Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1894-03-08
How to Handle Monopolies.


article for The North American Review.
giving his views of certsin great monop-
olies, and arguing that such monopolies
ought 10 be controlled by the gov
eInment. Railroads, ielegraphs, tele-
phones. canals, irrigation works, har-
b' r, 9as-works, ana street car lines he
declares are mCnopolies by vntue If
their own Inherent properties. In this
kind Of business there can tie 10 compe-
tition and all appearances which res
emble competition are simply temper
srg and iilusory.
These monopolies in the United States
have been turned over TO private corpor-
ions, and these corp, rations have
amassed fabulous wealth by the exer-
else of their grasp on the public. 1t is
claimed that the railroads alone com
prise one-tifth Of the entire wealth of
the country. A great evil of this condi-
ton of things is the vast waste when
ever an attempt is made 10 force COM
petition into this field. Many of the
railroad lines are built to parallel other
lines, and as different trunk lines are
operated without regard to connec-
tons, there is needless expense in
operating them. A railroad manager
estimates that if the railroads of the
country were operated as unit, the
saving to The country would be $780,
100000 every year. Another result of
the present treatment of these monop-
olies is the enormous inequality in for
tunes in the United States. Railroad
magnates are unknown in those coun-
tries where railroads have been owned
and operated by the government. Pol
itical philosophers from the time Of
Aristotle have told Us that excessive
inequality of fortune is a great social
danger, and especially so in republic.
A third result of this policy is the
growth of artificial monopolies This
is illustrated by the fact that it costs
fifty cents in Chicago to ride in an
omnibus from one railroad station to
another, because the railroad COM
panies have given the monopoly to a
single omnibus company. If it were
not an artificial monopoly, passengers
could ride from one station to another
for ten cents, if not for five.
The history of the world teaches us
that private MONOPOLY is a constant
menace to the public. Public monopoly
is always te be preferred, and therefore.
it is laid down as general principle
that every business of q non-competi-
tive nature should be owned and
managed by the government, either
national, state or local, and that all
competitive business should be con-
trolled by private parties,
If the government owned the rail-
roads, the immense incomes derived by
capitalists would be eliminated. Pub
lie life would be elevated and purified.
Legislatures would no longer be corrup-
ted to secure the passage of laws favor
able to the railroads or TO prevent the
passage of obnoxious laws. Laws would
be simplifed because the great monop-
olies are the subject of more than half
the legislation of the country. Great
talent which is now employed by these
monopolies would be in the service of
the government.
If the government owned the rail-
roads there would be greater safety to
life and limb. Ia proportion to the
number of persons travelling, there are
thirteen times as many accidents in the
United States as in Germany, while
among railroad employees the American
roads kill and MAIN six or seven times
as many as in Germany, because in the
latter country the government owns
and operates the roads.
The professor would have the govern
ment purchase all the railroads of the
country at an appraisement based upon
the actual value of the property, not
what 1t would cost to duplicate it. If
the railways of the country are worth
one fifth of the whole wealth of the
country, it would be an interesting
problem to ascertain how the govern
ment could handle such a stupendous
purchase. He suggests in one place
that UHcle Sam could buy the property
by giving bonds for it, and these bonds
would ''serve as basis for postal saw
ings banks" The professor seems to
forget that postal savings banks are
government institutions and that the
only banks which require government
bonds as basis are the banks owned
T..