The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1896-12-03

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E<r,es Of R<vs~s.
Ts. railroads Of the Cri,ed Sta.
are nortsas~d 'o the sxssr,
Of about 81. 900 90 90. asd ,h.x
have aro,her indsb', dness (.tieh a,
oos,s .hsu ~ much OF mere TO oasr,.
aod which must sooner or later b.
covered by bcpSsl 20 ,h~ .r,.nt a
money. 81 90 .coo.oVo mote. 4,
ons' cost them .; least sJoo. 60 ossO
= year 10 Fay interest ol Their in
c'b'n.ss. There 10 no ~sy 10 O.,
cAI.- any 80 this burden % dsb,. .x-
e"pi ihrOugh the door OF bsnf.
rn9'oy. With tee ,sqasl az receiver
ships Aud reorxsniEstions. Air. Ady.
within n leu years. . gres, r.rt q.
the rslsHy 'ls'sns OF the United
States have got rad o. port,ous os
Their indebtuefs BY this very pro~...
o.ht rsiss. the total volume of raj
wa bonds mentioned above would
b" considerably greAt,r than d, ras
stands A; pr~c-nI. :h- railroad
companies ~ the Csi'ei States ar.
obliged Ia make .s-h m.ls 81 read
IN ih. whole country cam and p.v
interest on an average fixed d-bs q
about $40 600 usgrs and oih, op-
era'irg expt uses having been met
before anything can bee gwen To tn.
s;oo kholdcrs. Tue obligations to
which Ne Lave been referring Of
course do not inclad. the volum, n
Gus issues Of stock which repres. bt
the ownership rather than the in
debtness cf the roads. The man
agement vf railway companies In
the United States Is often autocratic
IN the last degree. When once di-
reeisrs have been elected by the
vote OF the majority OF the sbarch chol
ders they take the mos, impor,ar {
steps without ever consulting The
the shareholders; snd 10 their An
nusl reports they give only such iu-
formation ss they please, s1bjsct 60
no examination by independent au-
ditors. This state OF things rAtur-
ally leads TO grave abuses, direc.
toral management and dishonest
speculation in bonds and shares.
Philadelphia Record
The railroad interests OF the Unit.
ed States. il is hardly necessary te
say, are immensely important not
only to the share and bondholders
but TO the whole country "a we'll
AID yet their present condition il
deplorable. Most Of them were ex
trsvagsntly built and many Of then
have been corruptly managed. II
cons6 quencs their bonds and stock,
are ont of all proportion to tho rea
value Of the roads. Many Of then
by schemes of reorganization hav
destroyed the investment %. inno
cent holders, and enabled The reck
less managers, whose policy an,
whose acts have brought The prop
critics with which they wsre inirus,
ed 70 hanks uptcy, 10 retire in se
curitv With ill-gotten fortunes. Th
only remedy OF this state ~ AYsir
is effective Legislation. Aucthe
thing that requires leyislation-ap
in the interest of the railroad con
panies themselves is the Iimiiaiio
Of amounts given by Jurors in ssc
dent cases. IL jurors may. withct
: limit, give TO y plaintiff in accider
case whatever their prejudices {
symraihies may suggest, IL is eas
to perceive that herein is q m,
mace 70 the existence Of the prope
ty itself-s property in which u,
merely shareholders and auditor
are Interested. but tho whole con
, munity "a well. 10 England,
the Employers Liability act, Il
amount Of coupe ns sation in the Cal
of injury to n workman, We believ
is lot to exceed three year5 earniu
; OF the employe. This may not |
: enough; but both in the ease OF On
ployes and others, We venture
think, there should be some limi
some impedineDt 10 the extravagAr
: verdic, which have recently illu
!. trated the procee dings OF tie court