Chapter 14 section 2:critical thinking 3

Do you think that the government and the private citizens could have done more to curb the corruption and power of the railroads?
· Why the railroads had power
· The right of railroad customers and workers.
· The scope of government regulations.

When the railroads had first been built, many people used them. One of the biggest users of the railroads was the farmers of the Midwest. With these users of the railroad, the company holders gained immense money and wealth. Not many people thought that they had the power to curb the railroad companies.
I think that the government could have done more to curb the power of the railroads than the private citizens. The government has the power to regulate taxes and power of a company. The government could have intervened with the railroad companies. They have this power and they chose not to use it. Until the court case Munn Vs Illinois. Then the government had the power to instate an act that would limit the power of the railroads. And they government had done this.
The private citizens and any other citizens had little power over the railroads. If they could organize themselves, then they could curb the power of the railroads. If the farmers had not used the railroads to ship their goods and shipped it a different way, then the railroads would have lost their main customer and might have to compromise with the farmers and lower the prices of their goods. Another thing that the citizens could have was to file complaints to the government and give reason to them that the railroad company was using their power too much. This is how the people and the government could have curbed the power of the railroad companies.