RAILROAD LAND GRANTS. 109 



makes his purchase, he is able to command rates 

 that the small purchaser would be laughed at if asked 

 for by him. He must pay the uttermost demand and 

 expect no favors. 



Another special, and it should be an intolerable, 

 abuse attends these gigantic land grants ; and that 

 is, that upon these great landholdings the grantees 

 pay no taxes. Though they become the de facto 

 owners of these great properties, which, by the opera- 

 tions of society, are constantly increasing in value, 

 doubling and quadrupling within a few years, and 

 from which are derived almost fabulous revenues, in 

 the extortions which they thus force from the people, 

 they pay not one cent for the support of government, 

 or the welfare of society. All these burdens are 

 thrown upon the people ; they bear none of them. 



Out of these great monopolies have grown many 

 more giant evils than are here pointed out. I have 

 by no means exhausted the catalogue. They hold 

 the highways of the nation as well as rob the people 

 of their patrimony ; they control many of the great 

 sources of industry and avenues of trade ; and they 

 appear to hold the government by the throat. Every 

 interest in the country appears to be compelled to 

 contribute to the aggrandizement of these great mo- 

 nopolies, that have grown out of the mistaken liber- 

 ality of the people and government ; and every inter- 

 est in the country correspondingly suffers. 



But they are standing upon a power that is at 

 present ignorant of its real strength, and knows not 

 yet how to use it, though the iron heels of these 

 plutocratic monopolies are pressing deeper and deeper 



