People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1894-12-06

they are not worth the debt due the
government. Then the government
could operate them under such a tariff
as would pay only operating expenses.
This would force the roads on each
side of the government road to come
down to the same scale of charges
This would force all the roads running
parallel lines from the lakes to the
gulf to run on the same basis. Let the
government build a trunk line from
the lakes in Canada to New Orleans.
and it will regulate all the north and
south traffic and travel.
Under the present conditions, six
men practically control all the rail-
ways in the United States. These six
men can, through their underlings, say
to the $4,000 railway operatives,
"Vote for Grover Cleveland or get off
this road, >" and $50, 900 American voters
will have to stultify themselves, vote
as directed, or become tramps and their
families Starve or beg for bread. ANY
one knows that such a power in the
hands of six men is a menace to the
republic and that such power renders
these $4,000 American citizens help
less slaves. By transferring these
railroads to the government these men
will be shorn of this power.
This will place every railway opera
tive on an equality and absolutely in
dependent of each other. Then all
would vote for justice and freedom,
for it is only through fear of those who
can ruin them that American citizens
can be made vote against their own in
terests, or through dense ignorance,
but thank God the ignorance is disap-
pearing and soon bossism will go
with it.
As to buying and paying for these
railways, the owners of them say they
are worth say ST., 900, 900, 900 and their
books show that they owe $40, 726, OOO,-
900 on them; having only paid about
S275, 900, 900 on them. Now every one
knows that if these roads are ever raid
for the people must do it. Then by all
the laws of justice, if the people paw
for them they should belong to the
people; but it is never intended that
this Indebtedness shall be paid. Just
as soon as the government begins oper-
ating one trunk line east and west and
one north and south, the present
owners will be anxious to sell them.
Then let them be appraised at their
true value.
This value will not exceed 1900.
100000. Then let the government paw
one tenth of their worth every year
and 9per cent per annum interest out
of the traffic every year, and by this
means they will be paid for in ten
years, and the people will own them
and thenceforth be free men. By this
plan the people will save $500, 900, 900
per annum that they are now being
enslaved to pay. But, says one, is not
that paternalism?
1t Is no more paternaliSm than car
rying your letters or packages of four
pounds or under. 1t will be remem-
bered that Thomas jefferson in 1904
bought 757, 900, 900 acres of land upon
which New Orleans, St. Louis and
many other large cities now stand, and
ne astonished the world for his bold
ness in plunging into debt of about
$4,000, 600 for this vast territory; yet
that purchase was a bigger job than
buying the railways now.
As a matter of fact, government
ownership of railways has been thor
oughly tested, and has never failed 10
be a success. Sweden, Holland, Bel
GUM, Germany, Russia, India, Aus
tralia, Canada, Egypt, China, Spain,
Japan, Denmark, Italy and Portugal