M
THE STOCK MARKET
AND THE
RAILWAY PROBLEM.
BY
OSSIAN D. ASHLEY.
Evening Post Job Print, New York.
A PLAN, Ac.
The lights which modern experience has shed on the
building and management of Rail Roads, exhibit many
mistakes in the earlier constructions, and even those more
recently laid down are not entirely free from them. This
remark applies to works of this description all over the
country, .but more especially to those in the West, where
they have been but lately introduced and where the sub¬
ject is not so well understood for the want of experience,
and where, perhaps, it has not been so carefully studied as
in other sections of the country. The eifect of these mis¬
takes it has been found diificult, expensive, and in some
instances, impossible to correct.
The chief of these are circuitous lines—the injudicious
location of Depots in large cities—the embarrassments
and detention occasioned by the crossing of numerous
streets and roads upon the same level with the track, which
might have been avoided if their importance had been
earlier considered—and heavy curvatures and grades. It
is now ascertained that the highest speed consistent witit
safety, is one of the principal elements which secures an
increase of revenue to this medium of intercommunication
—as well to the short line—relying upon local business as,
to the extended trunk.' The reason of this—if not obvious
at first glance—a few facts and a little reflection will make
plain. In the first place it is found that one of the most
important items of income to a Rail Road, especially to
those in the vicinity of and terminating in a large city, ia
4
the daily transit of a heavy population from its place of
business to the family residence. The case of Boston may
he cited as an example,—a city assimilating in some re¬
spects to our own—it being circumscribed in its limits by
ponds of water, while we are hedged in by hills; the
effects are the same on both however. Having but a limit¬
ed amount of space to expand upon, the population of each
is displaced and forced away for homes beyond the city
limits, as fast as the ground upon which the dwellings stand
is required for the purposes of bu.íiness. It is estimated
by competent judges that not short of ten thousand per¬
sons transact business every day in Boston, who sleep every
night out of Boston ; they are generally passed to and from
their homes by Rail Roads some residing as high as
twenty, and even thirty miles away.
The working of a Rail Road so as to cheapen the cost
of its use to the masses, and at the same time, through
these, means maintain and increase its revenues, is one of
the questions, which during recent periods, has engaged
the attention of their managers.
The cost of things necessary for human want or com¬
fort, must come within the ability of the user—and hence,
for the essentials of life at least—as the price is lessened
the use is e.vtendcd, and the circle of the demand widened
up to the point where the entire population become par¬
takers.
Although this in theory has always been known, and
the fact occasionally pressed upon the public attention yet
it is only in modern times that it has been tested by prac¬
tice. The Omnibus is an example : it is in universal use
because the masses can afford to ride. The penny paper
and cheap postage also illustrate it, as does the Rail Road
where the experiment has been tried.
5
la-cities of rapid growtli, e^ocialiy those situated, as
oars is : of limited surface for business purposes, the land
increases rapidly in value and soon passes beyond the reach
of the laboring population. Even now instead of Üie com¬
fortable cottage, -which a year or two of industry and fru¬
gality would isrmerly provide, that dass is japidly being,
hiiddled into single rooms, into cellars and garrets—to
endure the insaluhiity and pestilence -which crowded dwell¬
ings necessarily engender.
, Is this city "to* stagnate ? to dwarf and sink back into
insignificance again with all its wonderful elements of de¬
velopments, or is it stiU to increase under the maturing
vigor of the forces within and around it ? and if it does so
increase where is the remedy for the evils here alluded to f
It is time we were considering measures of relief for this
mass of producing energy, which has assisted so much in
giving our city its present position, and upon which so
much depends for its future progresa. One tiling is cer.-
tain, that here it cannot stay. With two hundred and fifty
thousrad of population, which we shall number iu all hu¬
man probability, fit the end of the. next ten years—if the
operative is- not then crowded out of the city altogether
be must be very soon thereafter, and where shall he go?
have us? this he will be obliged to do if his condition is
not timely considered. The difficulty may yet be obviated
although it should have been providod against before—and
the remedy is the Rail Road ; let us consider how. As¬
sume that the present rata of rent to laborers in the receipt
of seven dolíais per week or throe hundred and fifty dol¬
lars per year, is five dollars per month, (and this is per¬
haps about the present average rate for both.) It gives
him, perhaps, the use of two rooms on the second or third
floor, with no convenienses beside ; bis fuel he keeps under
4:
an oversupply of transportation, following the general laws
of supply and demand, brought lower prices, and that the
trouble would continue until demand overtook supply and
until excessive construction ceased. To meet the difficulty
a method of dividing earnings upon an agreed basis had
been adopted. This was called "pooling," and for a time
answered the purpose for which it was designed. Rate wars
measurably ceased, and, although the scale of charges con¬
tinued low, cutting and scalping was reduced toa minimum.
