The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-01-24
ANOTHER VIEW.
Ed G.. Little Discusses President
Ripley's Letter
On the Subject of Government
Ownership of Railways.
MR.. LITTLEPOINTSO OUT
That in Countries Where the
Railways Are Thus Owned
The Service is as Satisfactory
as the Mails i'm America.

sion in the newspapers between z. P
Ripley of the Santa Fe and John Davis
OF Junction City on the question of the
government ownership of railroads To-
day he said:
In his last article Mr. Ripley suggests
that the most serious questions are the
political ones In this I think he is alb
solutely correct His use of the state
ment, however, is somewhat startling
He goes on to say, the application of pol
tics to the railway service would lower
the character of the service, but still
more appalling is the tremendous political
supremacy which these $4,000 Offices
would give the party in power In view
of the fact that every railroad in the
state of Kansas is either in the hands
of a receiver or has been while the Unit
ed States postal service is probably the
found in this country. # is a cheerful bit
of audacity for railroad man to sug-
Ice on +be same footine as +ba' nostaI
service would lower its efficiency No
business in this country is better conduct
ed than the DostaI service of the United
States There is every reason to antici-
pate that an application of the same sys-
TEN to the railroads of this country will
bring similar results. In the countries
where government ownership is being
tested, the railway service is considered
that of the mails. He offers argu-
ment as to why such inefficiency should
result, but makes the simple bald state
ment. and it is not too much to say that
his statement is preposterous until he has
He is right in saying that the great
danger IS IN the appalling political su-
OF the supremacy Of the $4,000 voters
who would be placed under civil service
rules. would be absolutely free from pOlit-
1caI lnHuenceS, just as assured or their
positions as our civil service clerks now,
for the first time in their lives untram-
neled by any dfctation OF corporate in
huences, masseu together by no threat of
any common danger, and left for once to
vote as each lndlNldual ret ne ought 70
vote One of the greatest benefits that
would accrue would be that these $4,000
men could look on pqDHc matters just as
every other citizen does, each for him
1.-THE appalling danger is in the 'po-
Itical supremacy welded by great cor
poratiOns that inject themselves into every
campaign in this country, endeavOr to
control every convention of any import
ance and to dictate every nomination that
touches their interests. These railroad
cOrpOratiO maintain a lobby at every
legislature and at every congress. Their
corrupt and vicious representatives are
not satisfied with controlling legislation
on the railroad question and interfering
with the election of every United States
senator. but assert their impertinent in
5 reference in every species of legislation,
until the railroad lobby has become a
regularly organized and Universally rec
Ognized third house to every legislative
body in this country .
ed by governments ownership of railroads
would be the destruction of railroad infiu-
enceS in state conventions and the dis
persion of the railroad Hobbies from the
capitOls. In my judgment twO-thirds of
the evil Influences that lnfeSt every cap
1tOl would pass away and a lot of in
fernal scOundrels who rob the stOckhOld-
ers of the railroad companies and put in
their own pockets a goOdly portion of the
money which they pretend to pay to the
would be compelled to discontinue badger
ing decent men with their dirty PROPOSE
lions and to go to work and make an hon
est living. It would then be much easier
to get a fair vote on general propositions
of reform and it is difficult to estimate
the extent of the positive gain there
would be made for good government
dangerous than the influence of private
interests in public affairs, and pretty
ence Of organized wealth is the greatest
menace to the future of this re-
public, insinuattng itself as 1t does
The government ownership of rail-
roads would make it unnecessary
for the railroads to maintain Hobbies and
would do away with this influence en-
tirely.
Mr. Ripley grows humorous when he
says: The scandals and jobbery of the
river and harbor appropriations or of the
tariff bill would be nothing compared to
the field which would be open to the
spokesman by the railways 1t is true
that the making of a tariff bill is simply a
signal for the cOrmOrants to assemble but
the most deplOrable scandals in the history
of this nation We're those in connection
with the Credit Mobilier and the use of
money in the congress of the United
states bv those men who built the Union
Pacific railroad. on every such occasion
legislators are corrupted by private ctu-
gems controlling corporations that fatten
state knows how frequently railroad cor
T,OratiOns have cheated the people out of
bonds and frozen them out of their in
terest in the railroads. In recent years
one railroad in this state has Quilted the
state Of something like g 900. In the face
of the jObbery in the building OF these
railroads man must be jesting who at
under government ownership. There IS
absolutely no reason why there should
public road any more than in the estab-
fishing of postal lines or any other public
ley: If there was nothing else to be said
against private ownership. the political
argument alone would be enough to con-
Il was astonished that Mr.. Ripley
should instance Prussia in his theory of
Drfvate ownership. Under government
ownership in Prussia the freight and pas
senger rates have been decreased, wages
of men have been increased me foaus
are specially satisfactory and there is a
handsome net revenue TO the SoNernIIlent-
Some people are mighty nara to pletse'
The simple truth is that every great gov
eminent on earth except those OF Grea
Britain and the Umted SIates Is enjsas5 "a
in the government ownership OF railroads
and Great Britain is so engaged IN most
of her colonies me rallroad Is JUST as
much of public highway as the street
and there is no more reason why II Should
is that the street should be. Private own
ership has been amply tested in this eOun-
Iamentable failure. Most of the railroads
of this country are bankrupt PrlVate
management has shown that II IS an
sOluteIy incapable of conducting the rail-
roads successfully. If the grOcers in this
state had shown as large a percentage Of
failures as have the railway managers in
this state, it would be in order to ap-
point a board of guardians to take charge
Of their affairs. About the only times
when these railroads are well run are
when they are thrown into the hands OF
some federal court and run by a receiver
aDpOinted by the federal government
While there are many who would hesitate
to make a change now, if the building of
railroads were to be begun anew there
are not $1,000 men in the state of Kan
vi would vote to put the pubAlC
highways under the control of private
ranffal again.