The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-06-01
And the same can be said of the peo-
le OF North Carolina. They are

JUST AND SENSIBLE PEOPLE.
They understand the necessity and the
benefit of railroads. There is no hos
tility to railroads as such. We want
more OF them. There is no disposition
among any Of our people to deal other
than literally with these corporations.
There is no desire to fix rates unreason-
ably low. But we know that rates are
professionally high. We know that
when one great line voluntarily reduced
it's rates one-third it nearly doubled its
receipts, and that these lower rates
were stopped by an Injunction Illegally
granted at the instance ola rival cor
poration. Our people know that the
railroads were built nearly entirely
with our money and largely with
money from the public treasury. We
know that by shreWd manipulation
the owners Of the original stock were
forced to sell at a small per cent. Of the
original cost, and that the controlling
management is now chiefly dictated
by non resident multimillionaires liv-
ing in London and New York, and that
these railroads which in the eye of the
law ''were chartered and built for the
public benefit, the pecuniary profit OF
the owners being Incidental only" are
now run at ''the highest the traffic will
bear" for the enrichment of non resi-
dents and with precious little regard to
our advantage. We know
THE ENORMOUS SALARIES
paid it's higher officials who are also
provided with sumptuous private
palace cars and stats of servants, pri.
vate secretaries, lawyers and news
papers ct our expense. We know that
ell of these expenses come out of the
toiliDg masses from whom they are d
lected by the station agents as surely
and more rigidly than the taxes are
collected by the sheriffs and collectors
for your State and Federal Govern
ments. And we know too that we
have full power through our represen-
tives to fix every charge made by every
railroad in the State.
The Supreme Court of the United
States has decided in the cases I have
quoted to you that the public in fixing
rates have theright to know the amount
Of the salaries Of railroad officials and
the nature Of their disbursements that
it may be seen how high it is necessary
to fix rates. II the expenditures are
extravagsnt, as for high salaries, or
illegal, as for lobby expenses or run
ming newspapers, those items may be
disregarded. The public have the same
right to be informed as to all these
matters IS in regard to the salaries and
expenses of it's State Government, for
it pays them both equally. The rail
road managers need to learn that
THIS Is NO IMPERTNENT CURIOSITY,
but that these are matters Of legal
and that their management and
rates r Of vital interest to the public
who pay every expenditure they make.
Yet last winter when q resolution ask
ing information as to the salaries of the
railroad officials was introduced,
some of them affected to treat it as an
inquiry into private matters and
secured the defeat Of the resolution in
the House, though it passed the other.
They knew the investigation would be
and they dared not let the
know how much they were
taxed for railroad salaries and illegal
expenses. We know from their own
showing that the pro rata part Of the
salaries on n tolerably short railroad
was double that paid by the entire
State to the Governor and all the other
officers of the State Govern
ment and that the salaries and emolu
ments Of more than one official of cor
porations operating in this State amount
to more than a dozen times what the
State pays it's Governor, and yet both
are paid by the people and come out of
their earnings before they a use q
dollar for themselves.
In coming TO these conclusions, you
will see that I have advanced no idea
that is not based upon the reiterated
decisions Of the highest courts in the
land. In saying these things I have no
desire, nor has anyone, to excite any
prejudices against any corporation, ex.
cept that opposition which should al
ways be aroused in the breasts of free
men by seeing their fellows illegally
oppressed and their meager subsistence
taken from them to support the luxury
and idleness, and too often the vices of
$500 REWARD $500
NJ nnnannn a. 49, nnnnn III l..