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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 8, 1898)
JL Conservative * "Wo rend with FIGHTING THE wonder concerning MONEY POWER. ing the courage nnd fortitude of n game , popuJistic editor who evolves vagaries and emits groans for monetary reform in a weekly period ical at Lincoln. The amazement in spired by the bravo deeds nnd daring devotion related of this editor loses nothing because he himself tells of his prowess and endurance nnd even nd- mits' that ho has "fought the money power" single-handed nnd alone , one hand being tied behind him , nnd with one eye out nnd both cnrs denf to the cries of scared friends who would have called him off , for more than twenty-five yenrs. How this valiant vnrlet discovered the money power , what monstrous shape the money power took on , whether it was nlive and walked on two , or four feet , whether it was reptile or animal , the bellicose nnd gnrrulous old warrior does not state. But the general public is interested to know all about this quar- ter-of-n-century campaign against the money power. Was the money power n tnngible , corporeal army with guns ? Did it have regiments , companies and brigades nnd divisions ? "Whnt was the money power fighting for ? What made the gallant editor sncri- fice so mnny Inrge years of his great life and so much of his private fortune in fighting the money power ? And what compensation is pnid the troops whom that editor commanded in this contest with the money power ? And what good has come to the people ple out of this alleged conflict conducted so twenty-five-yenr-i-cally by the great nnd good editor in question ? And will thnt editor or some other philosopher analyze and describe the money power , tell what its forces con sist of , how they are operated , who or ganized them and what will protect the people of the United States from their forays and ravages ? THREE OF A KIND. Has not the time about arrived when conservative business men and right- minded people generally should be wi ling to admit that there at least appears to be something wrong in the condition of our vast interstate transportation system ? It is admitted on all sides that as a commercial nation wo have been for some time enjoying the safest , cheapest , and best transportation facilities known anywhere in- the world. Every move made by the railroads in recent years has been one looking to the improvement of the service rendered to the shipper and the general public. It is not so long ago that there were nearly as many dif ferent freight classifications as there were railroads. Today there are only about three general classifications for the entire country , It can further be truthfully said thnt every change in the classification of freight , for some time , at least , has been to reduce n commodity or article of merchandise from a higher to a lower plnce on the scale , thereby cheapening the freight rate upon it. Yet the attitude of the public and of legisla tors towards railroads lias yearly been growing more hostile and unreasonable. Onn of the most noted English trans portation experts visited this country in the early part o this year for the pur pose of making a tour of inspection nmoug American railways. "When ho returned to his country he reported in print over his own name thnt he would advise Englishmen not to invest in American railway properties. The rea son he gave was that the margin of profit was so fine and the attitude of the pub lic so unfriendly thnt American railways , with only rare exceptions , presented an unfavorable field for prudent invest ment. Within the last twenty-two years about 110,000 miles of American rail roads , representing $0,000,000,000 of capital , have passed through the hands of receivers. The enormous suffering and loss caused by this acute condition may be partly measured by a simple il lustration. It is easy to understand the hardship and loss entailed by the failure of one largo manufacturing or mercan tile house employing perhaps a thousand people. Not only does the immediate locality feel the loss nt once and se verely , but the trouble goes ramifying from man to man , and from family to family , hundreds of miles away. Now try to conceive of the effect upon rail road wage workers , upon industries fur nishing railway supplies , and upon mer chants doing business with the thou sands and tens of thousands of employ ees who were nffected by the great dis- nsters described above , and the eco nomic gravity of the situation can be fairly understood. Something should bo done to secure for American transportation interests such reasonable and fair legislation as they may actually need conduct . their business upon a fairly profitable basis. Undoubtedly the average citizen will not disagree with this proposition , for it is The Reporter's firm conviction that the average American is fair-minded and reasonable , and that when he fully understands" things he is always ready to grant reasonable and equitable treat ment to any question or any interest. There are , however , three men of a land who will be fouud bitterly opposed , either secretly or openly , to any legisla tion looldug toward the relief of our common carrier interests , or any reasonable enable treatment of them. First , is the great trninload shipper , representing vast trade organizations now enjoying secret rebates and private treaties with certain railway officials , the profits of which probably mount into the millions each year. Who is this favored shipper of whom , wo hear so much ? Is ho the small retailer , or the small manufac turer , or the general denier in some middle-sized town ? No ; ho is the man or combination of men powerful enough to dictnto freight terms to railroads , and ho will be able to go on dictating his own rates until the right kind of legislation places him on an even keel with nil other shippers and patrons of our great common carrier system. The favored shipper will oppose any change. He is growing rich under present con ditions. The next man to oppose any reform is the railway official managing a property that probnbly never pays divi dends on its shares , and sometimes , if not frequently , defaults on the interest of its bonds. He is a commercial bush whacker , ready to get business at any price. Ho makes almost any rates to get business in largo quantities from combinations of great shippers. This kind of railroad man will oppose a change for the same reason as that for which a maker of moonshine whisky opposes the internal revenue laws , or a smuggler opposes custom house rulings. The other man , making three of a laud , is the cheap , pernicious , pestiferous pol itician , whose only opportunity of se curing attention or possibility of getting into office is by abusing and misrepre senting the second greatest industry in the laud. For after agriculture our great transportation system is the most important of all our industries. It repre sents § 12,000,000,000 of capital , supports directly or indirectly 12,000,000 people , and disburses annually almost $1,000- 000,000 for labor and the products of labor. This is the industry that the cheap and shallow politician delights to malign and misrepresent nnd injure in such ways as he can. Common sense , ordinary fairness , and economic justice to the country at large , to railway wage workers , and to small manufacturers and small towns , de mand that the American railway prob lem should bo discussed openly , frankly , and honestly , and that it shall be settled upon lines of justice and equity. Until the principle of right to all interests concerned is allowed to prevail we shall never get rid of this disturbing factor in our commercial life. Dry Goods Re porter ( Chicago ) . NEW YORK EVENING TOST ON THE ELECTION. IOWA in the last election set a splendid example of fidelity to principle in the matter of sound money and currency reform , but she does not intend to go to sleep after the victory. Gov. Leslie M.Shaw , being asked , a few days ago , what he thought of the policy of an extra session of congress next spring to consider the currency question , said : "The party throughout the nation should take such an advanced and ag-
