The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-09-05
JOHN l. BLAIR.

John I. Blair the great railway
magnate of Blairstown, n. j., is said
to be on his deathbed at the age Of o.
His wealth is estimated at about So,
100000. These facts, taken in conjunc
ton, make Mr.. Blair an object of in
terest to the public, hence the daily
papers have been publishing his
biography in anticipation of his de-
cease. The St. Paul Globe of Sunday
before last devoted several columns of
space to the dying multimillionaire
from which the following extract is
taken:
"The greater part of his vast for
tune was made by railroad building in
Iowa. His general plan was to organ
iZe a company to build road through
an undeveloped section. Then he
would persuade the people living along
the proposed line to issue county and
city bonds sufficient to pay for the
building of the road, the work being
invariably done by construction
company. which was John |. Blair in
another form. Bonds would be issued
for this, and stock equal in amount to
the bonds turned over to his company.
up of the country opened by the road.
never failed to.make the stock valu-
able, and in the end the shrewd New
Jersey shopkeeper became many
times millionaire. At one period of
his career Mr.. Blair owned and con-
trolled more miles Of railroad than
any other man, Vanderbilt not eX-
cepted.'
Recollect, now, that the article
from which the above is taken was
not written for political effect. 1t was
intended to be truthful account of
Mr.. Blair's life and of his rise in the
world to the possession of immense
wealth. Note the way in which he
made his money. When he built a
railroad through a certain district he
pers uaded the people along the route
to pay for it; then he let the construc-
ton of the road to himself without
compel ition and, no doubt, at highly
profitable figures. That is about
what the average man would do, is it
not, if he had the opportunity? "Bonds
would be issued for this, and stock,
equal in amount to the bonds turned
over to his company, which was also
himself" The consequence of his
procedure was that the road, when
completed, would represent bonded
and stock Indebtedness Of twice it's
actual cost, figured on an extravagant
price for the work. Then the interest
has to be kept up on these stock and
bonds. The interest charge is, of
course, more than twice what it
should be, and more than twice what
it would have been had the road been
built on strictly honest business prin-
ciples. What is the consequence Of
this state of affairs? Why, the road
has to charge its, patrons a very much
higher rate for its services than would
have been necessary under the other
plan. This is, the way in which rail-
road stock is watered. The patrons of
the roads are charged rates which en-
able the roads to pay interest, not on
ly on the original cost of them but
millions of dollars, which were never
invested in them.,e A fair illustration
would be for you to loan your neigh
Dor, say. $500, taking his note therefor:
then double the amount of the note
and make him pay you interest on the
whole amount. This latter would be
forgery, andif you are caught at it
you will be punished by the law. The
other is a smart business transaction
which enables John /. Blair and many
others just like him, to acquire vast
fortune which is of no use to the own
er and positive detriment to society.
What right has John l. Blair, or any
other man, to an immense fortune ac-
quired in this dishonest manner
Every dollar unjustly acquired by any
man makes some other man a dollar
poorer. The possession of immense
wealth carries with it the power to ac
quire more in a rapidly increasing
ratio. The inevitable result Of this
state Of affairs will be that at tie end