THE STRONG GRASP OF CONSOLIDATED CAPITAL ON AMERICAN
LEGISLATION--BEECHER ON "REFORMATION OR REVOLUTION"--"HISTORY
OF RAILWAY LEGISLATION IN IOWA."
However much we may boast of our purity, patriotism, and political
integrity, the history of the legislation of the United States, both
state and national, proves that legislators, like other men, are subject
to temptation, and that they do not always successfully resist the
tempter. It is not a pleasant truth to acknowledge, that the acquisition
of money is the controlling motive in the American mind; yet it is a
truth. Nor is it pleasing to admit that corporations control the
legislation of our nation and state; but the fact is too patent to be
denied. Nor will any one who, without prejudice, examines the history of
legislation upon the subject of railroads, deny that legislators have
been controlled in their acts by the desire, and from the prospect of
receiving personal pecuniary benefit by the passage of acts granting
special favors to railroad companies. If the instances of corrupt
legislation were rare, or if the persons who acted from personal
considerations, rather than for the public good, were few in number, we
would not feel justified in devoting time to the discussion of the
subject. But when this species of legislation becomes the rule, and
legislation in favor of the people the exception, as has been the case
for years past, we feel fully justified in calling the reader's
attention to the matter.
If we were asked what acts passed by the forty-second congress were of
benefit to the people, we would be expected to answer that the internal
revenue and tariff laws had been modified, and a part of their burdens
lifted from the people; but nothing else of benefit to the public. If,
however, we were to look through the acts of this congress, we would
find almost all conceivable acts in favor of corporations, companies,
and individuals, granting special privileges, which, in almost every
instance, might be characterized a "congressional job." Patent right
extensions; grants to railroad companies; for the sale of Indian
reservations; amendments to railroad charters, bridge charters, and
other like interests, have monopolized the time of the national
legislature not consumed in investigating alleged irregularities of some
of its members. As a rule, lobbyists and rings have shaped and
controlled legislation for years, and have constituted themselves one of
the established institutions at the national capital. The successful
lobbyist demands and receives for his services larger pay than the
salary of congressmen. These men never appear at Washington unless they
have a congressional job on hand. To them the ear of the average
congressman is always open. A measure without any merit, save to advance
the interest of a patentee, or contractor, or a railroad company, will
become a law, while measures of interest to the whole people are
suffered to slumber, and die at the close of the session from sheer
neglect. It is known to congressmen that these lobbyists are paid to
influence legislation by the parties interested, and that dishonest and
corrupt means are resorted to for the accomplishment of the object they
have undertaken; that they are a species of brokers whose business it is
to beg and buy congressional votes for some pet scheme; to do acts which
in former times would have disgraced all parties concerned, but who are
now looked upon as a necessary part of the legislative machinery. Of
course those interests that can employ the greatest number of these
_congressional brokers_, and wield the greatest influence throughout the
country, are in the best shape to secure favorable legislation. No one
interest in the country, nor all other interests combined, are as
powerful as the railroad interest. Railroad corporations, by constantly
asking and receiving, have acquired such strength as to control
legislation in all cases where their interests are affected. With a
net-work of roads throughout the country; with a large capital at
command; with an organization perfect in all its parts; controlled by a
few leading spirits like Scott, Vanderbilt, Gould, Jay, Tracy, and a
dozen others, the whole strength and wealth of this corporate power can
be put into operation at any moment, and congressmen are bought and sold
by it like any article of merchandise.
We have already shown the value of the railroad property in the United
States, and some of the practices of companies, and their abuse of the
privileges granted them. We are now treating of their influence upon
legislators and legislation, and of the great power their wealth and
combination secure for the purpose of controlling legislation. In this
connection we must not forget that the vast sums owed by railroad
companies in the United States, for which their bonds have been issued
and sold, is a powerful persuasion for legislation in their favor.
