The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-03-25
A TERRIBLE OUTLOOK.

The Minneapolis Times, Of March
90 1896, publishes an interview with
the celebrated w. w. Erwin. in which
he says:
The Northern Pacific has so squandered
it's granted and borrowed funds that II IS
now in the hands of receivers. rms
should mean that the parties who have
mismanaged the road shall be replaced
by new managers, resting upon capital
stock and indebtedness equivalent only
to the present value of such railway, It's
property and franchises
ut is we'll known that all government
al control of freight and passenger rates
has invariably been limited by the courts
to such rates as will afford some interest,"
on the capital stock OF the road. Gov
ernments possess no power to arpltrarlly
lower rates below the mathematical ac-
counting of the courts. II the Northern
Pacific road should pass through the usu-
al course of sale under its mortgages, the
value of such road and its franchises Will
be clearly determined at such sale. ana
when in the future the United states
or the states through which the roao
masses shall fix charges for freight and
passenger services, the courts will be en-
abled to sustain such rates upon the value
so ascertained. If, on the other hand,
the Northern Pacific passes through a
business reorganization, by which the
value of that road is fctitiously In
creased and aggrandiZed by the issue OF
large amounts of stock over the value OF
the road, the freight and passenger
charges will be necessarily Increased TO
meet the demands of interest on such
stock: and after the states and the gen.
eral government shall have recognized
| such organization they will be estopped
! from fixing any rates which would not,
| in the executive administration OF the
| road, produce interest upon the capital
| stock so recognized. This is the legal
proposition.
'Now, the Northern Pacific, through
| Morgan, Belmont and the Deutsche Bank
| of Berlin, propose to reOrganize the road
| on their own arbitrary basis They pro-
| pose to issue new bonds to the amount or
| $3.50 OOO, 900 and new stock to the amount
| of $3.50 900 900, making in all $345,O0O.OOO
| as basic value of such organization
| when it comes forward to be controlled
by congress and the legislatures of the
! states in fixing passenger and freight
| charges Now every one knows that this
| S345, 900 900 is over two and one-half
times the value of the road, which will
necessitate rates of two-and-a- half times
as much as if the road were reorganized
with reference to the rights and needs of
the people of the states l have mentioned.
This means that every product Of
industry brought into, or sent out Of,
the vast region tributary to the
Northern Pacific road, will be charged
two-and-one-half times as much as a
legitimate tariff would require. This
means poverty and bankruptcy for
half-a-d oxen states.
But this is not all. The railroad
companies acknowledge no competi-
tion among themselves, "Where COM
bination is possible competition is i'm
possible" is we'll established maxim.
When the Northern Pacific collects p
times as much tariff as it should to
meet it's bogus pitalization, every
other Pacific line must follow suit or
enter into rate war.
That means onehaf Of q continent
made the dom ain Of perpetual and atnce0s.
ing plunder.
From the line of Mexico to the line
of Canada, from the Mississippi river
to the Pacific ocean, the inhabitan is
of all that vast domain, capable Of vt
sustaining 200, 900, 900 inhabitants, are
to fall under the scourge of despot-
ism worse than that Of Russia.
And Nero tiddles while Rome is
burning The two old parties argue
about the tariff while this gigantic
wrong moves to its accomplishment
undisputed.
Who says the government should
not own the railroads? Is there any
other remedy?