Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-02-22

won by the railroads. BY the very
nature of the case the railroads will
continue to win in the future, for, on
one side Of the contest are a few gov
eminent officials, while on the other,
the tremendous force Of corporate
greed and wealth with command Of the
i worlds best legal talent.
These are only few of the many
examples that might be cited to show
8 that there is much need of reform in
the present system of railroads in the
United States.
IL There is yet another need of reform.
"A reform in the present car service.
Let me read you an extract from a
private letter written at O'Neill, Neb.,
under date of January is, by the Hon.
NJ. +. Harrington, a leading attorney
Of Nebraska. who has recently been
making study of the railroad prob
lem. He says, Under the present sys-
tenn the manner of using cars is ex-
pensive and wasteful. We do not get
the best results from the total number
of cars in the United States. The cars
have to be sent back to the roads
owning them frequently empty. I'm
der government ownership we could
utilize the cars to the very best adj
vantage
In fact, Mr.. Chairman, a car sent
over the Illinois Central to North Da-
kota could be utilized in North Da-
kota just as much as a postage stamp
bought in Illinois could be used in
North Dakota.
! Citizens Of North Dakota, this short
age of cars to which Mr.. Harrington
refers may in part be the occasion Of
the coal famine in your state this win
ter.
! Again, there is need Of reform in
over capitalization. The people of the
United States are at the mercy of un-
scrupulous railroad financiers when it
comes to over capitalizzat ton. Today
whenever a railroad management finds
! that its road is going to pay an exor-
bitant rate of interest upon the cap
ital stock it Immediately adds enough
more stock to make the earnings come
to 8, A or 5 per cent or whatever the
management thinks will not look like
an exorbitant rate. And after this
process of watering has been repeated
many times, the interstate commerce
commission is expected to step in and
say what is just and reasonable rate.
But complications for the commission
and injustices to the people do not end
with the problem of watered stocks.
There is vet another need OF reform
a reform in the granting ofslands. One
and one-half million acres OF our
choicest lands have been gwen as a
4 grant to the railroads. Just how this
problem will be solved BY the commits
sion in determining a just and reason
able rate is beyond my comprehe tension.
Again, there is need of reform In
the political corruption Of today. It is
a well known fact that many of our
best public men have yielded to the
corrupt influence Of railroad capital
lists. The railroad pass will continue
to look good to many of our public Of
ficials and the railroad lobbyist, with
4 his ready cash, will continue to exert
his his influence in spite of the interstate
commerce commission It is true, as
President Roosevelt has said, "The
railroad lobby is the most powerful
lobby in the world. z
The fact is, Mr. Chairman, the atti-
+ tude of the general body Of railroad
& men can be summed up in the state
ment once made by Jay Gould, with
\ democrat, / am democrat; with q
repub lican, am a republican, but al
/ ways and forever / am for the Erie
railroad z
So we see that in these various
phases of political corruption there is
sort Of indirect tax upon the patrons
\ \ Of the railroad, which is made for the
I purpose of swelling the Golfers Of our
Goulds and Morgans, who take from
the people millions of dollars annu-
ally. But this unjust indirect tax does
I not end here. Do you suppose that
!. the railroads are going to pay for the
3 expensive Investigations of the inter
state commerce commission? Never.
/ We who patronize the roads must paw III
Tor these expensive Investigations. and
!, IN addition to this we have to paw the
attorneys fees and legal expenses st
the railroad
1$ Finally. there is another need Of re-
s form. There should by all means be i
reform in the passenger service Of To-.
I day In the San Francisco earthonake
] last year, q horror which appalled, the
whole world, nearly a thousand people
lost their lives. On the United States
railroads for the past year ten tl,onu-