The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1896-09-22
STRANGE PRRvERsIoNo OF IDEAS.

five and a half ago Feb. 169I)
the Legislature of North Carolina es,
tablished a Railroad Commission. 1t
had been long demanded by the people
and had been defeated in the four pre-
ceeding Legislatures by railroad indu-
n G and powerful lobbying. That
LEGISLATURE was elected and sent here
on an express pledget to establish a Rail
road Commission The object of the
creation of a commission Of course was
to protect the people against exorbitant
railroad charges and other exactions.
There was no desire to Cypress rail
roads, for the people are always 4st,
but certainly there was no intention to
prevent the railroads voluntarily giving
the public lower rates, if they wished,
than those fixed as the maximum by
the commission, nor to interfere in the
competition between raill Dads which
might bring about lower rates to the
public.
Now most of the railroad kings, no
tabIy among them J. Pierpont Morgan,
the chief owner of the Southern Rail
road system, have >ined in the combi
nation to make gold the single stand
ard, wi the result that railroad rates
while nominRlly the same have in
point of fact really doubled, since it
takes double the quantity Of cotton and
other produce to pay them. The Rail
road Commissioners have not, by any
means, reduced the railroad charges in
proportion to the enhancement in the
value of money, but on the contrary
when the S9aboard Air Line, finding
the profit excessive, has voluntarily re.
duced it's rates, and J. PIerpont Nor
gan's railroad system has failed ia the
injunction against lower rates which
Judge Simonton indeed issued but after
wards dissolved, we find Maj J. W.
Wilson, chairman of the N yrth Caro-
lima Railroad Commission, writing to
the Railroad Commissioners of South
Carolina and Georgia asking them to
join in a j pint letter to the two railroad
systems requesting them to arbitrate
lest both roads should be injured by
the competition"
Is it possible that the people of North
Carolina have for five years been tax
ing themselves to support a Railroad
Commission with all the Incidental ex
penses and that when two great rail
road systems get to fighting over the
enormous profits the Railroad Commits
sion standard allows the corporations
to make, the commission itself should
interfere to prevent the public getting
the benefits Of the lower rates which
the Seaboard voluntarily Cfers but
which its competitor, J Pierpont Nor
gan's line is verse to granting,
This is a strange perversion of ideas
The Railroad Commission was created
to prevent the people from being op
pressed by high rates. The commission
in five years made a very minute re
duction and then when one great sys
tenn voluntarily offers a substantial re-
duction, the chairman of the North
Carolina Railroad Commission rushes
forward with a letter to the r silroad
Commissioners in other States asking
them to join in a petition to the Sea
board Air Line not to make such re,
auctions for fear it will hurt itself and
it's competitor.
When Mej Wilson's term shall
expire this tender consideration for
the corporations will make a Of
them at least think kindly of him in
his retirement, but it will not be so
with the tax payers of N or6h Carolina
who have not paid him his salary ell
these years merely to interfere against
their getting lower rates from the vol
untary action of the corporations
themselves in competing for the enorm-
GUS profits allowed the railroads by the
commissions maximum-a maxi
mum which is too high and out of all
proportion to the reduced prices of
farm produce since the enhancement
in the value of money under the gold
standard.
A PARTY SAVING MACHINE,