We look upon the national debt as being enormous, and are apt to
complain of the burdens it imposes; but great as it is, these railroad
corporations, after showing a paid-up capital equal to the cost of all
the roads in the country, less $865,357,195, show a bonded indebtedness
of $2,874,149,667, being two billions over and above the entire cost of
all the roads in the United States, showing that the total amount
chargeable against the railroads of the country, exclusive of floating
debts, is the sum of $5,169,129,664. This vast sum, amounting to more
than one-third in value of the entire taxable property of the nation, is
concentrated in these corporations, whose interests are at war with the
people's. Controlled as it is by a few leading men, who have their
partners, agents, and servants everywhere, it is not strange that the
champions of these monopolists should be found in congress. The power of
this great monopoly is felt in the nomination and election of
congressmen. One-third of the wealth of the nation combined under the
control of a few men is a dangerous power in a republic. When the object
sought to be accomplished by this power has been to take control of the
government, and administer all its departments in the interest of
anti-republican institutions, to build up monopolies, and trample upon
the rights of the people, it has had no trouble to secure the number of
congressmen sufficient for its purposes. In proof of this assertion we
have only to look at the history of congressional legislation upon the
subject of railroads as shown in a former part of this work. We cannot
shut our eyes to the fact that the consolidation and combination of
wealth and influence of railroad companies have procured the passage of
acts of congress under, and by means of which, these corporations have
added largely to their wealth, and strengthened themselves for the
desperate struggle soon to come between them and the people. Mr. Henry
Ward Beecher has had his attention drawn to some of the more alarming
phases of our present political condition. In a recent address delivered
in St. Louis, he used the following language:
"I must, however, make haste to say, that among the dangers of the
times, is one which has developed out of the prodigious rapidity of the
accumulation of enormous and consolidated wealth. If I stand in the city
of New York and look southward, I see a railroad--the Pennsylvania
Central, that runs across the continent with all its connections. Its
leases and branches represent a capital of some hundreds of millions of
dollars. If I turn my eyes to the north, I see the Erie, where many
hundreds of millions dollars lie. If still further to the north, I see
the great New York Central, that represents hundreds of millions of
dollars. These three roads represent thousands of millions of
consolidated capital. Now suppose, in any emergency the railroad
interest demands--suppose there were some great national question which
demanded that the president of the United States should be a man, and
the senate should be composed of men playing into the hands of the great
national railroads' concentrated capitalists, what power is there on the
continent that could for a moment resist them? It is not a great many
years since it would seem almost atrocious to have suggested that
thought. But legislatures have been bought and sold, until we think no
more about it than of selling so many sheep and cattle. Does any body
suppose that if it were a national interest that these vast corporations
were seeking to subserve, that there is any legislature on this
continent that could not be crushed or bought out by this despot,
compared with which even slavery itself were a small danger. One of the
greatest humiliations of a nation that is justly proud of so many
things, is that disaster which has fallen upon our congress. When we see
the slimy track of the monster, we may justly ask: 'What are we coming
to?' There has got to be a public sentiment created on this subject, or
we will be swept away by a common ruin. I tell you that the shadow that
is already cast upon the land is prodigious. I do not believe in the
sociologists, in the international, nor the communists; but when I see
what rich men, as classes, are doing with our legislatures, what laws
they have passed, what disregard there is to the great common interest,
I fear that the time will come when the workingmen will rise up and say,
that they have no appeal to courts, no appeal to legislatures; that they
are bought and owned by consolidated capital, and when that time comes,
unless it brings reformation, it will bring revolution; and if any such
time does come, I do not hesitate to say I will stand by the common
people for the encouragement of the working people, and against the
wealth of the consolidated capital of the land."
This great consolidated railroad interest now has its champions in the
halls of congress. In the senate is Dorsey, president of the Arkansas
Central railroad. Patterson, senator-elect from South Carolina, is a
railroad man. Jones, of Nevada, Allison, of Iowa, Mitchell, of Oregon,
Carpenter, of Wisconsin, and Windom, of Minnesota, and others are
recognized as reliable railroad men. In the house we have Brooks, Kelly,
Schofield, and many more who have proved their fealty to this great
monopoly on many occasions. In addition to the friends of these
corporations in the legislative halls, paid lobbyists throng the
capital, supplied with stocks and money, to be used "where it will do
the most good." This money is supplied by the railroad companies for
purchasing votes for favorite measures, and the recent startling
developments show that this fund does not lie idle. All this has
resulted in corrupt legislation. Congressmen have aided in procuring
grants and special privileges to companies of which they are members,
and other congressmen have listened to the arguments of lobbyists, and
sacrificed the best interests of the people to promote the interests of
these monopolies.
