The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1899-11-07

crime against civilization and progress.
II the government had owned the
roads, our people would have gone to
the White City from the coast and
back again in excursion trains for 81 a
head. And if the nation had been IN
| possession of the roads a sufficient
| length of time to consolidate and sys-
tematiza the railwa business, the cost
! would have been reduced to 81 for the
| round trip. Think OF going from New
York to S 70 Francisco aud back again
for a five dollar bill! Does it SQUAD
too nuch like Arabian Nights3 Well,
take this little fact and digest i6; the
German State Rail way at Berlin sells
yearly tickets, good for a five mile ride
in and out Of the city as many times q
day as you please, and on any train,
for the sum Of 81 so This means 8 $50
miles for 81 so IT you live five miles
out and go in aud cut nee each day;
if you go home to dinner, or go back TO
the city after supper it means over
1000 miles for 81 so; and if you do both
it means more than 10. 900 miles for
less than a f1ve-dollar bill; now it
doesn't look so much like Arabia, does
it9 And what an incalculable benefit
it would be to this country to have
cheap transportation, especially for
workmen and the children in cur
schoolsI Communication tickets at an
average Of ter miles for 6 ant, like The
German yearly tickets would enable
the poor Of the city to live in the fresh,
wholesome atmosphere of the country,
would tend t. depopulate the elums,
expand the city, and would go very
far to ward solving some of the most
difficult problems of municipal life. It
ought to be she aim Of every statesman
20 facllisaFe IN every possible way the
movement Of the people; the policy OF
tne rail Ways is to narrow the margin
of freight. but to make heavy profits
on passenger trafic-a policy exactly
the opposite Of the true one.
Great as will be the bent Fl q arising
from the economies and low rates in
cident TO national ownership, there are
others even greater. JusCic3 demands
public ownership q lite "a EN- Qhaticallg
as economy. Let us follow the trail OF
\ typical railway scheme. a few men,
who like to make money by rigging a
press that will squeeze it out Of thei
ORD Ihers, plan a new road. They issu
stock, aud talk il up until they eel
worth. Then they make oath that 81
to 80 times as much stock has beeI,
paid, as is usually the case-the reporl
of the United States Pacific Railway
Com mission of 1888 show that the
Cantral Pacific made ef1avit tina
$54 $50 600 Of stock was paid iD, When
0uty $3.50, 600 had been really paid and
tla Uul0n Pacific sw0re that &36 862.
900 9as paid in, when only $500, 600
had be3a actually paid, ETC They do
5nIs t. make a good appeagarc in ask
ing for government aid, which is the
next eteD. A little lobbying aud pro
mIscuou7 pre- ents OF stock are gener
ally ~. fficIent with Congress, logis-
latUre AID council Town meetings
are easily coerced into gitts By threats
OF r0nning the road on another
and leaving the tlgn out in the c>l1.
Over two hundred million acres #
land and hundreds Of millions Of money
nave been obtained gratis by the rali
roads in this way from nation, State,
ard municipality gifts amounting IN
value to over four billion Of dollars, or
nearly the actual wealth OF the whole
railway sy stem. end every atom of
them utterly void, and bay oud sha
authority OF Congr. 81, Legislature, or
municipality, aceordiDg 10 repeated de
cisions Of our ables5 ldges and we
clearest principles Of the law pgcause
they were gifts Of public Or )perty to
private parties.
II the original pr ctors still Owned
the roR Is, thu people would not need
80 pay for them-their gifts and over
charges they have paid would nor
than settle the bill; bu5 untorgunatelq
Innocent third persona have largely in
'esrPd in stocks and bonds