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The Commoner.
TOLGMB 12, SROmEB. 23
The Railroad Game
xasM?; Jfare Ik riMw!biU atflfcie yu 1 -win .1 noe jrs w
Tk brwitW0 K m1Ims kac all U-wmwr. Altwrwiusj ' :?- "
kti&a laid Mwf x)Srwe; kr Jfo-
(veartj yeaurfi. .wed if skw "Ckafc"
Karri w. tart ovusvatti; ka a4 a wf ftu tMtfii oi jw h m iJ7
ifi1 U 4 xm7iMm a&v ft .tfieiB mJIS4 tto . Aias- n
iAt Jfcwtw lai?x itar JaJawmauuVwa &?-' h xm Hkw w 4jijw a- w-sj2iv
Jr tw if lc t a ",4ww w , which h jtuJ oj tw a?
"to LaHkar." I Is a mm o ' avtllatMi otellara Tlrtwi ovsoWa
affair. H Stue e-e . a. of aAain. itHhi shfnBtff w J mo 1 ,
tor flirt rj H Iwrtr to- i to 24 . oi w Jfcar. & t
tw.i-S isa 1S :Uk3lssMMrat ri ike jaJi snarls rf th ww34 Kv Mr- Bar- a tioaal movements. Bet the big party
kafltote; bratee4 hj3iea sd pJU-:
ukfte ia its .skasae. Test after all it
"wjse aJy a Miad blow Sa the dark.
Mar SfaS it beip Ms case.
Hati j told Mr- Voter tie rsil
rtia&5 vere at ke bottom ot all the
tarableis assailing him be probably
wrald kave listened toleraatJj and
tasked at tom. Before the Ameri-
itaa psblie will consider seriously
Max naeaaoe ito its welfare some wn-
B.aal atteatloa jaaiBt be directed to
txz?& ihU meazce. For that reason
jtresideaiiai caa3jaig:as occasionally
iiaxe dereloped into great educa-
bfrr kswE ksui r.a rrjtJ"5aWf Tritb
rJlroaulc o4 he mti& m bBlaa-
!tisJ tauria bbl2) ir.ti. rijtrwa.ii3le3
r&r4 ior bwFii 3iitriu. R
xoiobr tAuii. Svoe oi 3a i K4e-
fw-rojw v.r-4 ni -vr rv?3tr ' agents will iwrjrS'. irsJi i.rtle 7w
tv ?vv Jv;4Ai3i JMv3', IIvva, Vbi-l,
Asthma
ft X-tT 7TTXJ: 2XKX&7 Mivt iT
intuit tv .mu n 7aw SriUS. IJ
.ll.lHUtlt liW(l W.4J ltt. tiMLM
jr r t vz jirtinw univ ti rtH; iU.r
rxxMjrjuu .rrzat-Li w 7tqnr inrf iifintr, wuv
MAKE THE, FARhl PAY
tnir.uiil (twlHij, mid ittf nHHiind AuinllMn.
rut .vrx miitJ.jvrari x wjnwi
!1. JbaiuwJ
&r)C iJ,
JlJflll(trtl'.C
Reueoib'r ibss tifcr ixjki; v-ho malres
tbeu is at jaaa oJ iu- inssiaw- He
xaember that, R3Bbrtx.ler thai he
kas flrj&t-baad :xionr4ge "srhicb
jaai.es; hixo say "vs'hai a 4oes Bay.
Ftead ererji' word oJ whii be says.
If he ijs right I; wieaas; dollars aad
ceatF to yo- Sdiior.
railroads or shall the railroads coa
i tro) ihQ goxeraaient?
' That Is the quextioa
Kot one raaa ia ta tboasand
fs that
titr)iuxrv)iiinuuu; ; vrcitviifuiiiivw. , '"i- or iaai reauoa n is not
KUBurtAjrrTAjiiUM,o4.54cuvMb,M. jiikely to enter Into the coating presi-
datial campaign unless there Is an
LtKl k ft Il President Taft Calls of reaorainatfon.
