on, _1l. 4s._: Carriage of a ton of plums,
apples, and pears, Queenborough (Kent) to London, _1l. 5s._: Carriage
of same from Flushing (Holland), _12s. 6d._: Carriage per ton of
English pianos Liverpool to London _3l. 10s._: Carriage as above of
foreign, _1l. 5s._: British timber per ton Cardiff to Birmingham,
_16s. 8d._: foreign as above _8s. 10d._ In the carriage of iron ore
and steel rails the American railways charge _6s. 3d._ where the
British charge _29s. 3d._"[729]

"The real enemy are the monopolists of land and locomotion--the
landlord and the raillord who are uprooting the British people from
their native soil. It is in fact by no means easy to say which is the
greater malefactor of the two."[730] Such differential charges are
bound to cripple the British industries, and in view of the harm which
is thus being done to British farmers, manufacturers, and traders, it
is only natural that British Socialists are unanimous in condemning
the anti-British freight policy of the railways and in recommending
that they should be taken over and managed by the State.

"There are nearly 24,000 miles of railway in the kingdom, the greater
part of which is owned or controlled by a dozen great companies, who,
moreover, have standing conferences through which they exercise a
virtual monopoly against the public, although they have all the
expenses of competing concerns. The public bears the costs and
inconveniences of competition without many of its benefits. The total
capital of the companies is _1,300,000,000l._ of which _200,000,000l._
is nominal or 'watered' stock. A very large part of the rest was for
extravagant sums paid to great landowners for their land and another
large part for legal expenses. On this huge capital a sum of
_44,000,000l._ has to be earned in dividends. If the State bought out
the railways, it could borrow this necessary sum for at least
_5,000,000l._ to _8,000,000l._ a year less than this, and at once
effect enormous savings resulting from the present competitive and
chaotic methods of the companies. Despite the virtual monopoly, there
are over 3,000 railway directors drawing fees or salaries amounting to
nearly _1,500,000l._ Of the principal of these there are eighty in the
Lords and twenty-five in the Commons. Mr. Gladstone predicted that if
the State did not control the railway companies, they would control
the State, and this has come to pass. Their servants are overworked
and underpaid, extortio