Then came into existence the Interstate Commerce law with
/ a clause prohibiting pooling, and laden with various imprac-
! ticable provisions to hamper rate questions and embarrass
' railway administration. Prominent among these was the
silly long and-short-haul clause, which never has been and
never will be enforced, because, in the nature of the case,
its full application is impracticable. As if foreseeing the
folly of such a law, Congress wisely qualified it by an excep¬
tion in favor of cases where the circumstances and condi¬
tions might be dissimilar, and through this wide gateway
the nominal offenders escape with little or no difficult}'.
The truth is, that whenever the letter of the long-and-short-
haul clause is violated, it is because " the circumstances and
conditions'' are seldom, if ever, substantially similar. Some¬
times it is in consequence of competition by waterways, and
sometimes it is because one line has palpable advantages
over another, either in gradients or in the cost of fuel, or in
other items embraced in the departments of operation and
maintenance, so that one line must reduce its charges to a
competing point or lose its business to a rival line, and if in
doing this it is obliged to reduce local charges in strict com¬
pliance with the long-and-short-haul clause, it would become
bankrupt. With all its crudities and absurdities, however,
the law was enacted and a new element of disturbance was
introduced. State legislation, which had previously been
moderate in its demands upon railways, now became harsh
and aggressive, especially in some of the Western States.
The Interstate law did not, until recently, undertake to fix
maximum charges, but confined its operations to complaints
of unjust discrimination and other alleged abuses and viola-
7
ilies vrould prefer the neat or elegant suburban residence
to a dwelling in the city with its dust, its smoke, its» beat,
and its foetid smells. These are the results in other places
wherever the experiment has been tried.
The design of these remarks is : first, to draw public
attention to this subject at this time—a subject which
must of necessity in the course of a few years engage it
very deeply—and then to ascertain the probable amount
of revenue which a system of Rail Roads—pointing in the
right direction—if so constructed as to secure these two
important considerations—high speed and central Depots,
would derive from this local business, and both are pre¬
sented as precedent to the submission of a project of im¬
provement for its consideration—which if adopted and car¬
ried out must exercise a most important influence upon the
future prosperity and destiny of our city.
This project is the cut of a Tunnel through the hill at.
the head of the Deer Creek Valley in a direction a little
east of north so as to terminate in the ravine beyond, known
as 'Bloody Run, at a point of elevation, which by pro-
■per adjustment may allow of suitable connexions to be
made (keeping in view both curves and grades, and the
relative position and interest of each) of all the Rail Roads
pointing in this direction from the north west, the north,
the north east, and east, and so arranging the out-line of
the plan as to allow the tracks of the several roads to pen¬
etrate down the valley of Deer Creek to as near the cen-
ter of the city as the improvements at present interposing
will allow—unobstructed by any crossing road or street
or parallel avenue. The scheme is one of large propor¬
tions,—embracing as it does the entire re-adjustment of
all the improvements in that portion of the city, includ¬
ing the grades, the leveling up of Deer Creek, the level-
■ 8
¡ng down of the snrroundÍDg hills, the re-locating of the
streets and arenues; and provides for. vast intereste not
before centering in that locaity. Its magnitude will
doubtless startle many, and it wiU be repirded by tiiem
as extravagant and impracticable, but it will most assured¬
ly, before its adoptíon, undergo the narrowest scrutiny from
those ^¥hose interest it will necessarily effect.
The seheme contemplates the terainatmn of eight Rail
Roads in this valley, with their Depots for freight and pas¬
sengers, and embraces also provisim for both the Ohio and
Indiana gage. It contemplates a level grade with slight
curvature for each track for at least fifteen hundred feet
from the Depots, and for such grades and curves heyond
as shall in no way interfere with the highest speed consis¬
tent with safety,—it contemplates no inequality of ï%ht8
in the use of the tracks through the tunnel to the several
roads for whose use it will be constructed nor any in the
selection and distribution of sites for Depots. It contem¬
plates no speculaüon or enhancement on tibe present value
of the land, which shall be requirèd for Depots to the pre¬
sent praprietors, nor does it propose any ad(ütí(mal taz to
the several Rail Roads which may center here and unite in
carrying through the enterprise, beyond the additimml in¬
come which Üiis particular improvement will itself heget
and furnish.
