As a kid in the mid-to late-1950’s, I vaguely remember taking round trip train
rides from New York to Hollywood, Florida. For the first meal on board, which was
either made by my Florida grandmother or my New York grandmother, the food
was pretty good. Subsequent meals, however, were not. I either slept sitting up
on a bench seat or my head was in the lap of a parent. I couldn’t tell you if it
took one day or three for those journeys.
Travel by rail did revolutionize our country. But, it never was free from
government subsidy. From their very early days, railroads received free land from
state and local governments. In the mid 19th century alone, the total was over
200 million acres. The railroads used that land as collateral to sell bonds to
investors.
Railroads were losing money and going broke from their beginnings, and in the
Panics of 1873 and 1877, many railroad companies became insolvent. The Panic
of 1893 was largely brought about by overbuilding and shaky financing of
railroads. Nearly 25% went bankrupt. This resulted in consolidation of lines into the
hands of a few men like J.P. Morgan and James J Hill. Ultimately, the
government tried to break up these monopolies but only partially succeeded.
In the 20th century, railroads began their long decline because of our interstate
highway system and easily affordable air travel. What I remember as a child
was the last gasp of widely available interstate rail travel. While I am sure some
Americans may think with nostalgia about train travel, like airlines today it was a
way to get from point A to point B. Railroad travel though shrouded in mythical
romance like so much of the American past was never very romantic.
All Aboard Florida is just one more myth. It is one more fantasy which is being
spun out to Floridians and especially to those of us on the Treasure Coast. When
our country was young and we had boundless stretches of unoccupied land,
where the tracks were laid didn’t matter. We are a hundred years past that.
Stuart and Martin County are not places on the 19th century prairie or Florida
Savannah. We are in the 21st century with cars, trucks and planes not horses
and wagons.
When do our governments in Tallahassee and Washington begin to take into
consideration, we, the people, instead of big corporations with the right
connections? The supposed property rights of one hedge fund cannot trump
the rights of 19 million Floridians. Laws that may have been apropos in 19th century America cannot be allowed to be used as an excuse to ruin the lives of
the people of Stuart and Martin County in the 21st century.