The influence of railroad companies over legislation is not confined to
the general government. It develops its full strength in state
legislatures. There it manifests itself openly. Railroad companies
nominate and elect their own men for the avowed purpose of securing the
enactment of laws favorable to themselves. Railroad directors,
stockholders, and attorneys are elected to the legislature because their
interests are adverse to those of the people; they are selected to
defeat all legislation tending to protect or relieve the people from the
oppression of these corporations. Paid lobbyists are kept in attendance
during the legislative session for the same purpose. Free passes are
given to legislators as cheap bribes, and money and railroad stock and
bonds are placed "where they will do the most good" to the railroad
interest. By the use of all these means, majorities in the interest of
railroad companies are secured, or such strong minorities as will
prevent unfriendly legislation. As a fact, now a part of the history of
the country, the legislatures of many of the states are in the interest
of, and controlled by, these corporations. They shape all public
legislation, and rule the affairs of the state. The people are taxed and
robbed by their own legislatures. Immense sums of money, or state bonds,
are donated to these corporations, and the people are taxed to pay them,
while the railroad property is practically exempt from taxation. The
legislature of the state of Louisiana donated to a single railroad
company $3,000,000, and guaranteed the bonds of the same company for
about as much more. The legislature of the state of Alabama has voted to
different railroad companies many millions of dollars. The same is true
of Georgia, Texas, North and South Carolina, and many other states. In
some of these states men who were elected to represent the people, and
who were pledged in their interest, have openly sold themselves to this
railroad monopoly. For a consideration paid to them they have assisted
in bankrupting their states, and reducing the people who trusted and
honored them to a state of servitude, scarcely less oppressive than the
old system of African slavery. The value of property is destroyed by
excessive taxation, and the political and judicial power of the states
is handed over to railroad men, who, by combining their interests, have
created a great central power, antagonistic to the people, and
destructive of republican institutions. In the northern states it has
been found impossible to procure just legislation where the interests of
railroads and of the people conflict. In addition to the license given
to railroad companies, by legislative grants and special privileges, to
plunder the people, legislators, in violation of constitutional
provisions, and of every principle of justice, have persistently refused
to require of these corporations their just proportion of taxes, and
have just as persistently provided for taxing the people to aid railroad
corporations. Take the state of Indiana as an illustration. Counties,
cities, and towns have been burdened for years with unjust taxation
because of legislation in favor of local aid to railroads. In that state
there are now three thousand five hundred and twenty-nine miles of
railroads, representing about $100,000,000. For the purposes of
taxation, all of this railroad property represents but $10,000,000. Some
of these roads, for the purposes of taxation, are appraised at $3,000
per mile, and some as low as $500, and $400. While the property of
individuals is appraised at about one-third of its estimated value, this
railroad property does not pay taxes upon more than one-tenth part of
its estimated value, and when at a recent session of the legislature an
effort was made to amend the statute so as to make taxation more equal,
it was defeated by the railroad men in the legislature, supported as
they were by the strong lobby whom they had paid to be in attendance.
The history of railroad legislation in the state of Iowa is of the same
glaring character. We have the pleasure of laying before our readers the
following succinct history of this Iowa legislation, from the pen of
Hon. Samuel McNutt, who, for the last ten years, has been a member of
the legislature (six years in the house and four years in the senate),
and who kindly furnishes this communication at our request.
HISTORY OF RAILWAY LEGISLATION IN IOWA.
HON. D. C. CLOUD, Muscatine, Iowa:--
DEAR SIR: The progress of the railroad question is remarkable in our own
state. As a member of the Iowa legislature, for ten consecutive years, I
have had occasion to note that progress, and to observe the advancement
of that interest from struggling infancy to vigorous growth--from
feebleness to a strength that is fearful to contemplate.