Four interests must participate largely in the henefite
which wfll arise from the completion of the contemplated
work, to-wlt: the city,7—the land pnqjrletors of Deer creek
valley and surrounding hills, the land owners beyond the
tunnel,—and the several Bail Roads which shall find their
inlets into the city through this avenue : and the united aid
of all win be required to secure success to tiic undertaking
which is here submitted for the public consideration.
7
municipal law, but such powers were seldom, if ever, exer¬
cised and would never have been submitted to for a day if
the rates had been less than a fair compensation for the ser¬
vice performed, for the remedy was in the hands of the
owner of the stage or wagon. He would simply refuse to
perform the service, and if the charges were unreasonably
low, that is, unremunerative on the capital and labor re¬
quired to do the work, no one else would undertake it.
This remedy is not available to railway carriers. The work
of transportation must go on, and necessarily will go on so
long as operating expenses can be earned, including the
cost of repair and maintenance. The stoppage of railway
operation would paralyze the business of the whole country.
It could not and would not be permitted.
As compared with the common carriers in existence
before the age of steam, those of the present day are per¬
fectly helpless against oppressive legislation except by
tedious and expensive processes through the courts. This
assistance has been invoked to some extent and with good
results, but railway companies have not yet pressed the
constitutional questions involved, with earnestness or vigor.
The struggle is bound to come, unless public sentiment
forces legislation to respect vested rights, but belief in the
strong sense of justice, which is a fundamental idea of our
republican government and which has hitherto been a ruling
principle with its people, inclines railway managers to wait
for its influence as investigation and experience prove the
error and wrong perpetrated.
Meanwhile the railway trouble continues, productiveness
diminishes and the Stock Market stagnates. What is the
remedy ? W hat is the solution of the great Railway Problem
of the day ?
While these very difficult questions puzzle the brains of
practical business men, they do not confuse the intellects of
theorists and students of a philosophical turn of mind, who
take up the subject with as much assurance as they would
any social question, and discuss Ihe disposition of property
valued at more than nine thousand millions of dollars with
as much nonchalance as if they were pondering the Chinese
s
question or explorations for the undiscovered passage
through Arctic Seas. It does not seem to occur to these
gentlemen that railwa}' companies may have a grievance,
but in some mysterious way they discover defects in the
management, or labor under the impression that the cost of
railway transportation in the United States is extortionate.
In most cases there are no definite complaints, because,
as a matter of fact, there is no real foundation for any, but
if one is called upon to write an essay on such a com¬
plicated subject and wants an excuse for the proposal of a
patent remedy, it becomes necessary to assume evils
whether imaginary or not, because if there is no disorder
the remed}' would appear to bé superfluous. Hence, vague
accusations and false postulates which become necessary to
justify proposed reform. If the foundation stones are
wanting, the structure of an essay must be weak and shaky.
Thus, through a series of articles in the Independent of
August 28th, there is no attempt to prove the necessity of
reform in railway management, nor to show extortion.
There is not a particle of evidence offered to prove the
superiority of the railway systems of Continental Europe,
nor even of Great Britain, nor is there anything upon
which to hang an argument in favor of legislative interfer¬
ence except the unsupported statements of an ex-Governor
of Iowa, who is evidently anxious to justify his aggressive
course in that State. Isolated instances of unjust discrimi¬
nation ma}' possibly be proven, and it would be strange if
some mistakes had not been made in the operation of Iowa
railways; but if the evidence on both sides could be given,
the verdict might not sustain the highly colored views of
the ex-Governor.
The reverend gentleman from Boston, whose graceful
pen interests, even when it does not convince, is evidently
almost as much at sea as "the man without a country" in
handling this difficult subject. He does not pretend to
prove the existence of a public grievance in the present
administration of railways, but boldly argues in favor of an
expedient adopted under monarchical governments while
still in its experimental stages, although many competent
9
judges pronounce the system of administration inferior to
that of the United States. He advances one argument to
prove the aptitude and superiority of governmental control
which will excite a srriile from those who are conversant
with the facts. This is his proposition :
" It is, however, before one begins to discuss the
" question, interesting lo observe that, in many iin-
" portant instances, the nation has already done the
" thing proposed, and is now doing it. What is
" more, the nation does it well. Overspeculation and
" bad administration have in the last twenty years
" reduced onl}'' too many railways to bankruptC3u
" Trade must be kept up. The dailj- lines must run,
" or the property becomes worse than worthless.
