The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1894-11-13
All dividends and surplus. 1874 600 600

Total. 1914 600. 900
Suppose that the government should
purchase the railroads at their actual
cost and issue bonds bearing2 per cent
interest per annum. The best authori
ties Concede that at least one half of
the present capitalization Of the roads
is water. But, we will allow them to
be valued at Sc, 900, 900, 900. The annual
interest enlarge on this sum for the
fret year would be 1920, 600, 600. We
have already figured the net savings
and dividends from the roads az 1874,
900 900 Deduct he interest on bonds
from this amount and it leaves 1854,
900, 900 to go into a sinking fund to pay
the bonded Indebtedness. The interest
would grow less each year as the prin
cipal was being paid and within twenty
years the entire debt will have been
discharged and not a dollar Of paper
money issued for the purpose, and not
a cent in taxes collected from the peo-
pie, other than that which they now
pay and which goes into the pockets
of rich railroad magnates. The Ques
ton is not whether the people will as
sumo the burden of debit is already
on them-hut whether they will make
provisions to get from under it, and in
the future lower the rates of transpor-
tation to less than half what they are
now.
AS MEANS OF CORRUPTION.
1t is claimed that if the government
was to assume the ownership and ope-
ration of the railroads that it would
constitute such IN army Of men de-
pendent on political patronage and the
caprices of whatever party that might
be in power. that it would constitute a
menacing danger to our liberties and a
fruitful source of political corruption
Under u present defective system of
civil service, where the principle laid
down is Ito the victor belongs the
spoils," and it is a wild rush for the
h~og-trough to see who will get the most
AZ, L oOA4hO ShO "CiSAV VI CAlS OoJCC
ton. But the Peoples party has pro,
vided for this. It Recommends in it's
platform an amendment. to the cOnsti
tuition by which all persons engaged in
the public service shall be placed under
civil service regulations of the most
rigid character. 1t might be we'll to
adopt the regulations employed in the
regular army, permitting no n to
vote OF to be a delegate in a political
convention while thus in the employ of
the government. So far as corruption
is concerned no sane man believes
there would be one fourth as much as
now. 1t is an open secret that rail
road corporations control courts, con
ventions Eand national and Safe Legis-
latures Well might Senator PETER
make s Of the following language:
The railroad interest is a powerful
one. 1t extends throughout the entire
country. There is hardly a county in
the Union that has not one or more
railway lines running through it, and
there is not a mile of that vast system
that is not represented locally by at
least one of the best lawyers to be
found in the region.
IF all the lawyers who are in the
employ or retained in the interest of
the n great railway system in the
country were marshaled together they
would form an army as large as Gen.
Jackson had at New Orleans, larger
than Gen. Scott had at Lundy's Lane.
If you put together the different armies
made up of lawyers representing the
different great railway systems of the
countryyou will find that the influence
of the railway system reaches out into
every country In the United States"
In a recent investigation of the af-
fairs of The Santa Fe railroad, it was
found that $1,000, 900 was charged as
having been paid back in rebates to
shippers. but 50. 900, 900 of it was so
unsatisfactory accounted for that it
was no doubt stolen by the officers of
the road. 1t seems to have become a
we'll settled fact that the railroad COM
violate the laws with impunity,
and their influence has become so pow
erful that they are beyond control
through the ordinary course of law.
That they have been the most fruitful
of political corruption let the
history of the land grants, subsidies of
bonds, control of courts and Legislatures
testify. Indeed this is one of the very
best reasons why the government
should own and operate the roads as it