People's voice., 1897-02-11
RAILROAD ROBBERS

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Methods by Which the People Are Rob-
bed by the Barons-Free Coinage Indis-
pensable, but Not Panacea.
The question has been often asked
whether the free coinage of silver would
be panacea for the depression under
which the country now drags out lin
gering life. The friends Of free coinage
do not consider it universal remedy,
bat an indispensable one. The single
gold standard is the rock which has
been placed against the door where our
hopes have been buried, and until it is
rolled away there can be no resurrection
of our prosperity. Dives is urgently op-
posed to the removal of the stone, but
certainly Lazarus cannot come forth till
it has been taken away.
Among the many expressions visited
upon the masses by their present mas
ters who have 'laden the people with
burdens grievous to be borne, but which
they will not touch with SO much as
one Of their little fingers" are the
freight rates and passenger fares, which
have not decreased with the decrease in
the value Of our products, but have en-
hanced with the enhanced value Of the
dollar, the owners of the great railway
lines being among the most active
agents in procuring the adoption Of the
gold standard, and they were the larg-
est contributors to the campaign fund
to be used against the restoration of sill
yer to free coinage.
]. Pierpont Morgan, who was con-
spicuous in procuring Mr.. Cleveland to
issue the $262, 900, OOO Of bonds, and
whose firm shared largely in the S1S,-
600, 900 of profits the syndicate made
by handling that issue, is the principal
owner of the Southern Railway COM
pany's lines. When cotton was 10 cents
a pound Gas it still remains in Mexioo),
pound Of cotton would pay for five
miles Of passenger fare on his railroads.
Now, though he and his combination
have increased the value Of money till
cotton brings only to cents a pound,
he has not reduced his fares nor freights,
and a pound Of cotton will only carry
its producer two miles instead of five,
as formerly. Freights remain as high as
ever, and vegetable gardening, which
should be very profitable business. has
been reduced to the same level as other
farming businesses, and in both alike all
the profit is absorbed by The transporta-
tiOn charges.
Is there no protection for the people?
Certainly there is, but it is in their
own hands. 1t cannot be found in the
railroad commissions. The interstate
commission has proved SO utterly in.
efficient that two of the great parties
have recently put into their platforms
demands for its being made really eff
oient. In fact, the interstate commission
has practically restricted itself to pro-
tecting the corporations against hurting
each other by reducing rates, with no
protection to the people against ex-
orbitant rates, nor against secret re-
bates to large or favored shippers, which
were the objects in view in creating the
commission. Whenever that commits
sion has shown any disposition to serve
the object of its creation, it has been
promptly shackled by injunctions or
highly technical rulings by the federal
judges, holding their positions for life,
and large proportion of them having
secured their appointments by the in
fuence Of the corporations in whose be-
half they extend their powers by every
possible construction. Besides, it is not
certain that all the appointments to the
interstate commission itself have been
made without the influence, more or
less active, of great railroad systems in
terested in the future action Of such ap-
pointees.
After this result with the interstate
commission, could the record Of the state
commissions be other than disappoint-
ing? In some cases, as q western rail-
road president oynically and openly de.
clared, the railroads have "simply add
ed the railroad commission to their as
sets. In the majority of instances,
however, the members Of the state rail-
road commissions have been gentlemen
of unimpeachable character, but elected
by legislatures instead of the people "a
radical defect, which the corporations
carefully looked to-. They have in rare
instances had majority Of progressive
members in close sympathy with the
people. They have generally been in
tensely conservative, listening to the
assertions Of impending ruin literally
made by railroad managers if rates were
reduced, and not seeing the patent ruin
to the people if they were not. As a
rule, railroad commissions have limited
themselves to cheeseparing reduction
of ons-fourth or one-eighth of cent per
mile on passenger fares, and a similar
microscopic reduction on freight rates,
and with ordering few railroad sta
tions built, where the corporations were
not overmuch indisposed to build them.
Sometimes they have somewhat raised
the valuation Of railroad property for
taxation, over which those corporations
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