" In these cases, the nation, acting by a United
"States Court, steps in. The nation appoints 'a
" Receiver.' Observe that the poor fellow has not
" a cent of capital to work with ; he must take the
" daily earnings to do his daily work with. Yet, in
" many instances of great importance, as our readers
" know, such men are now carrying on railroads
" more successfully than their owners carried them
" on. The}' make both ends meet, as the owners
" could not."
This is part of Mr. Hale's argument in favor of govern¬
mental control. Now, Mr. Hale has no idea of deceiving
any one, and doubtless believes what he sa^'s; but are the
statements in this paragraph justified by the facts?
Not at all. In the first place Receivers are appointed b}-
United States or State Courts, as a last resort, in order to
protect the property lor the benefit of its creditors and /
stockholders in the order of security. As a rule, interest/
has been in default on one or more of its mortgages. Thq
Receiver takes possession and operates the road, but insteacjl
of being in the condition of the bankrupt company, he is ajt
once invested with extraordinary powers to raise money by
the issue of Receiver's certificates, which, being duly autho
12
road four times a day) would be required to accoxnmodate
this local business ;■ now with all the feeilitíes here contem¬
plated, how long before Üie local transit would equal that of
Boston at the present time, and what would be the iueome
therefrom? Ten thousand passengers at Üúrty dollars
per annum each mabes three hundred thousand ddlars
—^fifty per cent, of which for the expenses leaves net,
from this item of local husiness, oim hundred and fiifty thou¬
sand dollars, while from fifty to rixty thousand ddlars will
pay Uie interest on the sum required to complete the work
and cost of management. The tract of land here spoken
of, is of the average value of perhaps one hundred and fifty
dollars per acre ; it would be entirely within the reach of the
operative class, at from three to four hundred, but allow
that the enhancement in consequence of this improvement
did not exceed one hundred dollars per acre—here is a sum
almost suificient to defray the expense of this entire im¬
provement.
■ This estimate embraces none of the adjacent hill slopes
or points in the vicinity of the road, so admirably calcula¬
ted for elegant suburban mansions, nor of the land, in the
contiguous bottom so well adapted ior gardening purposes,
all of which must be greaûyînhanced by this emprovement;
nor of the land fifteen, twenty or thirty miles away, much of
which in the vicinity of other large eitira, is used for pur¬
poses similar to those above enumerated.
It remains to be considered what inducements can he of¬
fered to the various Bail Etmda pmnting in this "direction
from the North-west to the Eas^ to adopt this mlet into the
city, and to lend their aid in the prosecution'of this exten¬
sive and most important enterprise.
It has already been shown that the value of the land in
this portion of the city as compared with other sections of it,
owing to the causes enumerated, is greatly below the aver-
11
dence of the superiority of government control and opera¬
tion of railways? Given the power to take all the profits
of a railwaj' for repairs and new rolling stock, without
regard to the interest obligations of the company, the Re¬
ceiver who could not operate a road to better advantage
after having acquired these increased facilities would be an
idiot of the first water. No, Mr. Hale, this is not a fair illus¬
tration. The administration of Receivers is not econom¬
ical, and they do not " make both ends meet " from earnings
alone, as )-ou assert. They borrow money, take all the
earnings, and stop interest and dividends until arrears are
paid, and they involve the bankrupt companies in frightful
costs and debt. The only real good they do is in forcing
the provision of money for putting the roads in proper
working condition, and this is certainly an advantage, but
the property has to pay for it, and perhaps from a quarter
to half a million dollars per annum for legal expenses and
Receiver's compensation. Mr. Hale has only looked upon
the surface of this question.
And now comes INfr. Bellamy, the author of the very in¬
genious and popular fiction, " Looking Backward," and
in the pages of the Forum adopts the idea of governmental
control of telegraph and railways as an adjunct of his pecu¬
liar theory of what he calls " Nationalism."
