MONOPOLY OF TRANSPORTATION. 575 



the victims, it is perfectly evident the strategy of the sub- 

 sidy adventurers won." 



The lands granted by the government to the various 

 railroad corporations amount in the aggregate to over two 

 ! undred million acres. A table comprising the greater part 

 of the grants will be found in another part of this volume. 



" Lands, however, were not alone in the things which 

 formed the limit of railway expectations. The greed of 

 these corporations extended to the public funds, and bonds 

 and money were demanded with as much coolness and 

 audacity as lands. The railroad corporations early learned 

 that with a pliant Congress, it is easy to draw from the 

 natijnal treasury the funds they were not willing to pro- 

 vide for their enterprises. In order to effect this they were 

 compelled to maintain at Washington a force of paid lob- 

 byists, whose business it was to influence the legislation of 

 Congress by unpatriotic and illegal means." That the 

 reader may the better understand the extent to which this 

 corruption is practiced, and the multiplicity of the schemes 

 on hand, we quote the following article from a Washington 

 correspondent who was present during the session of the 

 Fortieth Congress: 



u At present," he says, " perhaps there is more money 

 in the various railroad schemes than any other. And this 

 thing is on a scale which the country does not compre- 

 hend, notwithstanding the common talk about it Thus 

 far, in the fortieth Congress, there have been seventy-two 

 railroad bills introduced in the Senate alone. Eight were 

 presented at the first short session, fifty-two at the second 

 session, and in the two weeks of the present session eleven 

 have been reported and printed. And these last do not 

 include four as gigantic as any which have been passed, 

 yet to come. One is in preparation for which its friends 

 are now gathering power, for the Northern Pacific, one for 

 the Albuquerque Hue and its several connections; one for 



