State Convention—Currency, taxation , Etc. 199 
ulate transportation as to prevent extortionate charges, there can be 
no question. I am pleased to see that some of the ablest men in 
congress, advocate the building of freight railways from the Mis¬ 
sissippi to the seaboard, and the control by congress of through 
lines already built. This is the only hope we have of speedy re¬ 
lief from the extortionate rates of freights we now have to pay. 
Let us insist that our state legislature shall pass a law creating 
a board of railroad commissioners, with full power to correct 
abuses by bringing suits in court in the name of the state, for un¬ 
just discrimination, or extortionate charges, by railway or express 
companies. This, with a goody>ro rata freight tariff, on the roads 
within this state, would relieve the farmers from some of the bur¬ 
dens which now exist. There is no law in this state to prevent 
railroads from charging what they choose, or charging double 
rates from one station over another at a greater distance, thus 
placing it within their power to ruin the business of any station, 
and consequently be an injury to all property in villages at such 
stations. 
“we can and we will” 
was the language used by Vanderbilt, when he was expostulated 
with against the increase in freights at the beginning of this year, 
when a combination was entered into between the main lines from 
the.west to the east to raise freights from Chicago to New York, 
which they did on some classes of freights, five dollars per ton. 
How long will the farmers submit to being robbed by the Van¬ 
derbilts and the Scotts and their co-workers. 
I believe our only hope of obtaining justice of railroad com¬ 
panies, or laws from our state and national legislatures that will 
regulate railroads, is to make our power felt through a thorough 
organization of farmers who will stand shoulder to shoulder, in de¬ 
fense of our rights. 
The stockholders of our railroads during the summer ascertain 
through their agents located in every county along the line of 
their roads, the probable amount of the crops to be shipped. 
They sit in their office in New York, figure up how much they 
will take of our crop to carry it to market. Senator Oglesby of 
Ill., in a speech in the United States’ senate, said that the charges 
imposed by railroads, steamboats, warehouses and middlemen ex- 
