Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1896-11-27
NO. 49,.

the road was built and equipped, the gentlemen
who built it issued bonds of $4,000 per mile
and also issued stock of 81 S, 900 per mile, max
ing the aggregate Indebtedness $2I, $50, 900.
This road was then turned over to the parent
road of which the constructors were hired men,
cleaning up for their ring the aggregate sum of
$I3,66I 900. This was accomplished in a lit
tie over one years time.
The farmers of Kansas and Nebraska are
charged for the carrying of the freight and pas
sengers on that road sufficient sum, in ad-
dition to the running expenses, to pay the in
terest on the SIS, 900 per mile bonds and divi-
dends on the SIS, 900 per mile stock In other
words, they are charged more than twice as
much as is necessary to pay an honest interest
on the cost of construction and running ex-
penses
This is only one instance of more than a
hundred others known to us, where these fraud
ulent fortunes have been accumulated, and is
one of the more fruitful sources from which the
millionaire railroad robbers have amassed
their colossal fortunes.
A railroad running into Colorado has coal
mine. Their vein is about IS feet in thickness.
Immediately across the canyon from this vein
is one owned by private citizen, which has a
surface thickness as shown on the face of the
canyon of nearly three hundred feet. The
gentleman owning this mammoth vein of coal
concluded to mine and ship it into Kansas and
Nebraska. He went to the railroad authorities
and asked them how much his freight rate
would be by the ton in carload and train-load
lots. They informed him ST. so. Seven dollars
and fifty cents per ton was what the railroad
was selling its coal for at Omaha, Kansas City,
and all intermediate points. Even Denver and
Pueblo had to pay the same amount per ton,
and the little town situated only fourteen miles
from the mine had to pay 81. so per ton. Their
rate of freight amounted to the con6scation of
the man who owned the better bed of coal.
This illustration of the Rocky mountain coal
traffic is given simply as an example, for the
railroads absolutely prohibit by their iniquitous
freight system the enjoyment of the proceeds
of his mine by any coal mine owner in any of
the Rocky mountain states. This is also true
of gold mine or silver mine which runs low
grade ore. They have the metal assayed and
charge sufficient amount of freight to take all
of the profits saving and excepting bare sub
sistence to the mine owner.
When in the states of Kansas, Nebraskr, the
Dlkotas, Iowa and Minnesota crop is develop
ed so that reasonable estimate may be formed
of it's magnitude, the railways send expert men
throughout those states to ascertain how much
freight they shall charge for the movingof that
crop and yet leave the farmer bare subsist-
ence. We mention these particular Western
states, not because they exceptions to the
general rule, but we cannot give the particulars
of all of the states in this article; but here
after we will give particulars in the various
states.
The eXtortious practiced by The railways
have on the one hand DESTROYED the value of
farm realty, beggared the farmer and filled our
land with an impoverished yeomanry; and OH
the other hand built up class of railway mil
ionaires who are absorbing largely all of the
fruits and labor of honest industry. These
gentlemen, not satisfied with wholesale rob-
berry, have become so arrogant and irsolent in
their demands and practices that they now seek
to assume control of the government. 1t shall
be the pleasure of the Silver Knight-Watch-
man to be one of the factors in this contest, and,
God permitting, we will be in at the death.
WAGES CUT TEN PER CENT.