It is almost superfluous to say that among the first steps
towards this Utopian progress Mr. Bellamy considers the
possession and operation of these public conveniences by
the general Government a prime necessity. It would be
impossible within the limits of this paper to follow through¬
out the argument of this gentleman. It will serve my pur¬
pose to take a " specimen brick " from the structure. Here
it is:
" It is conceivable, indeed, that the railroad cor-
" porations might exercise their power over the com-
" merce of the country with such moderation and
" judgment as to induce the people to wink at the
" danger and absurdity of leaving such a power to
" private persons. In the actual case, however, no
14
city through Deer creek valley—neither the trains on the
road through Fulton, nor the one through Mill creek valley
can attain the necessary speed ; for the first is impeded by
heavy grades on leaving the depot, and traverses a thor¬
oughfare thronged with population, while the other crosses
many streets and roads, the travel on which is daily in¬
creasing at the same level with the track, where curves
occur, shutting off the view, and necessarily confining the
trains to a low speed.
It is asked again, then, where can these new roads do
better if as well ? Is it not a matter of vast accommoda¬
tion to provide this inlet on the terms proposed, and will
not their interests dictate their prompt acceptance of them.
This scheme of improvement must necessarily origin¬
ate with the owners of the land, for as many difficulties
would attend a union of several Rail Road companies in
such a project, as the filling up of Deer creek, and the
leveling down of the adjacent hills, and the adjustment of
the various interests that would arise among them con¬
cerning tracks, depots, &c., as could exist among individu¬
als attempting to adjust the same difficulties. It is out of
the question for one, two or even all the roads to originate
and accomplish this undertaking, although at this time sur¬
veys are being made with that view. One or two com¬
panies could not control all the real estate that is neces¬
sarily eflected by this contemplated improvement, nor could
all the roads together, for it amounts probably to a hun¬
dred acres or upwards, and if they could command the
means to purchace all, would the present proprietors con¬
sent to part with such a speculation—one that they can at
least inpart control.
It is just as essential for the Rail Roads to have the land ■
( at least the portion necessary for their tracks and depots) as
it is for the land owners to have the Rail Roads, Each
15
interest is essentially dependent upon the other, and hence
their mutual interests draw them together. The land
owner is as fully advised of the speculation as the Rail
Road manager; both are equally posted, so that an exclu¬
sive speculation is out of the question. But if they were
not, the Rail Road companies could no more make the neces¬
sary arrangements, and adjustments required to secure
the end in view unless they obtained the control of the en¬
tire tract of land effected and hardly then, than can the
present owners in their individual capacity. Nor can they
take the initiatory step in the move required to accomplish
the needful result. The adjustment of the plan must be¬
gin with the owners of the land, and it is now proposed to
explain how—the land owners taking the initiatory step, the
arrangement is to proceed and develope until the entire
plan is unfolded.
Eight Rail Roads are thought to be looking in this direc¬
tion for an inlet into the city, to-wit: the Four Mile Valley,
the Eaton, the straight line to Davton, the Zanesville and
Wilmington, the Marietta, the Hillsborough, the Rushville
and Oxford and the Little Miami for a second track.
This project of improvement makes necessary two sep¬
arate associations in addition to the Rail Roads which are
expected to join in its .prosecution ; the first will consist
of the proprietors of the land which will be required to
carry out the undertaking : and the other to construct
the tunnel, and both will need some legislation in order
to invest them with the necessary powers ; it is presum¬
ed, however, that the legislation under the new Consti¬
tution in the form of general laws will be altogether suf¬
ficient. It will be necessary to invest the first associa¬
tion with the general powers of a corporation, to create it
a legal being, capable of suing and being sued, and to , be
14
act upon them. The projectors of the West Shore Rail¬
way started with the idea of duplicating the New York
Central system at half its valuation in bonds and stock, and
came to grief before their work was done. Carried to a
conclusion upon the scale of the New York Central, with
equal facilities in tracks and terminals, it would have cost
nearly double the present valuation of the Central.
4th. " Stock waterings," if they have not in all cases rep¬
resented actual cost of construction, have been offset, many
times over, by the extinction of stock and junior securities
in foreclosure.
5th. "Capricious, ve.xatious, overbearing and arbitrary"
management is a sweeping and undeserved censure, which,
I am confident, will not meet the approval or support of
the traveling or shipping public. Mr. Bellamy's displeasure
on this point is to be regretted, but it is one man's opinion
only, and fortunately, in this country, conviction does not
follow mere accusation. Manv experienced travelers, who
have made frequent trips over European railways, have
often stated that the railways of the United States offer
greater conveniences than those of any other country, and
that upon the score of comfort they are much superior.
When Mr. Bellamy's ideal government has been established
and has assumed control of the telegraph, the telephone
and the railway, he expects to do away with caprice and
vexation and to put an end to overbearing and arbitrary
conduct. The English guards and the German conductors,
we may suppose, are to be the models of official civility.
