The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-05-25
TIE NEW AMI OBSERVER, MAY rs, 1897.

money enough to pay whatever salaries
they think proper to allow themselves
ana whatever expenditures they care to
make and interest on three or four times
the stock and bonds the property really
cost. Yet nothing is farther from the law.
railroad, telegraph, telephone and ex-
press companies are quasi public corpora
tons, the charges are in the nature Of
public taxation, and the public have the
right to look into the nature of their eX-
penditures and to fix the rates at a reas-
enable net profit above economical and
necessary disbursements. The public right
i'll this regard is fully shown by the uni
form and numerous decisions of the
courts L have cited to you. With the en-
HANGED value of money and the CORE
spending fall in the prices of farm pro-
ducts and of labor. there should be q cor
responding fall in passenger and freight
rates. This would conduce to the public
benefit and convenience and would at
the same time rebound to the benefit of
the corporations, which instead of carry
ing few cars half full of passengers
or freight would find it to their benefit
as well as that of the public to reduce
their rates and carry two or three times
the number of cars with full loads. The
present charges are an embargo on travel
and traffic alike.
This has been amply shown by expert
ence in those States where the pubhc mas
succeeded in reducing the rates and by
the experience of time in our own state
whose receipts nearly doubled during It's
reduction of rates. Indeed, the two cents
per mile passenger rates ALREADY pre-
scribed in so many States and when tlis
State is demanding is admitted by the
CORPORATIONS here to be just. since their
reports show that their receipts average
10 cents only per mile to each passeh-
ger-the enormous addition which makes
the charge of 3H cents to the pubic Is
caused by the immense number OF Tree
passes issued to office holders, large
SINNERS and other influential people or
fayorites-the very people VINO need theiii
least-but the corporations need their IN
fuence to keep the public quiet under eH-
orbitant exactions L hus in effect, rough-
lv speaking. every three passengers VINO
nay 81 cents per mile for their own tray
cling are paving also for the free riding
Of another. for the railroads carry the
dead heads at the expense of the publlc.
Governor Pingree, of Michigan. who
has won his fight for 3 cents street car
fares and = cents per mile railroad fares,
and lower freight rates, in recent speech
in Boston truthfully said: Railroad OPP
orators are the only men in the country
who do not understand that the remedy
for short receipts is to lower prices. Yet
manufacturers. merchants anu every one
else understand this Railroad men
could understand this, too, but thay they
rely on having monopoly. In 1874 when
the Legislature of Wisconsin opened the
fight for cent fares and lower freight
rates. their action was sustained by the
Supreme court of that State, Chief JUS
tice Ryan delivering Il remarkably able
opinion. in the course of which he said
(Atty. Gen. VS.. Railroad, 81 Wis, 5So):
1T may we'll be that the high rates
charged by the railroads have lessened
their own receipts by Gripping the public
interests. The affidayits of experts have
been read to the contrary. but they are
only opinions founded on past statistics
Such opinions. founded on past statistics
would have defeated cheap postage and
are helping today to defeat moderate
tariff Experience often contradicts such
theories The interest of the public IN
tlts regard seems to be indentlcal with
that of the railroad. We think that there
must be point where the public interest
| in railroads and the private interest of
| the cOrporatOrs meet, where the service
of the public at the lowest practica bic
rate will produce the largest legitimate
| income to the railroad. 1t seems to Us an
| utter delusion that the highest tolls will
produce the largest income. The compa-
MES have hitherto absolutely controlled
| their own rates. The Legislature now
limits them The companies say the limit
| is too low. But there is no occasion for
| heat or passion on either side. The peo-
pie and the Legislature understand well
| the necessity of railroads to the State and
| the necessity of dealing fairly and just
| ly and even literally with the compa-
| MES
| And the same can he said of the people
of North Carolina. They are. a just and
sensible people. They understand the ne
| ccssity and the benefit of railroads. There
| IS no hostility to railroads as such. We
want more of them. There is no DISPOSE
| ton 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
| unreasonably high. We know that when
| one great line voluntarily reduced its
| rates one-third it nearly doubled its re-
| ceipts. and that these lower rates were
stopped by an injunction illegally granted
at the instance of rival corporation. Our
people know that the railroads were built
| nearly entirely with our money and larg-
| ly with money from the public treasury.
We know that by shreWd manipulation
the owners of the original stock were
forced to sell at Il small per cent
of the original cost and that
the controlling management is
now chiefly dictated by nonresident null
ti-mllionaires living in London and New
York. and that these railroads, which i'll
the eye of the law were chartered and
built for the public benefit, the pecuni-
airy profit of the owners being incident
al only are now run at 1.-THE highest the
traffic will bear" for the enrichment of
non-residents and with precious little re-
card To ON. adyantaUp We know tho