The Lake County times., 1907-06-19
McAdams Thinks Railroad
Men Who Water Stock
Should do Time.
TO SHIPPERS
Commissioner Who Has Heretofore
Been Noted for Reticence,
Speaks His Mind.


indianapolis. Ind. June 19,-In a
speech conservative. yet radical. ex-
pressive yet self contained. Charles V.
McAdams, member of the state railroad
commission. today presented the rail-
road situation to the members of the
Indiana Grain Dealers association In
this speech. delivered this afternoon,
the commissioner took occasion TO
make plain for the first time, his po-
sition with reference to pending rail-
road matters. Though commissioner
for more than a year. Mr.. MeAdams
has never before consented to speak
concerning the work with which he has
to do.
Conservative IN that he urged upon
the grain dealers to whom he talked
the fact that they, too, were to obey
the law, just as railroad or others cor
porations were TO obey the law: con
servative in that he urged moderation
with reference to passing laws that
would destroy the railroad as paying
investment for capital-yet in this
statement with reference to some of
the evils of present day railway man
agement, overcapitalization, stock wa
tering, use of poor materials, reciprocal
demurrage, he was as radical as any
speaker could be who wanted to please
a crowd of shippers.
Railroads Are For Gains
I'm the first instance, gentlemen"
said the speaker We must keep in
mind that so long as railroads are per-
mitted to be owned and managed by
corporations, we must recognize as the
first and one of the controlling feat
ures that they are built and operated
by their owners for the purpose of
making money for such owners. When
1t ceases to be practicabfe -becoures
difficult for owners to accomplish that
purpose. the building and operation of
transportation lines by private enter
prise will cease and we will have TO
look to the government for relief No
one, / hope. is seriously impressed with
the desirability of that alternative"
Thus much for the conservative. AS
for the radical:
The troubles we have in this coun-
try are not caused by laws. but by their
infraction. If a body of men uses the
laws of this state to organize a bank,
and, after the authority of the state
has been given them to deal with the
public as bankers, they float the insti-
tuition on watered stock, steal it's
customers money and rob the com
munity generally, we sometimes send
them to the penitentiary because they
have betrayed a public trust. When
body of men, exercising the authority
given them by the state, organizes a
railroad and procures from the public
the funds TO exploit the enterprise, and
them loads it down with fcticious and
watered stock. and plunder the in
vestors and give fcticious values to the
property, resulting in private fortunes
to the promoters, and consequent loss
to the investors. then they also should
be sent to the penitentiary; the offenses
are the same; the only difference is
that the wrong is generally greater in
the case of the railroad wrecker than
it is in the case of the bank wrecker.
The great personal fortunes now held
in this country by railroad magnateg
are not the result of legitimate enter
prise They do not represent legiti-
mate earnings upon capital invested
nor reasonable compensation from
services rendered; but, on the contrary.
they represent the results Of unlawful
and dishonest manipulation of the
stocks and property OF the stock
holders"
Employees Shouldn't own Stock.
Continuing. the speaker said that If
he We're in control of a railroad not
one of its employees. from the highest
down TO the lowest should have any
interest. directly or indirectly in any
enterprises along the line of the road.
Excepting the laws looking TO the
greater security OF life and property.
the most important departure in re-
cent state railway legislation IS the
enactment of the principles OF re-
ciprocal demurrage," continued the
speaker. Laws Of this character have
been upheld for the regulation OF state
traffic wherever they have been tested.
The law Is a just one and is a cor
rect measure OF the mutual responsible
ity existing between the shipper and
the carrier. The shipper pays for all
OF the service he gets. whether it be
in carriage or overtime use Of the cars.
The company should respond in like
maner for failure TO perform any re-
quested service which it is able TO per