This proposition to transfer the control of the telegraph
and railways to the Government is an old story. It is re¬
vived periodically by men who have not given the subject
serious reflection and study, but has never had any popular
support whatever. It is radically opposed to the funda¬
mental principles of a true republican ordemocratic govern¬
ment, and can never be adopted while these principles domi¬
nate the heads and hearts of a liberty-loving people. It is
not only one of the most dangerous steps which a free people
could take, but it is not even recommended by successful
17
safe and profitable investment for those desirous of engag¬
ing in such a speculation.
The case of the Canton Company of Maryland, a no¬
ted stock in" all the markets of the east, would afford a
safe model for this association, and the experience in
the management of that company would doubtless prove
of much value in the management of this. That is an
association of a similar kind and for a like purpose. A
number of proprietors of a broken piece of land of many
hundred acres lying in the neighborhood of Baltimore,
desirous of preparing it for improvement, were unable
to agree, while it was held in independent parcels, to
the outline of a plan for grades or streets, and upon delib¬
eration found that the object could be best accomplished
by consolidating the property and issuing against it the
stock of the association. This was done, and sufficient ad¬
ditional means from the corporators and others acquired by
cash subscriptions and loans to complete the improvement,
and although no very rapid advancement has taken place
in that particular part of the city, because the general ex¬
tension has not yet reached it, yet the stock of the Canton
Company has always maintained a respectable position at
the various stock boards of the eastern cities, and notwith¬
standing the return is slow in consequence of the tardiness
in making sales, it is yet regarded as one of the safest and
most reliable investments which is offering in the market.
The stock of this association would enjoy many advan¬
tages over that of the Canton Company, for the land against
which it would be issued would come promptly into use, or
as soon as the improvements could be effected ; and being in
close proximity to the Depots would be applied to purposes
which beyond question would give it a largely increased,
permanent and intrinsic value.
To provide the means for the construction, of the tunnel,
2
IG
Is it in the Navy Department that we may look for en¬
terprise and intelligence superior to that of the people ?
The answer is given in the history of the Monitor, the in¬
vention of the genius whose remains have just been sent to
his native land with well deserved honors. The Monitor
which saved the Minnesota and other warships near Fort¬
ress Monroe was actually forced upon Government by the
persistent influence of a few patriotic citizens, who not only
assisted the inventor with capital to carry on his work, but
finally prevailed upon the War Department to give the
Alonitor a fair trial.
These conspicuous e.vamples of inefficiency and lack of
enterprise in the departments named could be multiplied
indefinitely, but those given sufficiently illustrate the in¬
feriority of governmental administration as compared with
individual management. Nor is it intended in these refer¬
ences to the red tape and slow movement of the depart¬
ment to reflect upon the officials in charge at the time.
The policy of hesitation and delay is inherent to the system
of governmental control and, perhaps, unavoidable. Ma¬
chinery which runs in grooves must move constantly in
the same path, and cannot be changed in its movement or
direction without throwing the whole system out of gear.
When, however, it is deliberately proposed to turn over to
this antiquated and cumbrous agency the control of trans¬
portation, its claim to superiority should be carefully ex¬
amined.
But this proposition to turn over the telegraph and the
railway to Government involves an evil and a danger far
exceeding everything else in magnitude which can be
urged against it. By the census of 1890, the number of
men directly emploj-ed by the railway companies of the
United States exceeds 800,000, and by other estimates it is
much larger. Adding to these the number employed by-
telegraph companies, we arrive at a total of something like
a million of employees. This army of voters it is pro¬
posed to convert by one stroke into employees of the
Government. Has any scheme ever been devised so
fraught with evil consequences as this proposition to create
19
if seven Rail Roads join in its constrnction, and the nsc by
each is -equal, it makes the charge for interest eight thou¬
sand dollars against each individual company, which-would
vary as the use by either went above or below the arerage.
This settled, it remains tobe considered how a suitable or-
ganiaatíon can be formed to carry on the work of constrac-
fion, and to supervise its management when completed—an
independent and disinterested arbiter .to adjust, arrange
and control it for the common benefit.
