The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-05-03
"watered" Farms and Railways.

"Warere0" Farms and Railways. New York Times.
 The Pittsburg Dispatch much to our surprise, doubts that the railways run through vast areas of farm lands whose unearned increment gives their owners profits greater than any rail- way ever enjoyed. Competition, says The Dispatch. keeps down the price of farms and their products. and the railways are able to combine and de- feat competition as the farmers can not.
 Senator Elkins is good authority re- garding the railways. In his report upon the rate bill enacted last year which the railways by combination had checked their powers to prey upon the tca transportation in 1904 was g. .SOo, ,ooO,, the rate of 1870. The shocking ex- tent to which the railways capital is watered is shown sufficiently by. the fact that their share value is 4.74 per as estimated by the. Census Bureau. It is because the railways have been such fragrant offenders in the past that reform is so snss fE them n in words of the official report, the rela- lively insignificant increase of 5.31 per cent in capitalization shows a decided tendency toward more careful meth ods of financing these properties"
 There is an embarrassment of riches of proof regarding the amazing in crease of value of farm lands without any additional expenditures by their owners. Secretary Shaw happens to have touched upon the topic the other day. and, as his words may not have interest The Dispatch and anybody else in error regarding the relative crimi- nality of the farmers and the rail- ways:
 were sold at s1.25 per acre. These three' States stripped of all their i'm proyements would now sell at auction at $100 per acre, Somebody has real ized more than interest upon his i'm provements Meantime others have built railroads across these States. The first three attempts to cross the State of Iowa resulted in absolute loss to the investor notwithstanding liberal subsidy of lands. own little land in my State which cost me approxi- mately $10 per acre, the rent of which has paid an average of 20 per cent div idends for fifty years. and the land today Is worth $100 per acre. I ven ture that no man ever put his money Into railroad in Iowa and realized as large profits as I have from my
 ~ft would be a pleasure to quote more largely, but space only sufnces 10 say in brief that Secretary Shaw argu- ment was addfessed to the point that when railways make such values for others they should be allowed to se- business. our pleasantly in fancying that it would be a good idea to mark the farms back to their cost. and to enact that the price of foodstuHs should be proportioned to the capitalt- zation of the farms. serves a useful purpose if it calls attention to, the psychologists basis of the anti-rahwa, campaign. Facts are not wanted Principles are offensive. Dreams and denunciations are the stock in trade of the wielders of the, pig stick @ Dispatch's heading referring to the 'water' in the farms. We leave dry farming" to those who are pursuine the railways. We shall be content tt farms after 1t is squeezed out of tho railways By that time, if we are not mistaken. we shall find the job already ,,nl1 hnrrnn if not entirely finished.