The people of Iowa, through their legislature, have always been
eminently friendly to the construction of railroads and the promotion of
the railway interests. In proof of this, witness the whole history of
our legislation; witness our magnificent land grants, subsidies, bonds,
subscriptions, and taxes, to the amount of five per cent of our entire
valuation, in one year, as free gifts to railroad corporations. And yet
some of these corporations have cheated us as people never were cheated
before. We have afforded immunities to capital invested in railroads
that are not afforded to any other kind of capital in the state. Witness
the hitherto almost entire exemption from taxation of that kind of
property. But, more than this, we have laws regulating the charges to be
made by those engaged in several of the industrial pursuits, while up to
the present time there has been no law upon our statute books
interfering with the charges made by railroad corporations; and only
_the right_ to interfere has been claimed in cases of public necessity,
where those corporations are guilty of gross extortion or unjust
discrimination.
The first grant of lands to aid in the construction of railroads in our
state is known as the "Iowa Land Bill," which passed congress and was
approved by the president, May 15th, 1856. Under this act there has been
certified to the state, to aid the four original land grant roads, as
follows: to the Burlington & Missouri River railroad, two hundred and
eighty-seven thousand acres; to the Mississippi & Missouri (now part of
the Chicago, Rock Island, & Pacific) railroad, four hundred and
seventy-four thousand six hundred and seventy-five acres; to the Iowa
Central (afterwards the Cedar Rapids & Missouri River) railroad, seven
hundred and seventy-five thousand and ninety-five acres; and, to the
Dubuque & Sioux City railroad, one million two hundred and twenty-six
thousand five hundred and fifty-nine acres. On the 12th of May, 1864,
congress passed an act granting lands to aid in the construction of
another railroad across the state, from the city of McGregor, westward,
on or near the forty-third parallel, to Sioux City. The lands in this
grant were supposed to exceed a million of acres, but were found
afterwards to be less than half a million. On the 12th of July, 1862,
congress authorized the diversion of a portion of the Des Moines River
Improvement company's land grant to the Des Moines Valley railroad
company, the amount of which I have not before me. It is safe to say
that all these railroad land grants, taken together, amount to _over
four millions of acres_, or nearly one-eighth of the land of the state;
or, more approximately, _one acre out of every eight and a half acres_
of the entire area of Iowa has been given away to railroad corporations.
In addition to this immense subsidy, the people along the several lines
contributed largely toward their construction.
On the 14th of July, 1856, the general assembly, in extra session,
passed an act conveying the land to the four first mentioned companies,
upon certain conditions. Section 14 of that act (which act is the
original "charter" of those corporations), now found as section 1,311 of
the Revision of 1860, reads thus: "Said railroad companies accepting the
provisions of this act shall at all times be subject to such rules and
regulations as may, from time to time, be enacted by the general
assembly of Iowa, not inconsistent with the provisions of this act, and
the act of congress making the grant."
Under this "charter" the companies went to work, and when some of their
roads were extended toward the interior, complaints began to arise that
the railroad tariffs were so arranged as to seriously discriminate
against the trade and commerce of Iowa towns and in favor of points out
of and beyond the state; that these tariff rates were also so arranged
as to deprive our people of a choice of markets, rendering the
Mississippi river useless as a highway of trade and commerce, and
compelling our people either to pay tribute to Chicago or go without a
market. The evidence in this matter was of a character that could not be
questioned, and although the subject was brought before the general
assembly of 1864, we refused to take any action at that time, hoping
that the companies which had been so liberally dealt with by our people
would, upon remonstrance, deal fairly and justly by them.
When the general assembly met again, in 1866, the matter of railroad
discriminations against our people had assumed a still more momentous
shape. The greater portion of our time during that session was occupied
with that question. Weeks after weeks were spent mainly discussing
whether or not the state had the right to prevent unjust discrimination
or in any way control railroad corporations as to their charges. The
then attorney general (Hon. F. E. Bissell, now deceased) gave it as his
official opinion that the state possessed no such right; but that in the
matter of tariff charges, those corporations were above and beyond all
legislative control. Whether the fact that he was a "railroad attorney,"
as well as attorney general for the state, had anything to do with
influencing his "opinion," is not for me to say. We had able lawyers of
the very opposite opinion, but the fact of this announcement gave great
encouragement to the railroad party, and was calculated to dishearten
those of us who believed that the people had some rights which even
corporations should respect. It was now openly declared by eminent
attorneys, both in the legislature and in the powerful "lobby" that hung
around us, that in the original "charter," or grant, the state, while
reserving the right to "enact rules and regulations," had either failed
or neglected to reserve, in specific and "_express terms_," the
particular right to regulate and limit tariff charges, and therefore she
could not now exercise that right, and could never regain it.
