can be done at less expense to them and
| that the peoples interest are not properly
taken care of by the railroads. When any
| ones business or interest is injured or ne
! g,ected by the roods the courts OF law af,
! ord an ample n ems of relief and | don't
| see how the government could run them
| any cheaper than the present manner for
| several reasons Their officers are eX-
| perienced in the business and Of fine bus
| ness capacity; their hands and employees
! are not heavily paid and are everywhere
| clamoring for more pay. Still the roads
are paying rery small dividends to the
| stockholders and many are in losing con.
| ditlon. All of them are hard pressed
for means and borrowing all the time. The
| money invested in railroads, notwithstand-
ing the high rates complained Of for freight
and passenger travel, do not pay more than
3 per cent interest to the stockholders
taking the entire railroad outlay in South
Carolina.
If We buy the roads We will have to is
sue bonds or pay the cash and in neither
case can we get off tor less interest than
four per cent. How can we cheaper the
rates of freight and passenger travel and
use new and inexperienced men in charge?
II these become public property the
officers are likely changed at everv change
of political sentiment IN the Administra-
ton We have now State debt Of only
five and a half million dollars, and yet
that is severely telt by our tax payers and
has caused considerable political agitation
at times in our Nate; but how small that
debt now compar\d with what it will be.
The railroad interest is now assessed in
this State ut nearly SIG 100000, and the
assessors claim that they are assessed atnot
exceeding seventy-fve per cent OF their
value. Add one.tourth of the twenty-siX
~, tbo& ro u,ill ba
road bonds value at the enormous sum of
s30,00O,OtO. To this add onr S1,500.00O
State debt and we will have bonded debt
of about S3S, 900, COO This IS on the con-
dtion that each State should be bonded
sufficiently to pay for all loads within its
jurisdiction
South Carolina is rather poor in roads
as compared with some other States. II
We take the national railroads, over l62, 600
miles long and of a value of not less than
$4,000, O00, ,000 that will make our portion
of the indebtedness nearly three times as
great as to make the State pay for its own
railroads. We would in one case be under
bond Of Sl00,OO0,000 and in the other
only of $38 000, ,000 The national debt
for railroads would be about $50 per
capita, Dut if the State purchased, it
would be nearly $32. I hardly believe
we could undertake this with any safety of
getting value received. Ii we pay by
State taxation our Slate debt then would
aggregate in size over seven times its pres
ent size. and if by national then our rail-
road and State debt wonld exceed twenty
times its present size.
The words nsed by the Cotton Plant III
its co!umns in isSne after Issue. consecn-
lively are own and operate, and / take for
granted it knows the proper wording of
the demands. The Coordinate conjunc.
ton ''and" is used aud the ownership and
operation of the roads must be coordinate
ideas in the sentence. The value of these
roads is two and half times as large as
all the money IN the United States, includ-
ing gold and silver specie, gold and silver
certificates and all the greenbacks and
paper money. We have now about S25 %
per capita, and if increased to the Alliance
demand of $50 per capita it would take 1t
all TO pay for railroads IN the United States
t. say nothing of those yet to be built.
If it is thought the national estimate IS
too much, and it is only one-half OF that,
South Carolina wculd still owe a railroad
debt of $50 90. And we know the estl-
mate of S32 0tN. 900 is not too much when
the State Board so say and that will make
nearly $50 00 per capita to each inhabitant
of this State.
The people of Lexington county have
already some sad experience in railroad
bonds Broad River, Fork and Saluda
townships have taken $4,000 stock aud
have issued bonds to pay it. Those three
townships have about 5000 people in them
that is only about So 00 to each citizen
therein and yet thev are greatly dissatis-
fed and some Of them when talking about
it find common English too weak TO give
expression TO their feelings and resort to
much stronger terms. That 1000 was
taken in stock and not gratuitous gift to
! the road and when the road pays dividends
! they get their portion to assist in paying
| the interest on their bonds. The result is
that even on this small amount of So GO
| per capita for these three townships they
have to tax themselves to pay the interest:
| What wonld these men do if it be raised
| from S. 90 to $50 90 per capita? That
would raise their bonds from $4,000 to
$4,000 interest bearing bonds. Each
township then would have bonds ont for
| $500 or double the amount due by the
| three combined. These figures will give
! them some idea of this plank in the ALI:
ance platform, of its length, breadth and
| thickness and some idea of its weight and
magnitude. On the other ten townships
h re would be an additional debt OF
i $780, coo. Add this to the S24O. 600 of the
the Fork townships and the people Of
| Lexington by the states present assess
mcnt would be under q railroad bonded
debt of $500, 900. and it would take nearly
S2S,00 if they be per ceut. bonds, to
pay the yearly taxes on the railroad debt
alone. II We are assessed and bonded on
| the national valuation at the lowest posi-
| bic of $50 90 per capita, the bonded debt
| OF Lexington would reach nearly one and
IA quarter million dollars. The citizens OF
the Fork would he taxed Just six times as
! much as now. These roads are now owned
| by Northern and European capitalists and
| when these roads lose it is their loss, but
| if We buy the loss Will be onrs. There
will be yearly millions of interest flowing
away and we at 4 risk for all losses. and
| but little chance to make.even the interest
Again. if we buy these roads and any citi-