People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1894-10-18

panied Dy agreater reouctlOn III rdIeS /
The unit rate for sow third-class
trains, which have previously been
nearly II cents per mile, was re-
duced to less than cent
Speaking of the effect Of this reduc-
ton of rates, Mr.. Larrabee says:
The zone system recently adopted
in Hungary reduced both the passen-
ger and freight rates of the govern
ment roads at least one-third, and this
reduction has, contrary to expecta-
ton, greatly increased their net reve-
nues
In summarizing the results OF
government ownership in European
countries, Mr.. Larrabee says:
For the past fifteen years there has
been a decided drift on the European
continent toward state ownership OF
railroads.
The principle upon which the de-
mand for government ownership rests,
S that railroads are public highways
necessary to the public welfare and
convenience, the same as our public
roads and water ways and as forming
too important a factor in the COM
merce and exchange of the country to
be left to the whims and caprices of
individuals.
BUYING THE RAILROADS,
1t is amusing to see our friends, the
enemy, construct straw houses and
then proceed to demoli7h them. 1t is
more like the action of school boys
madly charging the mullen stock than
anything else, except the mullen
stock is a more tangible object than
our opponents usually conjure up in
their Imagination.
These elegant gentlemen, the SPUR
rel tailed politicians, who are so de-
voted to the dear peoples interests as
to be willing to make the great sacrl-
fee Of accepting an Office at salaries
ranging from $500 to $4,000 year,
take peculiar delight in supposing.
In their fertile imaginations they
suppose plan, charge it up to the
Populists, and then jump onto it and
demolish it. Of course they take great
care to suppose plan that is weak
enough in It's structure for them to
demolish. Some of these COMPUTATIONS
are as silly as the supposition that we
are in favor of shoeing the horses
tails.
The Peoples party declares in favor
of government ownership of railroads
and telegraph lines But nowhere in
its platform does it indicate plan to
secure this end If our opponents are
disposed to act fair why not concede
that we favor some practical plan for
carrying out our declaration? Why
charge that we are in favor of pur-
chasing all the railroads at once at
their capitalized value, including the
watered stock, and issuing bonds for
the amount and taxing the people to
pay the bonds? No Populist has ever
proposed any such thing There is
no necessity for doing any such thing.
The railroads could be bought
and paid for within twenty years out
of their net earning and savings with
out taxing the people one cent or in
creasing the present rates of freight
and passenger tariff But the people
are already taxed on every dollar of
capital represented by railroad bonds
and stocks to the extent of $40, O0O,-
OOO 600. They are taxed in the freight
and passenger rates which they have
to pay the railroad companies What
the Peoples party desires is that the
money which now goes to pay divi-
dends on stock and interest on bonds,
shall go toward purchasing the rail.
roads and eventually owning and
operating them at greatly reduced
rates. In an able and well written
article in the Arena, Mr. C Wood
Davis, a practical railroad man and
reliable statistician, figures the actual
savings by government ownership OF
railroads as follows:
Savings from consultations of
depots and stats. 20,OOO, 900
Savings from exclusive use of
shortest routes. 25,NO,OOO
| Savings in attorneys salaries
and legal expenses. ........... 100000
Savings from abrogation of the
pass evil. ..................... 100000
Savings from abrogation of CON-
mission system. ,.............. 100000
Savings from dispensing with
high-priced officers and stats. 100000
Savings by disbanding traffic
associations. .........,........ 100000
Savings by dispensing with
presidents, etc. 100000
Savings by abolishing (all but
locaD officers, solicitors, etc.. 100000
Savings of fve-sevenths of ad-
vertising accounts. .......... 100000
I 4Otd.' ss.s..ss...s........ ..tlOVfOOOiOVO
In addition to this there would be saved /:
The annual political corruption
fund. ...........".." ..s 100000
Secret rebates to directors, etc,
! h. x-or;O,,.