The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-08-16

| generations hence, if the people wait
Sc long, they may possibly cut off an
| other II of a cent. In the meantime,
| the multi-millionaires who own these
roads, living in their marble palaces in
New York and London, with their
yachts, fast women and fast horses,
have gone on with their fellow consplr-
ators enhancing the value of the dol
lar, reducing the value of produce, and
thereby more than doubling their pas
senger and freight rates. 1t is in this
way that Ireland, naturally one OF the
finest countries on the globe, has been
pauperized. All the profits OF the soil
have been drawn in the shape of rents
BY nonresident landowners in Lon
don, and, nothing going back, the
country has been impoverished like
field from which all the crops are cut
and nothing returned In like manner
to-day the South and West are impov-
erished by all the profits of agricul-
ture being taken to London and New
York i'm the shape OF excessive trans
portation charges and, nothing be-
ing returned, or spent among US, the
South and West are rapidly being re
duced to the condition of Ireland.
MERELY BUFFERS.
missions of the several States have
served only as buffers to protect the
railroads from real criticism by the
people, and from direct legislation to
reduce their rates, while the States
have taxed themselves to pay the sever
al Commissions salaries to seem to do
something. In the public distress we
demand real relief, and we must have
it, and not its phantom.
What is the remedy? The remedy is
to cut the rates and exactly in the
same proportion these multi-million-
aire railroad kings have, in combina-
ton with others of their kind, cut the
prices of our produce,
The Supreme Court OF the United
StW.es has decided Chicago Railroad
VS.. Wellman, 143 t. s., 339, and many
other cases, that rates which will al
low moderate interest on the actual
value of the railroad property are val
id. In that case it sustained a passen-
ger fare of cents n mile. Upon the
same basis every passenger and nearly
every freight rate should be cm5 in
two 1t rs what has been done with
cur produce, and will simply restore
railroad charges to their former basis.
Can the railroads stand it? Upon the
basis OF waeered stock, making the
railroad spatrons paydividends and in
terest on three or four times
the value of the railroad,
they cannot, but upon the
legal requirement Of moderate interest
on the real value of railroad property.
they can. Besides the dividends and
interest on stock and bonds on three
or four times the value OF the property
is not all the present high rates are
levied for. In the first place the
freight shippers and passengers are
taxed to pay enormous salaries to rail-
road officials, ranging from 100000
per wear down The officials are as
numerous as their salaries are exorbi-
tant. j. Pierpont Morgan pays, out
of this levy upon the poor Southern
people, $4,000 year to his chief man.
ager President Spencer, while his, like
all other big railroad systems, has
three or four honorary sub-presidents
at approximate salaries and many
other officials with high sound
ing titles, salaries in proper
ton and duties in the in
verse order, while the real work is
done by Woodworking subordinates
with moderate salaries. In addition,
the travelling and shipping public is
loaded with the sums used in running
newspapers, editors and lawyers, the
maintenance of expensive Hobbies at all
the State capitals and at Washington
and with the free travelling of all
those whom the corporation thinks it
can influence in that way, for the cost
of the passage of those who travel free
must be added to the charge against
those who do not.
HIGH SALARIES PAID BY THE
PEOPLE.
1t must be noted that this host of
s10e 900, $50, 900, $4,000 and $4,000
salaries-not one of which can be real
" earned-is collected out of the peo-
pie by the station agents as surely as
the salaries of the Governor and other
State officers are collected by the
Sheriff. The people of the greatest
and wealthiest State do not pay their
highest officials upon any such scale
and they have the same right to regu-
late the salaries of railway officials,
unless they can be paid inside the 6
per cent interest upon the real value
of the roads, to which point and below
it the legislature has power to cut
down the rates. That these high sala-
ries and other unnecessary expenses
are not to be considered in fixing rates
expressly stated by the court in "Chi-
cago Railroad vs.Wellman" above cited
| and in many other cases.
| RENTAL OF LEASED RAILROADS.
Here may be noted another favorite
extortion on the traveller and freight
shipper. One railroad will lease an
other. The leased road is only enti-
tied to rates that viii produce not ex-
ceeding per cent on the value OF its
property and these rates should not
be increased by leasing to another, yet
the lessee road viii put it's rates so
high as to earn the per cent rental
paid and per cent to 20 per cent adj
ditional for itself besides the high
salaries to the great officials, newspa~
pers and Hobbies of the lessee. This is
making the people pay the rental for
them and the operating company,
though not spending dollar to build
O road, taxes the people an additional
per cent to 20 per cent on a paper
capital. Reduce the charges for fares
L. 70