The Newtown bee., 1906-01-26
The OUTLOOK.

The OUTLOOK.
 | Our That all men do no
 Railroads. think that our rail
 roads are a set of commercial oligar
 chies is evident from some of thu
 events that have taken place in thu
 last few months. A neat little bool
 has recently been issued entitled 'The
 truth about the railroads" which
 showed by set of graphic maps anc diagrams that the railroads of the country are paying out about 40 pel cent of their earnings to their em ployees and that the owners really did not get very large share of the profits of the business. Another striking in- cident is the fact that not great while ago the representatives of five of the great labor organizations called at the White House to protest before the President against the rate legisla- tion bearing on railroads. These men claimed to represent six million work men whose annual wages were five hundred million dollars and they feel that their prosperity was bound up in the success of the railroads of the country. One of the great difficulties in dealing with this whole matter arises from the differing rates and re- bates which the railroads have estab- lisbed. Where a railroad is in compe- tition with water transportation it has to make a low rate in order to hold it's share of the trade. It is an open question whether any commissioner appointed by the President will be able to grasp the details of any railroads territory so as to have a fair rate for all. Theory will be proved to be diff ferent from practice.
 The The Bureau of Sta United States tistics of the Depart
 Railroads. ment of Commerce and Labor tells us that the railroad of the world is 543, 900 miles. Of this number 211, ,O74 miles are in the United States. The total cost of the railroads aggregates 37 billion dollars, and II and two-third billions is the cost of those in our own country. In 1873 the freight rate of wheat from New York to Liverpool was 10 cents per bushel. In 1905 it was one cent. The international commerce of the world is l5 times greater to-day than 1t was at the beginning of the 18th century. Verify the world is getting nearer together.
 The The revelations in the
 Four Life Insurance compa-
 Hundred. nies of New York and the trial of Norman Hapgood, editor of Golfers Weekly, for libel of Judge J. M. Deuel are showing up the people on the top round of the social ladder In a very unpleasant way. The public is quite familiar with the fact that plenty of men, senators and others, received large salaries for doing noth- ing and that it was really stealing the money that belonged to the poor widows and orphans. The libel Case is showing that the "upper crust" of society is pretty rotten and that they pay hush money to the people who get hold of their secrets and want to pub fish the facts as they are. It is mighty poor showing for those whose position ought to keep them from the gross and vulgar sins of animalism. Our sudden wealth in America has great many people and they think that they can break the laws of God and man with impunity. Somebody ought to begin to preach again the doctrine of He'll and the Nemesis who follows all evil doers with the scourge and the torture. No Nation can long exist that thinks to do injustice and to revel in vice. The old Calvanistic doctrines may seem a little stern to men of this genera tion, but the sternest Calvinism is far ahead of lust and license in nation building. "The wages of sin is dea tn. ;