The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1896-08-28
LIVE ISSUES.
THE TELEGRAPH MONOPOLY.
How 1t Appears When Viewed In the
Light of the Principles We

Light of the Principles We
Proclaim.
For centuries the courts have rec
ognized the inherent injustice of
monopolies and have declared them
void. Even the sovereign power
of Queen Elizabeth was held in
competent to create monopolies be-
cause they were detrimental to the
interests of the people. BY what
authority, then, can it be done by
the agents of the people elected to
conserve their interests ? 1t is fun
damental law that an agent must
be loyal to the interests of his
principal.
The fact is that those who have
obtained turnpike, canal, railroad,
telephone, ETC., privileges were
cunning enough to call them Gran
chises," obscure by specious argu-
ment their real effect and back
them up in court and legislature
with powerful influences until the
habit of making such grants became
established and the weight of pre-
cedent came to their aid. The con-
sequence is that we have the curl
GUS spectacle of government
creating monopolies with one hand
and trying to choke them with the
other-declaring absolutely void
all monopolies formed by agreement
among men because monopoly is in
it's nature contrary to public policy,
and sustaining exactly similar, in
some cases identical, monopolies
established by the agents of the
people without an atom of author
ity to do it, but through a fragrant
breach of their trust and in viola
ton of the fundamental principles
of free institutions, which, as the
highest courts are unanimous in
declaring, cannot be set aside even
by a direct vote of a majority of the
people.
The clearest principles of consti-
tutional jurisprudence inherent in
the very nature of republican gov
eminent require its power to be
used for public and not for private
interests and purposes-monopoly
is against public interest Gas appears
from it's power of limiting freedom
of commerce, of exacting more than
an equivalent for service rendered,
of transferring to B. the property
of A. without consideration, of tax
alton without representation and
for private purposes antago-
nism to public policy on these and
other grounds being fully illustrat-
ed and established by the cogent
reasoning and strong justice of a
long line of decisions from the days
of Elizabeth to the present time),
therefore the fundamental prin-
ciples of republican government are
broken every time franchise is
granted and every moment pri-
vate monopoly is allowed to exist.
Equal rights to all, special priv
iueges to none, is the only rule con
sistent with liberty and justice. 1t
is one of the fundamental axioms of
governmental philosophy, and was
recognized by the most eminent
jurists long before the Omaha con-
vention made it the battlecry OF a
new crusade. For example, Judge
Cooley, whose name yields to none
among living jurists, says on page
4S5 of his great work on constitu-
tional limitations, Equality of
rights, privileges and capacities
unquestionably should be the aim
of the law; special privileges are
always obnoxious"
Government is union of all for
the benefit of all. 1t is cO-opera-
tive effort to which all classes of the
people contribute and its powers
should be used impartially.
fla group of farmers and artisans,
A., B., O., d., etc., should elect M.
to direct the affairs of the group,
and NJ. should grant X. the eXclu-
sive privilege of growing wheat, or
grinding it into flour and baking it
into bread, it would be equivalent
to granting X. the right to rob the
community each year of an amount
equal to what they would pay above
cost in preference to living in wheat
II 10 tho conNn fhiOCr in