Listening to these astounding claims, put forth by the attorneys for the
corporations, some of us declared that if God and the good people of
Iowa ever gave us a chance to reserve, in a railroad charter, the right
of control, we would surely do it in such specific and "express terms"
as even a railroad attorney could neither mystify nor explain away. The
golden opportunity to do this very thing occurred in 1868. A certain
state of facts existed regarding the management of the Chicago, Rock
Island, & Pacific railroad company, which rendered new legislation
necessary. The executive committee, headed by John F. Tracy, had issued
and put upon the New York money market nearly _four million dollars'_
worth of "watered stock," and realized the cash for it before certain
other parties were aware of what had been done. With this money the
Tracy party claimed that they intended to build the road from Des Moines
to Council Bluffs (the road at this time being completed only to Des
Moines). The immediate result of this "stock operation" was a bitter
quarrel between the Tracy and the anti-Tracy parties of the
stockholders. The Tracy party were said to be in the minority, but they
had the money and the executive committee. Suits were commenced against
them in the New York courts to forbid their construction of the road
west of Des Moines, and to compel them to disgorge the four millions of
dollars for distribution among the stockholders. In the meantime the
company had forfeited their right to the land grant in consequence of
the non-construction of the road beyond Des Moines, according to the
terms of the original act. The consolidation of the Chicago, Rock
Island, & Pacific railroad company's stock (a company organized under
the laws of Illinois) with that of the Mississippi & Missouri railroad
company (organized under the laws of Iowa), needed legislative sanction
by the general assembly of Iowa; and further, the directors of the
consolidated company wanted not only a legalizing act covering the above
points, but also an extension of their term of office for one year
beyond the time for which they had been elected by the stockholders.
Under this state of things, the "Tracy party," legally representing the
consolidated company, applied to our legislature for relief and
protection; and, accordingly, a bill was introduced covering the desired
points, and re-granting the lands to the company under certain
conditions and restrictions, which, when agreed to by the company,
should remain forever _a contract_ between the state and the company.
At this juncture, one of the judges of the supreme court of New York
issued a solemn injunction upon the general assembly of Iowa, forbidding
that body to legislate, in any way, upon the matters I have above
recited. Some of us, not having the fear of New York courts nor the
majesty of Judge Cardozo before our eyes, fairly laughed at that
judicial functionary's lordly impudence. We thought that the grand
opportunity had now arrived when the state could justly step in and pass
an act compelling the company to construct the road, for the sake of the
extraordinary relief sought, and in that act _reserve, in "express
terms,"_ as a matter of _contract_, the right to control the tariff
rates of at least one powerful corporation, connecting with the Pacific
railroad at Council Bluffs, and thereby control the rates of other
lines crossing the state with similar connections. This express
reservation of right, in the form of what was known as the "Doud
Amendment," was inserted in the act in relation to the Chicago, Rock
Island, & Pacific railroad company, and will be found as the first
proviso in the second section of that act (chapter 13, on page 14, Acts
of Twelfth General Assembly), and is in the following words:
"_Provided_, said railroad company, accepting the provisions of this
act, shall at all times be subject to such rules and regulations, and
rates for the transportation of freight and passengers, as may, from
time to time, be enacted by the general assembly of Iowa."
The company, through its proper officers, accepted the terms of this
act, and filed that acceptance in the office of the secretary of state,
thus closing _a contract_ between the state and the company, and setting
at rest forever the question of controlling and regulating the charges
for freight and passengers in favor of the state. The same proviso was
afterwards inserted in the act in relation to the Des Moines Valley
railroad company (chapter 57, page 63); also in the act relating to the
McGregor Western railroad company (chapter 58, page 67); also, in the
act relating to the Dubuque & Sioux City railroad company (chapter 124,
page 164); all acts of the twelfth general assembly.
The passage of the last named act aroused unusual commotion along the
proposed railroad line from Cedar Falls, via Fort Dodge, to Sioux City,
in consequence of the railroad managers declaring that not another mile
of that road would ever be built until the proviso for control should be
repealed. Work ceased along the line; the laborers were discharged; the
people who expected a railroad through their country became alarmed.
