Then the business man could not only secure his own position, but utterly rout and annihilate his adversaries.
At this point the railroads came to the assistance of the aggressive and unscrupulous business man.

They gave such men an advantage over their competitors by granting them special rates; and inasmuch as this practice has played a decisive part in American business development, its effect and its meaning, frequently as they have been pointed out, must be carefully traced.
The railroads themselves are, perhaps, the most perfect illustration of the profits which accrue in a rapidly growing country from the possession of certain advantages in supplying to the public an indispensable service.

They were not built, as in most European states, under national supervision and regulation, or according to a general plan which prevented unnecessary competition.

Their routes and their methods were due almost entirely to private enterprise and to local economic necessities.

They originated in local lines radiating from large cities; and only very slowly did their organization come to correspond with the great national routes of trade.