.v.x. your yeans to coiae it will be the
Thf nrnran paraniouat issue. It i inevitable.
MaKerSBW4 eet individual influence In the coun-
Tobacco Habit Banished
rjivxvai.iantvtiflunwtt. jrn.'jtrtj-wpjiie i riewz the present situation
M1MHZ3L
J&Zi
Take
Your Own
Time to Pay i
Ibe Adler Plan Wipes Oal The SliddJcmtm
A)I Records Broken In Most Stupendous !
Natfon-v4e Hale ofOrgnnt Ever Known-Corn-peiltlon
Krairely Hvept Away By My Dlrect-Frwm-Faetory,
Free-Home-TrialfieJHnK Plan.
It Vill Pay You To Read Every Vord Utloy1
J.nAdltr Or uan In 7wr rv7roo will bo a iwtt fttl.
)Bjwr &f ,Aw(f, rvftMrrAeut, ciueatizn and ctrf
VnK,TkMx,iMthKirvMtiUntriho plve &n earth,
vnyuvc Vk tuAt uvtr tttt'i over irtin I (jrinKine into
varfcMnel,fs tKt vrhxl) moiry can riot buy liftpvi
IU vlu RLnyt Ij mtatad In ilollara and cent.
Ttiink vit m utttfAtWn It will b to lUU-n U lUmutt
mMK wjjit iXwutir! Ui ilns UiiU aornpsnimtnt U
ujmct ft 'n$ with tho one wo love bent.
I nrny JKlK.ro tltat II truro were n Adier Organ
a evrry tvm in Smrrc wo would nt liettcr IwjiI
mc4 wen, b?ltr wtrkiai; rnm, letter farrnern, betUrr
ritlwrn btckw(4; of tj flevatinx ntr of rnuale, and
rxxut I wantM to rnaV; It rxmlMo for every runily
ti knw U10 drtintiU of rnusie, 1 have oritHnaUxl tho
wonderful Adler plan of eeHlnif orifuru which ! made
u "Adler" a. Ivuiihjld word: nvre than 7C.VJ of
tha fartotu frarw wa now In Uiu Itorncs of tho
tjple. 'Ilio ttmj luui itrrlvwl thli very dtiytovyoa
Vt wmd for rny Vonderf ul Kreo Orjran CnUIoj:. Lwn
how you tan liave tho Wwld'a Ut OrKn winner of
hltwst i-lw at Bt. IuU World's Fair mt to jrour
Immo for 30 IJaya Trial withiut barintr n tent.
Ho eaay, too. to buy an "Adler'U Jut send for
my f'atalou. Klet tho Adlcr Oran you like beat.
I will atnp Hat onto, nave It a month free. Henu no
RMney until you drelda to buy. Thm, if yoa dcuio
I will hip Itot onto. Have It a month free,
to kirp it, after tiiorouuh examination, pay mo at
your amvcmt-nrj m email nrnounu. 1 ciiarue no
InterMt. I will do even tnuru titan tluit. If. at tho vnA of
a yew, tho "Adler" falla to niaWo wood on every point
I claim for It, I w(H refund every dollar you havo paid.
And mnrtr, 1 will uivo you tho loneat and ntronucat
anieo ever maoo on an ortran ror su run vears.
see how eauy It Is to own the finest orican made.
eruaranteo ever mailo on an oriran for BO full years,
You see how eay It Is to own the finest oriran mads.
I can anil will save you U4.1T heeauao I cell direct
trmn tho (SOQ.OCO Adler Organ Factory (irreatest In
oxiitenca) nt lovreat wholcaalo factory pricea, Tho
Adler Vlan tlwrouiily wrecks nil retail oryan pricco,
alwlutely sponirlnif out all "In between" extra.
miU'Jiernen'B prouu you pay on omer ortrana,
Th Coupm or a 1'ostal will brtotc It.
Mill f ntinnnf ou ean't afford to buy uny orssn
illdll lUUUUUl until you see ray plan to savo you
U3.76. Bo wriUs for my Ornn Hook rlgUt now; ITIIEE1
CYRUS L. ADLER. President.
