er the syndicate which controlled it, contrived to
maintain its power for so many years, to the great detriment of industry
and commerce. The only answer that can be given is that the men for whom
the maintenance of the monopoly was a source of great wealth were
constantly using a part of this wealth for the corruption of those who
were in a position to influence public opinion or to direct the policy
of the State. Prominent politicians were favored with passes, attorneys
were retained by the company as local solicitors, corrupt and servile
legislators were bribed by money or the promise of lucrative positions,
and newspapers were given large subsidies. In addition to this public
men were constantly made to realize the political power of the company,
whose many employes had always been trained to do the bidding of their
masters. If the opposition, in spite of this, was ever successful at
legislative elections, the company's managers found it less expensive to
gain the good will of a few members of the legislature after election
than it would have been to gain the good will of their constituents
before election. Dissatisfied stockholders who threatened with judicial
investigation were quietly bought out or impressed with the danger of
inviting public discussion in regard to the validity of the company's
charter, as it might lead to its annihilation. The good people of New
Jersey made several attempts to rid the State of the despotism of the
company by making the question a political issue, but they were each
time defeated through the lavish and scandalous expenditure of the
company's money.

The original charter of the Camden and Amboy Railroad Company was
granted for a period of twenty years, and should have expired in 1853,
but its managers succeeded in having it extended to January 1, 1859. In
1854 another extension was asked for, and after a long and bitter debate
the company was again triumphant. An act was passed on the 16th of
March, 1854, making it illegal to build previous to the first day of
January, 1869, without the consent of the Camden and Amboy
Transportation Company, a railroad in the State of New Jersey for the
transportation of passengers and freight between New York and
Philadelphia. At the end of this period even a third extension was
granted, and the company, though after January 1, 1867, under a new
name, maintained its monopoly until it consolidated, in 1871, with the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company.