governmental ownership of "natural
monopolies," John Ruskin published these bold and thoughtful words in
the London _Daily Telegraph_:

The ingenious British public seemed to be discovering to its
cost, that the beautiful law of supply and demand does not apply
in a pleasant manner to railroad transit. But if they are
prepared to submit patiently to the "natural" laws of political
economy, what right have they to complain? The railroad belongs
to the shareholders; and has not everybody a right to ask the
highest he can get for his wares? The public have a perfect right
to walk, or to make other opposition railroads for themselves, if
they please, but not to abuse the shareholders for asking as much
as they think they can get. Will you allow me to put the _real_
rights of the matter before them in a few words?

Neither the roads nor the railroads of any nation should belong
to any private persons. All means of public transit should be
provided at public expense, by public determination, where such
means are needed, and the public should be its own shareholder.
Neither road, nor railroad, nor canal should ever pay dividends
to anybody. They should pay their working expenses, and no more.
All dividends are simply a tax on the traveller and the goods,
levied by the persons to whom the road or canal belongs, for the
right of passing over his property, and this right should at once
be purchased by the nation, and the original cost of the
roadway--be it of gravel, iron, or adamant--at once defrayed by
the nation, and then the whole work of the carriage of persons or
goods done for ascertained prices, by salaried officers, as the
carriage of letters is done now.

Happily these suggestions of the distinguished Englishman have been
followed, in part at least, by several enlightened nations, but to the
disgrace of our republic, and to the great cost of the producing and
consuming masses, we are lagging behind in these respects, becoming a
camp-follower instead of a leader in the march of progress, because of
the influence exerted by a small class, who have grown so powerful
through special privileges given to them by the nation that they now
assume to thwart beneficent legislation in order that they may
continue to grow richer through this vicious form of governmental
paternalism, which places the multit