Meetings were held at Fort Dodge, Sioux City, and other points, and
extraordinary efforts were put forth to induce Governor Stone to call an
extra session of the legislature for the purpose of repealing the
so-called "_Doud Amendment_." A committee of prominent citizens was
appointed to visit, in person, the members of the general assembly, and
have them sign a request to the governor in favor of an extra session.
This committee, knowing my record on this question, did not do me the
honor of a personal visit, but they sent me a letter (still in my
possession), to which I replied through the public press, strongly
opposing their movement, and, after reciting a portion of the facts
herein recapitulated, earnestly requested them to let the Doud Amendment
alone; for I believed it to be one of the wisest measures ever enacted
by our legislature, and, having been one of its foremost advocates in
that body, I would still defend it. The effort to call an extra session
failed, and the railroad managers in the north, finding their efforts,
in that instance, vain, after frightening the people nearly a year,
concluded to go to work again, and so the building of that road went on
to completion.
We had now succeeded in making the question of control a matter of
contract between the state and the companies above named; so that, so
far as they are concerned, no person or authority can question that
_right_. Some of these roads being parallel lines across the state, the
limitation of their charges will virtually control the others.
I have always maintained that the state, by virtue of her sovereignty,
possesses the right to regulate and limit railroad charges, whenever the
public necessity, or the public welfare requires such limitation,
without any special reservation in any charter or contract. But inasmuch
as eminent counsel denied it, I was one of the original prompters and
friends of the "Doud Amendment." I was this for the further reason,
also, that history teaches me that when the interpretation of
constitutions or doubtful laws, in cases where the poor and humble were
on one side and wealth and power on the other side, that interpretation
has been almost invariably on the side of wealth and power.
During the session of 1870, the question of regulating and taxing
railroads came up again; but nothing was done except the passage of a
law authorizing the state treasurer to levy a tax on their gross
receipts, as follows: On the first $3,000 or part thereof, per mile, one
per centum; on receipts over $3,000, and under $6,000, two per centum;
and on the excess of $6,000 per mile, three per centum. An act was also
passed (which I opposed) authorizing townships, towns, and cities, to
vote a tax, not exceeding five per cent of their assessed valuation, to
aid in the construction of railroads. At this session I succeeded in
securing the passage of an act (chapter 90, acts of Thirteenth General
Assembly) providing that taxes levied by order of any court to pay
judgments on county or city bonded indebtedness, no penalty but legal
interest shall be collected.
At the session of 1872, the questions of railroad tariffs, taxation, and
control, came up again with increased interest. We passed an act
(chapter 12 of public laws) making the work, &c., of laborers and
mechanics a lien upon the road bed, right of way, &c., of railroads,
thus securing them in their pay for labor done or materials furnished.
The five per cent tax law was repealed, and an act (chapter 26 of public
laws) was passed, making the census board (now executive council) a
board of assessment of railroad property. Under this act a new plan of
assessing this kind of property was adopted, and a much larger revenue
derived therefrom than heretofore. A freight and passenger tariff bill
(known as the O'Donnel bill) passed the house, but failed in the senate.
Those of us, in the senate, who voted for the bill, were remembered by
the railroad managers when we met in adjourned session last winter,
(January 15th, 1873) by leaving us out of the list of senators whom they
favored with free passes. But they sent passes to all the senators who
voted _against_ the bill. The passes from the Chicago, Rock Island, &
Pacific railroad company were accompanied with a private note, stating
that free passes were not now given generally, "_but only to their
friends_."
The adjourned session of 1873 was for the special purpose of considering
and enacting the new code, which the three commissioners had now spent
nearly three years upon. Our time was limited by joint resolution to
thirty days; and yet, during a considerable portion of our limited time,
the railroad question occupied our attention. While we were in session,
an extraordinary convention, or gathering of farmers, known as the
"State Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry," met in Des Moines. This body
was composed of the officers called Masters and Past Masters of the
subordinate granges, or lodges, of a new secret society of
agriculturists scattered throughout the state. This State Grange, or
convention of delegates, numbered over twelve hundred members,
representing, it was said, some seventy thousand farmers of Iowa. The
meeting of this "Grange" lasted a week, and passed strong resolutions
urging the legislature to enact a passenger and freight tariff law, and
also presented an official petition to that effect.
