Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1898-03-24


and then proceed to manage them for
the benefit of the whole people. Mr..
Ripley is cruel enough at the outset Of
his article to show that this cannot be
done. If the railroads ever become
government property, they must be
bought, and before that can be done
good deal of money must be expended.
1t is estimated that they are worth
all the way from Sc, 1000, 900, 900 to Sl5,-
900, 100000 Suppose they can had for
the lesser sum. Are the people of the
United States, who were so furious
over creation Of debt of $3.50, OOO,-
900, to replenish the gold revenue and
maintain the credit of the country,
prepared to indorse the issue of bonds
to an amount more than five times
greater than the existing national
debt, and be subject to an annual pay
ment Of interest to the amount of
$3.50, OOO,OOO? This important question
appears to be all together too contemp-
tible for the consideration of these
philantrophists demanding larger
public ownership and control of public
revenue producing industries.
Although the railways of the United
States have not cost the corporations
anything near six billion dollars, yet l
thank the writer that, in his wild
guessing as to :heir value, he has
placed the figure so low. The capital
ization of all the roads is now about
eleven billion dollars, full one-half
water or fraud; and, much of it was ut
first public donations of lands, bonds
and money. On that eleven billion of
capitalization the people are paying
about 400 million annually, in the
shape of interest and dividends on rail-
way bonds and stocks. Now if, as the
Post Express proposes, the u S. gov
eminent should issue six billions in
three per cent bonds, and with the
proceeds buy up and cancel the present
railway bonds and stocks, would the
country be less in debt, or more, than
it is now? And would the 1870 million
dollars paid as annual interest on U. S.
bonds, be greater or less than the 400
millions now paid annually on railway
capitalizationP Our Kansas school
boys can show that the annual interest
burden to be born by the people would
be about 22O million dollars less than
it is now, if the U. s. government
should buy all the roads on the terms
proposed by the Post-Express, How
ever, it cannot be reasonably expected
that the retainer of feudal baron, or
a corporation cataran can see or under
stand anything contrary to the will of
his master!
But it is not necessary nor desirable
that the government should buy all
the roads. In many places the lines
have been duplicated; and, in some
cases three or more parallel lines have
been built by competing companies,
where the needs of transportation can
be amply served by a single line. And
in many small towns, two, three or
more separate depots are maintained
with as many companies doing a var
iety of business in each depot, which
could be better done by single set of
officers and employees and at greatly
reduced cost in a single office. In all
such cases the government should buy
only the necessary roads and let the
Others alone If any desirable or nee
essary road should refuse to sell at
cost of construction, the government
could parallel it with a new and bet
ter one. With such policy on the
part of the government, none would
refuse to sell.
The Pc. fears the influence of the
railway employees in politics, in case
the government should own the roads
1t forgets that the whole railway sys-
tenn is in politics now, and that the
railway kings. by means of their en-
ployes, dependents, officials, attorneys
and lobbies, actually control the gen
eral government at times, in their own
interest, as well MS some of the state
governments. The railway lings-the
great feudal barons--are the dangerous
element in politics! Government own
ership and control would eliminate the
railray kings and abolish all the dan
gers of the railway influence in poll
tics
The Pc, referring to the construc-
ton of new lines of road under gov
eminent management, says:
They would not be built where they
were most needed, but where the pc
litical pull was the strongest"
What world of wisdom in that sim
gle, simple sentence! What a host of
intricate mysteries it unravels! 1t
shows as plain as monday why there
are no postofIices or post roads in this
country "where they are most needed,
but only where the political pull is
the STRONGEST IL is because the whole |