The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1883-12-13
Those Railroad Passes.

An attempt was made by Governor Be
COLES friends to break the force of the
charge of demagoguery, made against him
on account of his dead-heading his way on
the +. d p. M. Il. r., by stating that he was
| entitled to transportation over that road by
| reason of his being engaged in the lumber
! business, and being an extensive shipper
over that road. The p. IL Il. on Friday last
made other specific charges against the great
and good Josiah of similar character, from
which we clip the following statement:
THE anti-monoply notion which was EN-
bodied in the denunciation of passes was
Begoles chief capital in the campaign.
About the only view he was known 10 have
in state affairs was that no person elected to
Office by the people had right to place
himself under obligations TO railroad COM
pany by accepting free rides. The pass
issue may have been whimsical enough, but
it was one that Begole invented for his own
special advantage in the canvass, and there
can be no doubt that the prejudice against
large moneyed corporations was sufficiently
strong to give his anti-pass crusade sensi-
bic effect in securing his election to the gov
ernorship.
Having got the Office on the no-pass plat
form, what did the new governor do? He
proceeded TO pocket passes and free tickets
from nearly if not quite every railroad in
this state. He did not allow his sense of
political honesty or his personal modesty to
hold him back, but began to make his desire
for passes known within 80 days from the
time of his election. His application to the
general manager of the Flint and Pere
Marquette road was dated December /, 1882,
and he did not make any unnecessary delay
in allowing himself to be supplied with the
means of gratuitous personal transportation
over other roads. Instead of 500-mile free
tickets he was, as a rule content with regu-
lar dead-head annual passes, good for the
entire year. Among those received 10y him
are the following:
Michigan Central Railroad-Pass No. 234
Detroit Grand Haven and M.-Psss No. 6se.
IL
Chicago and Grand Trunk-Pass No.
81
All these passes run TO the governor by
name; they have all been accepted by him:
they have all been used by him; they are
now in his possession, and they are all in
force till December 81, 1888. The one last
mentioned is made out to Gov. Begole and
lady. Probably neither his private secre.
tary nor his business partner will try TO
make anybody believe that these passes were
received under the terms of contract for
hauling logs from county Clare to the lum-
Der mill of Begole, Fox d Co. at Flint, or
that the governors lady is included in the |
Chicago and Grand Trunk pass on the ground |
that she is an extensive shipper of merchan-
disc over that read"
This pass question is of itself, a matter of
little consequence, but we remember that
Gov. Begole urged it as strong point !
in his own favor, that he never carried
railroad pass in his pocket in his life, and |
we remember also, that the conven- |
ton which nominated him made this mat |
ter political issue by the following de- |
claration:
eve will support no candidate for any |
official position who will not pledge himself |
that if elected he will not accept from any
corporation free pass, or its equivalent, on |
any railroad or public conveyance while !
holding Office"
1t really looks as if he was at best, but |
sham reformer, provided the above allega- |
tons arc true.