The members of the senate in favor of such a law prepared twelve
sections (mainly from the old O'Donnel bill) to be inserted in chapter 5
of title 10, of the proposed code, and I was chosen to offer them in the
senate, at the proper time. This I did, and the first section was
adopted almost before the railroad men could rally their forces. This
section limits the fare for passengers to three and one-half (31/2) cents
per mile. But the other sections, which fixed a maximum rate for the
transportation of all kinds of grain, produce, lumber, manufactures, and
commodities, were lost by a tie vote, the president of the senate,
Lieutenant Governor Bulis, refusing to vote, which was equivalent to
voting against the sections. These sections were afterwards fixed to the
chapter by the House, with an additional section, known as the "Keables
Amendment," but were again lost in the senate for want of two votes.
The commissioners had omitted from the proposed new code all the
so-called "Doud Amendments," and reservations of control by the state
over railway corporations, on the ground that they were local or special
provisions not to be included in a code of general laws. But some of us
thought that those reservations of control, and special contracts, were
of too important a character to the people of Iowa to be entirely
ignored, and so I prepared an amendment to chapter 5, of title 10, in
the following words:--
"SEC. 6. All contracts, stipulations, and conditions, regarding the
right of controlling and regulating the charges for freight and
passengers upon railroads, heretofore made, in granting lands or other
property, or franchises to railroad corporations, are expressly
reserved, continued, and perpetuated, in full force and effect, to be
exercised by the general assembly whenever the public good and the
public necessity requires such exercise thereof." This was adopted.
I have thus hastily sketched the history of railroad legislation in our
state, and yet perhaps I have exceeded the space you generously allow me
in your valuable work. Time and space would not permit me to detail the
skill exercised or the means used to defeat every act of legislation
looking toward the control of railway corporations.
To-day both the people and the government of this nation are, to a great
degree, under the control of the consolidated money capital of the
country, and a few individuals are at the head of this capital. These
are men, mainly, who regard republican or democratic institutions as too
unstable for the security of wealth, and have no real love for our form
of government. It remains to be seen what the people will do in the
coming crisis. I have faith in the people.
Yours truly,
SAMUEL MCNUTT.
Mr. McNutt tells what he knows, and gives us a correct idea of the means
resorted to by these corporations to thwart the will of the people. In
view of the vast wealth of these corporations, their combination and
consolidation, with their absolute control of congress and state
legislatures, and the centralization of power in themselves, we may well
inquire whether our constitutional guarantees have not been so long
disregarded as to be virtually destroyed. The question at issue between
the people and these corporations is clearly marked and defined. This
great railroad oligarchy is gradually but surely overturning the
principles upon which our government is founded. It is substituting a
personal for a constitutional government, and to achieve its purposes,
it brings to bear its vast wealth and influence; it bribes and buys
legislators, and maintains throughout the country a vast army of
employes, many of whom occupy high official position under the
government. It now boldly proclaims the doctrine, that the interests of
this great government, and of railroads, are one!
On the other side of the question are the people, who begin to realize
the oppressions of this oligarchy. They find themselves burdened with
taxes; the value of the produce of the country consumed in unjust
railroad charges; the halls of congress and of state legislatures cursed
by the presence of men who take and give bribes in aid of the people's
oppressors; their natural rights denied them; the guarantees of the
constitution disregarded; all doubtful points decided in favor of the
power that is reducing them to slavery, and making their property and
the fruits of their labor of no value. They begin to realize that the
final struggle must soon come, and that the question will be whether the
people, the sovereign people, or their oppressors are to be the future
rulers of the _republic_. The result is not uncertain. Legislatures and
courts must restore to the people their constitutional rights. If these
are denied, then, other means failing, the people, who are sovereign,
_must take their rights by revolution_. The self-evident truth that all
men are equal, that they have equal rights to enjoy and possess
property, and to the protection of those rights in the courts, and that
all should bear their proportionate share of the public burdens, MUST be
recognized, by all classes, as the supreme law of this republic.