THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 79 



petition, and they stand like four gigantic sentinels over 

 the avenues of trade to.enforce their will. They offer the 

 only means of communication between the East and 

 West, and shippers and travellers are compelled to choose 

 between them. Having disposed of their rivals, they have 

 now a common interest to keep rates up to the highest 

 point, and they have power and wealth enough to carry 

 out their wishes. With power to prevent the construc- 

 tion of any rival lines, these four companies hold the 

 transportation business of the country in their grasp ; 

 and, being subject to no practical restraint, they may 

 make such regulations, and compel the public to pay 

 such rates as they may see fit. 



It will be well to glance at the manner in which the 

 consolidation of the two most powerful corporations 

 was effected. It reveals some curious facts in our rail- 

 road history. We tell the story in the language of a 

 brilliant writer,* from whom we have quoted before : 



"Twenty-one years ago, the New York Central road, 

 which forms the nucleus of the Vanderbilt combination, 

 was not in existence as a corporation. In 1853 it was 

 chartered, and eleven distinct corporations were merged 

 into it. Five of these corporations, the longest of which 

 could boast but of 76 miles of track, divided among 

 them the 300 miles which separate Albany from Buffalo. 

 The corporation created out of these elements was 

 again, in its turn, merged in 1869 into the larger New 

 York Central & Hudson River Railroad Company, 

 which controls within the State of New York but little 

 less than a thousand miles of track, and is represented 

 by rather more than $100,000,000 of capital. The con- 



* Charles F. Adams, Jr. 



