The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-10-09
WATERED STOCK.
Senator B. n. La Toilette Scores
Railroads and Trusts.
In a Strong, Interesting Lee
turo at Kingman.
AVOIDS STATE ISSUES.
Tells Much of His Wisconsin
Legislative Experience.
Also Discusses His FightO on High
Rates in Congress.

Kingman, Kan, Oct. 9.-Senator Rob
ert NJ. La Toilette Of wisconsin, lectur-
ed here last night on Representative
Government The lecture was in the
interest of the city library and was
largely a lecture that had been deliv-
cred in other states.
The lecture was scheduled early in
April, but had been postponed and this
date was not fixed until last week.
The train crew on the train that
brought him here doubted him being a
United States senator because he paid
fare instead of presenting a pass. OBJ
jections to his coming here went 80
far that according to good authority his
opponents went to the extent of Offering
a considerable gift to the library fund
If La F'ollette's date should be cancell-
ed La Toilette was greeted by large
audience.
He started withthe proposition that the
greatest danger to representative gov
ernment is that money comes between
the representatives of the people and
their duty. He quoted DeLongueville' s
statement made 76 years ago, that. In
America I never heard of man spend
ing his wealth to corrupt the people.
He followed it with quotations from
Brice, written Is years ago. Brice
American politics. Corruption had, he
said, reached such a state on the pres
ent condition Of government that we
have in the last few years had to coin
the best standard dictionaries.
The great work an honest official can
do he illustrated by J. L. Bristow's
achievements as assistant postmaster
general in his fight with the postal de-
partment grafters.
Railroads and Packers
These packers. he said. had been built
up by. the railroads. F'avors are given
first because the railroads prefer to
have the shipping done by a few or one
shipper; second, because the packers
and railroads are now closely allied in
business.
The grain, he said, is now controlled
by few people closely allied with the
railroads. He told of the Milwaukee
Elevator company and the Southwest
ern Elevator company driving the small
elevators out Of business along the line
OF the Milwaukee, sy stem, and the Bur
hngton system, Armour, he said, con-
trOis bith companies and is a director
Of the Milwaukee road. These COM.
pan1es control 1900 elevators that pay
the farmers at least 3 million dollars a
year less for their grain than a fair
and just price.
One Trust Experience.
Telling of his experience with legis-
lation he declared that when he at
tempted to curb the book trust he
found the railroad lobby running to its
rescue. Then he found the insurance
lobby back of both. He told how the
United States Steel company has come
to control not only the iron manufac-
ture of America but 80 per cent of the
iron ore deposits of the United States
and Canada.
"AIl our Industries are based on
/ iron" he said. ''It is the most neces-
sary of all metals. Take it away from
US and civilization would be put back
1000 years. Now 1t is come within
the control of a half dozen men. tell
/ you God Almighty never made a board
! of directors good enough to control all
/ of any article of such necessity
That company spent 400 million'do
/ lars, but has issued 1,400 million dol
/ lars of stock. It makes our people pay
enough more for iron to pay dividends
on 1000 million dollars that repre-
sented nothing but water Eight rail-
road companies own the anthracite
| coal business of this country.
How did they get it? They stole
1 it," he declared. Then he explained
the oppressive measures by which in
! dependent operators were wiped out
and forced to sell their mines at low
/ prices. The Standard Oil trust was
built by the railroads giving special
/ privileges. To control these things the
I trusts and the railroads maintain their
! Iobbies at all state capitals and at the
national capital. They have come into
such control in New Jersey that they
have made New Jersey the home of
the trusts Eight men control the rail-
roads of the United States and work so
well together that when rates are
raised on one. they are raised on all
for like distances. The railroads are
4 capitalized for billions. They are
worth billions. The difference is
I overca pitalization for which the people
are compelled to pay dividends.
A Struggle to Tax Roads.
The speaker told of the fights in
/ Michigan and Wisconsin to make the
/ railroads pay their share of taxes and
advised Kansas to use the same meth
I ods. BY the employment of experts
they found out the value of the rail
/ roads. In Michigan the railroads went
to the United States supreme court
/ where the decision was that the rail-
of its value In Wisconsin, when the
railroads gave up, they paid 81, $50 900
more for taxes than they would have
paid under the old system The onlv
correct tax system, he said, IS to value
property for taxation at its actual value
:. II is the only way to catch the tax dod-
.eWhy pays these freight bills to
make dividends on the watered stock ,
You say the big shipper. No; you pny
the freight, Mr.. Jones. when you buy
the goods. Taxes worry you sometimes.
If your taxes are twice what thew should
be you worry about it. You tall
to the assessor, but If you add together
all the money that is expended for town
ship taxes village taxes, county taxes
city taxes. state and school taxes and
all the expenses of national government
you have several hundred million dol
lars less money per year than YOU nav
each year IN freight. and you nav 400
millions Of that to pay dividends on
water stock.
A Kansas Illustration.
1.-THE Atehison Topeka e Santa 70