Monopolies -- United States; Railroads and state -- United States
These stockholders get their dividends upon their capital stock and
their share of "watered stock" and bonds, but do not participate in the
profits of the dispatch business.
Like the Credit Mobilier, it pays large dividends which it extorts from
the people, charging even higher rates than the railroad companies; but
it only divides among its members, and not with the stockholders of the
railroad company whose track it uses. The interest of these stockholders
is not considered. They have built and equipped the road, and selected
their directors and managers; but these managers and directors turn the
road over to a hostile company, composed of themselves and select
friends. To promote the business of the dispatch companies, their trains
are transported from one end of the railroad to the other in less than
half the time required to transport a train of freight cars belonging to
the road. The effect of this course of procedure is obvious. Shippers,
finding that these railroad managers discriminate against the cars
belonging to the road proper, and that they grant extraordinary favors
and facilities to the _opposition_ lines, quit patronizing the former
and do business with the dispatch companies. The result is that the
dispatch companies now control the freight business, and the railroads
have, as a rule, quit providing themselves with freight cars. When
applied to for cars, the answer is, "We have none," while at the same
time the side tracks are filled with freight cars belonging to these
dispatch companies, demanding much higher rates than the regular
charges. At the first glance we fail to understand why a course so
suicidal to the best interests of the railroad company is pursued by its
directors and managers, nor can we readily comprehend why they permit
these dispatch companies to monopolize their tracks and destroy the
business of their roads. We think we can solve the problem. These
managers of the railroads, and such stockholders as are admitted to a
participation in the conspiracy, are the proprietors and incorporators
of the dispatch companies. After payment of the running and other
expenses of the road, and their own salaries (fixed by themselves) the
dividends on their railroad stock is small. Their position as
stockholders in both the railroad and dispatch companies is the same as
was that of the stockholders of the Pacific railroad companies and the
Credit Mobilier, who could well afford to sacrifice the interests of the
road and its stockholders who had no interest in the Credit Mobilier,
provided they received large dividends from their Credit Mobilier stock.
So, in organizing the dispatch companies and giving them the preference
over the roads, with the absolute control of the freighting business,
while the railroad stocks pay no dividends and depreciate in value, and
the roads and rolling stock are being worn out, the dispatch business
thrives and pays large dividends to this inside ring--comparatively
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