Afller HauuIsctBrlng C. Leatavllte, Ky.
CYRUS I. AM.Ff . Prft.. MUr MT. Cm. m
M 32g3W.Ckt8tautSt.UHtovHk.Ky.
Bond mo my envy of tho Wosdorful rroo lllaa-
tratcd Adler Organ Uook.
I to. It is the inoBt dangerous. Its
hand h heaviest upon the people. Its
"polices are the greatest menace to
Uhe nation. It spares nothing and
nobody. All pay tribute to it. It is
heartless, greedy, extortionate, piti
lessly predatory. Allied with Wall
street it controls the financial world,
converts the stock market into a
Jumping jack and can force a finan
cial stringency at will. Backed by
Wall street It influences national
policies at Washington and fearless
ly dictates legislation, national and
Hate. Its annual gross earnings of
more than $3,000,000,000 almost
equal those of the entire industrial
interests of America. Its annual
tolls are nearly ten times as heavy
upon the people as the tariff burden.
Yet congress is always willing to tin
ker with the tariff but ignores the
railroads. I ask you, Mr. Consumer,
why is this?
The besetting weakness of the
average American is his aversion to
doing his own thinking. Upon
economic questions nine times out of
ten he will take the word of any
blatant spellbinder rather than carry
tho proposition home and reason it
out for himself. His mind runs to
dollars, but more to the making than
tho saving of them. His public zeal
and patriotism is more ideal than
practical. Ho Is generally indiffer
ent to the national welfare. Many a
campaign has been lost upon the
assumption that the people think.
The Policy of Deception
Now and then the outraged voter
riBes up in his suddenly awakened
wrath and takes a healthy swing at
tho solar plexus of tho dominant
political party. Ho did this in the
congressional election of 1910. It
waB a protest against existing condi
tions of which he had only the haz
iest understanding. He knew the
cost of living, the pinching of the
pocketbook, was excessive to tho
point of extortion. He did not know
why it was so but he knew It should
not oe. He suspected the tariff, the
trusts, the so-called money power,
but more than all ho mistrusted the
republican party. So he went to the
polls and swatted it; smote it hip and
thigh and left It, after the battle of
aaaaagers have never permitted the
railroads to become aa issue. The
railroads hare sees to that.
Theirs has bees a consistent policy
of coaceahaeat sad deception. They
have hidden their earnings or mis
applied them. Their accounting
system hzz been framed deliberately
to hide the real condition of their
bosiness. They have permitted un
limited grafting in connection with
so-caiiea construction companies
backed by promoters of the big sys
tems. They have distributed millions
in stocks in their many "melon cut
tings." They have juggled rate
classifications to make it appear that
rates were being reduced, whereas
J they were being boosted all the time.
They have dodged their taxes. Noth
ing has been overlooked.
More than a decade ago I .first
voiced an open protest against these
railroad methods. That protest and
its succeeding denunciations won no
support from the average American.
They did bring, however, a spon
taneous response from the under
standing business element which was
already beginning forcibly to feel the
pinch of the railroad's relentless
grasp. Sometime later I chanced to
meet a man who is now president of
one of the great western railroad
systems. He chided me good-
naturedly about my antagonism to
the railroads. Finally he said: "Mr.
Barber, you are too big a man to be
fighting the railroads. Come, get
into the game with us. It isn't how
much money we make but how much
we can conceal that counts in the
railroad business!"
Right there he sounded the key
note to the whole railroad policy.
Since the days of Huntington the
railroads have been the pacemakers
in over capitalization and stonk
watering for the monopolistic array
now engaged in standing the Ameri
can public in a corner with a gun
at its head and filching its pockets
or whatever of value they may con
tain. And this' plundering, in which
they have run amuck in recent years,
has resulted in a complete disrup
tion of business and industrial rela
tions, has restricted the growth of
Industrial energy and outlay, brought
chaos and uncertainty throughout
tho business world, put the brakes
come great arteries to maintaia the
life of commerce and furnish, qai-v
transportation- They rould iast
better service and lower freight ratis
from tbe natural economies of administration-
Gradually the feeder
of each system -would be absorbed
and there would be no encroachajeDi
one upon the other's territory. The
whole country vrould be better servA.
