The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-11-20
PRESIDENT MELLER SPEAKS
fcontinued from First Page.l

and paid for, you will gain some definite idea of the outlays necessary for modern railroad to make to serve it's patrons.
 Such an outlay would be impossible but for the consolidation of the va rious roads now comprising the New Haven system and the ability such a consolidated system has over a purely local institution for raising large sums of money to meet demands made from time to time.
 The improvements here are but an example of similar works being carried on at other points on the system, mak- ing the demands in the aggregate very great, and they can only be justified by fostering, promoting and increasing the business of the company, which re- quires constant care and can never be accomplished successfully without a good state of public feeling, a feeling on your part that the officials and em- ployes of the company are doing their
 utmost to subserve your interests. and
 a feeling on our part that our efforts are being appreciated and encouraged. The greatest incentive therefore is given both of us to work in harmony and mutual confidence.
 i A word about manufacturing, which
 constitutes so large proportion of the prosperity of Bridgeport.
 have been earnestly engaged for l several years back, and with no incon- l siderable success, in securing the trans fer of manufacturing industries from | New England to the far west, and with the inducements offered by the rail- roads, municipalities and citizens there, and with the further natural ad- | vantages possessed by those localities
 in many respects over New England, | it is the greatest wonder to me you 1 have been able here to maintain your self so prosperously and increase your business of this particular character;
 and want you to feel I am with you
 to the utmost in experimenting your
 efforts, in inducing the retention of ex- isting business and in encouraging the
 location of everything additional that will add to your prosperity and we'll be- I ins. .. .- It is going to require the closest and most confidential cooperation on the
 part of both your public spirited citi- zens and the railroad company to
 make it an inducement to keep what we now have and add to the same, and want to assure you of my most
 earnest efforts in this direction. A word regarding the general atti- tude of the public towards corpora tions, and railroads in particular.
 The revenue derived by railroad
 corporation is nothing but an indirect
 tax; it is direct tax upon those who
 use the facilities, and is distributed by
 them so that every citizen bears his proportion, indirectly in many in-
 stances, but it is inevitable and un- lavoidable, and the public should under- stand that there is no real and sub-
 stantial gain, in beating railroad, in
 passing obnoxious laws, in restricting it's operation, or doing anything that
 causes an undue or unnecessary ex- Ipense for, in return, such burdens are shifted back upon the people. A rail- road is entitled to earn fair return
 upon the investment made in 1t, and 1t { gets that return by tax which must , be borne by the public. Unreasonable I burdens and extortionate demands are all in the end assumed by the public An unreasonable tax, an unreasonable
 law-like the demurrage law of Con- necticut-all these are burdens upon the } industries that directly patronize the railroad, which in turn are shifted in
 the cost of production to the consumer } which is again the public. You should therefore be careful not to deceive
 yourselves in exacting from corpora. , ton doing public service what is un. reasonable and unfair, for you are
 simply transferring to the general pub. } lie less interested for the benefit of a few, what must be returned by the public in the nature of an indirect tax