The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1896-03-06
Government Ownership.

Government Ownership.
Government control or ownership OF
natural monopolies is coming more and
more to the front as question for public
discussion and thought. The robbery
suffered by the public with these utilities
in the hands of close and silent corpora
tions is fast becoming public menace.
No one not direct sharer in the rob-
berries, is found defending the outrages
practiced by monopoly ON the public, but
tinid souls who have no faith in them
selves or anybody else, fear the public
would be too feeble and childish to take
its own part against the bold thieves and
robbers who would force themselves into
office and power. Such cowardly souls
are a great obstacle to the betterment OF
bad conditions, and are the willing,
though perhaps unconscious, stepping
stones by which the constituencies and
daring adventurer mounts to power.
The designing and exploiting class with
their subservient tools, when it is sug-
gested that the government might take
possession of the railroads and manage
them in the interest of the whole people,
raise their hands and eyes to heaven in
holy horror, exclaiming "The railroads
are capitalized at ten billion of dollars !;
the government could never pay for
them |" The value thus created by
watered stock and other swindling de-
vices is by no means.the true value, and
the people are no more under legal or
moral obligation to pay such sum for
the roads as these stocks and bonds rep
resent, than the owner of a stolen horse
is bound to pay the man i'll whose hands
he finds the animal, the price the party,
though innocent, may have paid for the
animal.
The demands of justice by the whole
people are infinitely greater than the
personal interest of auy part of the PEG
pie. In the event of the determination
on the part of the people to place the
management of railroads and telegraph
under control and thorough supervision
of the government,-andt this is all there
is in government ownership'-the gov
eminent would appoint its engineers to
examine the roads, estimate their true
cash value and ascertain the amount it
would require to replace them with all
their necessary belongings. This done
the amount of all kinds of Indebtedness
resting on each line or System" would
be ascertained, and these infated-with
water by rascals-bonds and stocks scaled
down till they represented the exact value
of the road or system of roads such in
debtedness attached to. The government
would then either take entire control of
that division or place it under supervision,
which would compel an itemized state
ment to be published monthly of the EN-.
tire business, the right to issue stocks or
bonds to rest in future altogether in the
hands of the government or with Congress.
In this manner every road in the coun-
try could in short time be placed under
government control, such a control as
would control, and no such sham as the
Interstate Commerce Commission.
The proper control of any line of bus
iness can rest only in the hands of one
party. There can be no division of con-
troll between parties whose interests are
Numerically opposed, such as the interest
of syndicate of capitalists, running
close and secret corporation and the en-
tire people represented by the govern
ment The management of the lines
would remain as at present, in the hands
of competent persons, responsible to the
government for faithful performance of
duty, similar to the management of the
post office. The government cannot be
said to own the post offie. 1t merely
directs it in the interest of the people by
employing competent men in the various
departments who report constantly to
their superior officer, who communicates
with the department at Washington,
which reports to Congress.
There is nothing tragic, revolutionary,
serious change or new about proceeding
to drive out lot of rascals who fleece the
public through watered stocks and bonds
by very costly process of management,
by which they are always trying to out
wit and circumvent each other at an ini-
mense cost to the people; and what is
worst of the bad system very large per
cent of these combines that run our rail-
roads and telegraphs are foreigners,
which is a double incentive for the peo-
pie to work for government ownership or
control of these public monopolies. If
the people are capable ofself-government
they are capable of making this advanced
step. If they are not competent to make
this step, they will surely fail in self
government.