It is significant that the best of the railroad builders, those who started out with private funds, did not bribe legislators to throttle competitors nor to obtain any kind of special legal advantage or privilege. They made their fortunes by their own personal ability, and if they resorted to bribery at all, like Commander Vanderbilt, it was only to buy the removal of some artificial restriction, such as permission to consolidate. They did not pay to get something from the legislature, but only to get the legislature out of their way.
But the builders who started out with government help, such as The Big Four of the Central Pacific, were the ones who used the government for special advantages and owed their fortunes to legislation more than personal ability.
This is the inevitable result of any kind or degree of mixed economy. It is only with the help of government regulations that a man of lesser ability can destroy his better competitors, and he is the only type of man who runs to government for economic help.
Notes on the History of American Free Enterprise – Ayn Rand (1959)
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