Apparently the plan spelled progress
and there was no criticism from xb
public either of the, business policy
or the railroad practice. The move
ment grew like a green bay tree.
Soon, instead of trunk lines absorb
ing feeders, they were consolidatiasr.
Still it seemed void of objection, it
was in the line of economy. It
tended toward the ultimate placing
of the entire railroad interests under
lone control, a condition which busi-
bring about the speediest solution of
the railroad problem. Once consoli
dated their regulation by law could
most certainly he insured, a uniform
freight rate be established and stocks
and bonds be placed upon a firm and
substantial basis.
But what happened?
The wildest riot of frenzied
finance, of shameless stock and bond
watering, of over-capitalization and
manipulation of securities, of un
bridled grafting and corrupt legisla
tion that America has ever wit
nessed. Out of the Pacific system of rail
roads Huntington and bis associates
divided, conservatively estimated,
more than $600,0.00,000. Hill and
his fellow-operators have pocketed
almost as much from their develop
ment of the northwest. No man can
say how many millions Scott, Fisk,
Gould, the Vanderbilts, Morgan,
Harriman and others have reaped in
their extensive maniplations.
Farcial Railroad Legislation
The community of interests has
proved to be a juicy plum for all
save the man who pays the freight.
Boiled down it means no more nor
less monopoly not only of the lines
and territory and of the right to fix
rates, but, what is all important, of
the sacred and necessary privilege
of issuing, controlling and manipu
lating railroad securities. Consider
just one instance: the case of the
Northern Pacific raid engineered by
Morgan, Harriman and others some
ten years ago. Northern Pacific
stock had sold as low as $16 a share.
It jumped to $1,000 before the raid
ended. Then followed the organiza
tion of the Northern Securities com
pany, controlling the Northern Paci
fic and Great Northern roads, paral
lel lines monopolizing the freight
business of the northwest and free
to fix rates a3 they pleased. Millions
were raked off by the railroad mani
pulators before tho Northern Securi
ties company stock finally settled to
a stable value of $300 a share. Even-
upon prosperity and wet-blanketed tually the Northern Securities com
uui muuu vaumeu connuence in nanv tvna
I
I
I
American institutions. The result of
tho election of 1910 was only a
scribbling on the wall of the revolt
that will come if tho selfish interests
now throttling the American public
continue to persist in their ruthless
method.
Huntington was the pioneer in
promulgating tho now accented mil-
road doctrine that the secret of rail
road success lies in. the ability to
issue, control and manipulate rail
road stocks and bonds, rather than
in the successful carrying of passen
gers and freight. His "was the mas
ter mind that first worked out the
scheme of railroad consolidation
tnrougn over-capitalization. A later
genius clothed the plan in the pretty
catch phrase of "a community of in
terests." Originally the plan contemplated
through trunk lines of railroad from
coast to coast. It was argued plaus
ibly that such trunk lines would be-
dissolved by order
of the United States supreme court.
Now Northern Pacific is quoted
around 117. What gave it tho $600
valuation during the life of tho
Northern Securities company? Simp
ly the right enjoyed by that company
not only to fix freight rates but to
issue, control and manipulate tho
securities of the properties it repre
sented. Harriman's raid taught the rail
roads a lesson. Thoy must more
firmly entrench themselyes. Such a
thing must not happen again. So
they got busy. The interstate com
merce commission's report for 1904",
tne year or. tho dissolution or tho
Northern Securities company, shows
the railroads to have held a total of
$1,942,858,359 In railroad stocks.
Two years later, according to the
commission's special report of 1906
upon the intercorporate relationship
of railroads,' tho railroad companies
were holding $4,114,851,990 of th