The proper prdiminary step is for the several Rail Road
companies to agree upon and name in the diarter, or arti-
tdea of association (if no charter is renuired, ) by which they
shall unite, a board of trustees or eommksioners, and to
invest tbem with the necessary powers to effect the objects
contemplated. Subsequent to this, the several companies
that agree to make the valley of Deer creek the terminus
«f their roads, to issue to these trustees their bonds, bind¬
ing them jointly and severally, or authorize the trustees to
assue tiiem, binding them join% and severally to bear such
a fixed rate of interest, as shall be directed by the several
companies, or as shall be deemed expedient by this
board and to be irredeemable.
These bonds to be guaranteed if necea sary by the land
■company, for the period necessary to complete the work,
and to be disposed of from time to time in the market as
the work proceeds. It is well known that the more un¬
doubted tlie securi^, the lower the rate of interest at
which money can he had ; and tlie presumption is that
bonds thus amply indemnified, -«"ould provide the means
at a rate not exceeding eight per cent.
The term of oflfico of Üie trustees ihouH expire at the
•cmnpletion of the work, and a new board be chosen;
part to be selected by the Rail Road companies, and
part by the bond holders. The bond liolders exercising
22
tance of near eiglit miles wauld be saved by tliis change,
and the detention avoided, occasioned by passing through
Fulton, an item it is thought sufficient in importance to
induce this company to unite in this enterprise.
The Hillsborough and Belpre road can obtain an easy,
and by no means expensive connection with this work, by
ascending Sycamore creek from its present termination at
Loveland. The engineer of this road reports this as the
shortest line into the city ; it being but about thirteen
miles from its present termination, to the point at which it
will join the tunnel stem, four miles north of the city. It
is understood that he has heretofore recommended the line
by Duck creek, running up toits head and cutting through
Bryant's hill to the river, and running thence along the
face of the river hill, to the one on the east of the city,
called Mount Adams, which he proposes to pass by a short
tunnel into Deer creek. He recommends the Duck creek
route, because the expense of tunneling Avould be less, and
could be more readily accomplished by a single company.
It must be remembered that no other road could use this
line.
Then there is the Chilicothe and Marietta road, (for¬
merly the Belpre,) although it is not understood that any
point is determined on for crossing the Little Miami—yet
it must pass over the ridge dividing the waters of Mill
creek and that stream, some where between the city and
Morrow, and it matters not at what point its best and
easiest connection can be made with this work.
The Four Mile Valley road at present terminating at
Rossville, on the great Miami, desires to reach the city
with the Indiana gage, and is at this time prosecuting sur¬
veys, with a view to a connection with this improvement.
The Eeaton road is also reconnoftering the route between
this point and Hamilton, with the same object, as is also
19
are difficulties which cannot be ignored. But Professor
Ely and Mr. Bellamy are more liberal towards the owners
of railway property than some of the advocates of govern¬
mental control. Many of the schemes to accomplish this
end come dangerously near to a policy of confiscation, but,
after all, they are not much more objectionable nor of a
more agrarian character than the usurpation of powers by
legislative bodies to regulate and control the revenues of
common carriers, to which reference has already been
made in this paper. If legislation can arbitrarily control
rates, whether reasonable or not, or even have tiie power of
determining what rates are reasonable, without the ruling
of a court of competent jurisdiction, there is but a short
step from this to seizure and appropriation.
The contention of the writer is that these "first steps
toward nationalism," as Mr. Bellamy terms them, which
contemplate the acquisition and control of the telegraph
and the railway, are retrograde and not progressive. The
concentration of such immense power in the hands of
Government, call such a process what wc may, is but the
mask for social tyranny, subversive and destructive in its
tendency of those broad and dearly cherished principles of
freedom which have hitherto been the boast and glory of
this Republic. Whenever the people of a professedly free
country decree that one class of property, acquired in good
faith by its citizens, is not entitled to equal protection under
the laws as other property, it is dangerously near tyranny,
and whenever Government shall be invested with the con¬
trol of telegraphs and railways, and, perhaps, in accordance
with the ideas of Mr. Bellamy, the control and manage¬
ment of all industrial work, the American people will
resemble a race of automatons rather than the sturdy
branch of Anglo-Saxons from which a large proportion of
us claim descent. ,
The true drift of intelligent movement should be toward j
greater emancipation from Government control. Under <
just and equitable laws Government should supervise all !
public works, such as the construction of fortifications and
ships for the Navy, as well as its armament, the manufac-
20
ture of arms and materials for the Army, and the carrjdng-
of the mails ; but all of the actual mechanical work in these
departments, I believe, should be thrown open to public
competition and be done by contract. The administration
of the finances, coinage, the issue of paper money, and the
customs should remain in charge of competent and responsi¬
ble officers as now, but, except-as to a rigid and vigilant
supervision, I would try the experiment of enlisting the
unfettered genius of the people in carrying out and per¬
fecting all other works for the public service. All this is
compatible with complete direction, and its great advan¬
tage over present methods is, that it would do away with a
host of Government employees and invite the co-operation
and support of the governed, stimulate and develop their
inventive faculties, and, I fully believe, give to the country
better, cheaper and more satisfactory service.
