Litchfield enquirer., 1871-12-07
RAILWAYS AND THE STATE.

 of the Legislature to prohibit such extor- ton in fares and freights cannot be de- nied. The necessity of their interference must be obvious to any candid examiner into the figures presented by MT. Goodwin of East Hartford to our present much be- logged House of Representatives.
 It is our firm belief that both the chief remedial measures favored by the New Eng lander,-the prohibition of extortionate charges by legislative enactment, and of Especial legislation by constitutional amendment, ,-are, in the best sense, pop ular measures. But besides the usual lobby opposition which railway companies understand so well how to employ, these measures will surely encounter two other very serious forms of hindrance:
 The first arises from very remarkable and discreditable, if not altogether unac- countable reluctance on the part of the Press to allow expression to the deep and general dissatisfaction with the selfish and short-sighted policy of our railroad cor ,poratfons. Why our journals which usual ly keep little in advance of public opin- ion lag so far behind it in this instance we shall attempt hereafter to explain, partial ly at least. One of the chief evil effects of this indifference is the false impression it leaves on the minds of our legislators that the people of Connecticut are just as in- different as its editors, thus removing that outward pressure for the thorough and immediate redress of grievances which it is the peculiar duty of the press to ap- ply to legislatures,
 The second hindrance to railway reform is to be found in the active opposition of nearly every prominent lawyer in every General Assembly. In the present House MT. Bishop has the assistance of Messrs Eaton, Ingersoll, Seymour, Waite and Treat, decidedly the leading lawyers of that body. The reason is obvious The successful lawyers favorite client is the railroad corporation. There is probably not one of the legal gentlemen above named who does not cherish the grateful remembrance of heavy fees from such a source; and where lawyers fee is, ''there his heart is, also;" for that is the most successful advocate who can identify him. self most completely with the feelings and interests of his clients. When a Choate addresses jury on behalf of 8 Shylock, he is not the candid reasoner stating facts as they are, but greater Shylock, ,endued with super human intelligence, ingenuity and eloquence, coloring the facts with that of all honest opinions of honest the least reliable are lawyers opinions of their clients. One might as well expect Edwin Booth to beittle the character of Hamlet as to expect the prominent Connecticut lawyer to find anything wrong in that par agon of clients, the Hartford, New Haven and New York railroad company.
 For the supineness of the press we can not profess to offer any adequate reason. If, however, the New Englander is right in supposing that the free pass system has very modifying effect. on the country representative, may it not also have it's in- fuence on the country editor? Especial ly when we consider that while the for mer's free ticket is only temporary ac- commodation, the latter's free pass is a permanent institution. To how great an extent the editorial free-pass system pre- vails, we are unable to state accurately. We know that even country editors have free passes over the railroads within the State on which they usually travel, that they are frequently sent them without so icitation, and imagine that they would hardly be refused if asked for Indeed, free railroad passes are, like free amuse- ment tickets, among the customary edi- torial perquisites Now, although the free railroad pass no more entities the company to favorable mention, than the free concert ticket entities the donor to a puff of his music, still the whole system manifestly tends to slackness of just cen- sure. The struggling democracy of the press-the country papers-are especially liable to this indirect evil influence, for to l them free transit over railroad lines is a very substantial favor. fit is their right, let them take it, as the New Englander sug- gests, by act of legislature but it is not their right, and it is to the consciousness of the faoor as we'll as to the absence of any personal cause of complaint on the part of the editor who cares little about freights and never pays fares, that we at tribute in a large degree the silence of the press while the public is grumbling so audibly.
 What favors, similar or additional, po- litic railway officials may be ill the habit of granting the city press, prominent poli- ticians and prominent lawyers, we have no means of knowing. Our legislature could easily find out by calling for lists of per sons to whom free passes, or other extra ordinary favors, are granted. We suspect that the names on such list would excite surprise fully equal to that occasioned by the lobby exposures of the Hartford Post; and, just here. we would enquire if that journal is not willing to complete it's good work by leading the assault on ''the pow CT behind the lobby ?"
 Earners' Reunion.
 The Farmers Reunion, noticed in the Enquirer, last week, is designed as a social Festival, to which all are invited