They finance national and local campaigns; their filthy finger-prints are to be found on almost every page of our public record.
The only possible way to get rid of this is to remove the motive. Put the railroads where the Post-Office Department is, and there will be no more motive for rebates, discriminations and wholesale bribery than there is in the operation of the Post-Office Department.
Fifth. Government ownership would make the service uniform, simplify it in every way and save vast sums by the consolidation of all the various lines into one great national system.
It would not need so many high-priced presidents, high-priced lawyers and high-priced lobbyists.
One very intelligent writer upon this subject, C. Wood Davis, figures out a saving of $160,000,000 on this item by consolidation.
Government ownership would abolish deadheadism.
Under our present system, the men who are most able to pay their way on the railroad ride free. The man who is least able to pay, not only has to pay for himself, but in the long run has to pay also for the deadheads who ride free. This will become obvious to anybody who will think about it for a moment.
Sixth. It would take away the power of the railroads to destroy any individual, any business or any community. It would save the thousands of lives which are now lost every year for lack of double tracks, safety appliances and reasonable hours of labor.
It would enable the cotton grower of the South to exchange his products with the corn grower of the West in such a way that the railroad would not get more for hauling the corn than the man who raised it got for it when he sold it.
At present the Southern farmer pays seventy-five and eighty cents per bushel, cash, for corn which the farmer of the West sold for thirty-five cents. The transportation companies get the lion’s share of that enormous difference.