State con vent ion—republic an-Democrac y. i 8 i 
erally assessed, whilst other forms of property, less tangible, re¬ 
main unassessed and untaxed. The farmer is liable to undue 
taxation when assessed on valuation of property, because its 
value is better known and understood. In 1870, for instance, the 
railroads of Illinois were assessed only $19,000,000, whilst the 
horses were valued at $25,000,000. The indiscriminate manner 
in which the power of eminent domain has been vested in rail¬ 
way and other monied corporations has also made this a subject 
of special interest. The power to condemn right of way, and the 
like, has been given to corporations that now deny their liability 
to perform a public function at legal rates. Undoubtedly our 
state legislation has generally been vicious as regards corporations, 
in that legislators have not kept a clear line of distinction be¬ 
tween the person whose liberty we do not desire to restrain more 
than is essential, and the corporation on whose immortality and 
aggregated wealth, should make it always an object of suspicion, 
and prevent us from granting it undue and endless powers. This 
abuse has been one of the marked effects of our democratic ideas 
when not clearly understood and applied. 
But side by side with this vice we find a zeal in the cause of 
general education, public charities, and public improvements, that 
will go to the verge of its power and limit, and even invade the 
rights of the citizen to advance what it believes will be for the 
general interest. This is peculiarly an idea of American growth, 
and has been used and abused, to a great extent. It has been 
used profitably to tax the property of all, to educate all; to pro¬ 
vide for reform schools, and for asylums. It has been abused to 
subsidize irresponsible railway schemes, as I have just intimated. 
This zeal for popular welfare, will necessarily carry us some¬ 
what farther, Legislation must interfere with and regulate, per¬ 
haps dissolve, the great corporations it has created, or they will 
oppose the citizen. Our Illinois constitution recognizes this fact, 
especially in the case of railways. It may need to go into other 
fields, gas companies, water companies, elevators, telegraph com¬ 
panies, all have similar tendencies, and their rapacity is not 
checked by competition, or any practical working of the law of 
supply and demand, as John Stnart Mill long ago declared: 
“ There are many cases in which the agency, of whatever nature, 
