The Octopus
Many Californians in the late nineteenth century came to believe that the Big Four had accumulated far too much wealth and power. Angry citizens portrayed the railroad as a monstrous octopus that was strangling other businesses and corrupting the affairs of government. The Big Four's mansions on Nob Hill were denounced as evidence of their ill-gotten wealth. Political cartoons showed the Big Four under attack by those who wished to free the state from railroad domination. Author Frank Norris criticized the Southern Pacific in his muckraking novel The Octopus (1901). Embarrassing revelations in the press alleged corrupt dealings by railroad officials. Although the railroad suffered a few defeats at the hands of its enemies, its power remained substantial as California entered the new century. Scholars today continue to offer conflicting interpretations of the role of the railroad in the history of California.