Whenever this system has been tried, even upon a limited
scale, it has produced wonderful results. But for this invi¬
tation to individual work, it would have been very difficult
for the Government to have armed its soldiers during the
late war, and its beneficial effects as a policy is now in the
course of illustration in the cruisers and warships turned
out at private yards under the contract s3^stem.
The entire business of receiving, carr^dng and distributing
, the mails can, in m^^ judgment, be more cheaply, expe-
j ditiousl^' and thoroughl}^ done under the contract system
1 than b^' the present machinery, and the saving of expense
' to the Government would be correspondingl}' beneficial.
An experiment so easily tested would be more convincing
than anj' argument for or against it. If upon a fair trial the
superiority of individual work under the supervision of
Government officers is not satisfactorily demonstrated, the
old system could easily be restored, but many believe, as I
do, that if once attempted, it would supersede all other
methods. The simple fact that the present low rates of
postage are due to the enterprise and competition of indi¬
viduals is certainly a very strong argument in" favor of the
proposition.
The theor}' of this suggested co-operation of the people
21
rests upon a belief in the prodigious energies, the extraor¬
dinary enterprise, and the spirit of competition which have
always been called forth whenever public exigency required
their development. It rests upon an unlimited faith in the
genius of a race which shrinks from no undertaking within
the scope of human capacity, and it is fortified and en¬
couraged by the idea of enlisting the fertile brains of this
great people in the work of government ; not as mere pup¬
pets in a show, whose movements are controlled b}' strings
and pulleys, but as active, intelligent agents, voluntarily
undertaking specified work b}^ contract, as the Messrs.
Cramp assume the work of building steel cruisers for the
Navy, and the great iron industries undertake the forging
of steel plates and the casting of heavy guns. I would trust
the people for everything wanted by Government, under
proper supervision and direction, and I would thus reduce
office-holding to a minimum and bring up the co-operation
of the people to a maximum.
This proposition is the converse of that submitted b}' the
advocates of governmental ownership or control, and of Mr,
Bellamy's " nationalism," the fundamental idea of which is
that substantial happiness can be best secured by vesting
and concentrating vast powers in the Government. I
would arrive at the same results, and, I think, much more
surely, by greatly reducing, instead of increasing, govern¬
mental control, and, for control, substitute supervision.
The disgraceful scramble for office by the adoption ol
such a plan of government would be greatly diminished,
and the people, encouraged by the supervising government,
would repay the confidence reposed in them a hundred
fold. Let no one distrust a people whose unparalleled
energies organized from its undisciplined numbers, within
two years, a million of the best soldiers of the world, after
frightful losses of life and the mutilation of hundreds of
thousands of its volunteers, and let no one underrate the
capacity of a race which, within the same time, converted
a weak naval force into a iorfnidable fleet, strong enough
to blockade three thousand miles of coast line effectively.
Therefore, with this unbounded faith in the intelligence
22
and patriotism of the people, 1 would open the doors of
Government work to competition, and leave to individual
enterprise a very large share of that which is now done in
a perfunctory way. And in this more equitable distribution
of Government employment I should expect to increase the
happiness and prosperity of the community to a much
greater extent than under an}' Utopian plan which contem¬
plates the extinction of individualism and the reduction of
the people to the monopoly of a machine government. If
these ideas are wrong, then, as it appears to me, the whole
theory of republican government is wrong. Equal rights,
equal protection under the laws to life and property—these
are the fundamental principles of our modern Republic. It
is not by ignoring these equal rights, or by discriminating
against one kind of property for the benefit of another, that
we can hope to aid in elevating the working classes, or in re¬
lieving the sufferings of the poor. The ways open to the
accomplishment of great social improvements are as clearly
perceptible as if illumined by electric lights, but they do
not lead in the direction of taking power from the people
and in multiplying office-holders.
The moral of this long discourse is, that the happiness
and prosperity of a free people are not to be found in an in¬
crease and concentration of power in the hands of Govern¬
ment, but in its reduction and distribution.
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