River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1889-01-24
MADISON LETTER.
MADISON. WIS. Jan. 81. 1880.

bulk of the 10 senate bills and 20
assembly bills introduced up to Friday
noon last.
The exceptional legislation of gen.
eral Interest proposed are the general
law for the Incorporation of cities and
villages, the adoption of which will
save the state thousands of dollars in
money, and the legislature several
weeks of valuable time-which also
represents money to the taxpayers.
| Next to this, or, possibly, of still
greater interest, dependent of course
upon the adoption of a well considered
and practicable law, is the railroad
bill of our own senator, Hon. III. A.
| Taylor-the "blue-eyed statesman of
the St. Croix." The text of this bill
will no doubt be published far and
wide throughout the state, and it will
excite more discussion and elicit more
criticism than any other bill is likely
to receive, excepting always the
dive" literature emanating from Or.
Kate Bushnell and the w. Q. L. u.
Bureau.
Various and conflicting motives are
assigned to Mr.. Taylor in his author
ship of the railroad bill. Some ascribe
it To demagoguery of the granger style,
which became obsolete some years
ago. Others intimate that Horace,
seeing the popularity of the farmers
favorite for the governOrship is at
tempting to steal the Jefferson county
statesman's second term by the intro
duction of legislation which shall
make him solid" with the grange"
class. Others say "Hod" has had a
row with the Omaha railway magnates
and is using his official position to
punish them. Our member of the
assembly, complementary rather than
critically, says that Taylor is a sly,
shrewd gentleman of the Maehiavellan
school, who has reused the public
interest and curiosity by the assump-
ton of secrecy, and has thereby gained
for his bill a greater degree of prOmi-
nence than its intrinsic merit war
rants. Still another asserts that it is
bill framed and authorized by the
railroads themselves, by the passage
of which they may shut off other leg
IslatiOn which would be more dam
aging to their interests than this bill
possibly could be were it to become a
law, and were that law to be faith
fully enforced by the commissioners
authorized by it.
All of these criticisms, you will
note, are unfavorable, and have pur-
posely given them in full at first that
the worst might be known at once.
The fact is that the bill received the
approval of the Milwaukee chamber
of commerce before it was introduced,
and its provisions are carefully drawn
TO meet certain unjust Determinations
TO which our state has been, and is
| subjected, by the corporations owning
and controlling the railway properties
in the state. River Falls and Hudson
have recognized this injustice for sew
eral years. and other parts of the state
have suffered in the same way.
The bill is an attempt to apply the
interstate law to interior traffic. 1t
gives the commissioners power to cor
rect any evils by positive amend
ment of rates, instead of permitting
the filing of protest alone, as is now
the extent of the railroad commission
er's power. 1t forbids the granting of
passes, or other forms of tTanspOrta-
ton to any class of persons while
denying the same concessions to any
other class. In short, it aims at a
state control of transportation rates
by means of which existing evils may
be remedied, in the interest of the
whole people as against class or an
individual.
Do the railroads like it! l don't
know. As yet they have given no
sign, except,--that members of both
houses of the legislature may draw on
the lobby agents for unlimited passes
for their constituents, if they are
friends" An outsider, however
friendly, is curtly informed that the
companies are issuing no passes-that
1t is forbidden by the interstate com.
merce law. This fiction is soberly
iterated and reiterated by the paid
agents of the corporations at the very
time when they are quietly issuing
passes by the sheaf on the requests of
members. 1t indicates that the COM
panies appreciate the purchasing pow
er of free transportation, and are free
to avail themselves of it in the direc.
ton where it will do the most good. :"
In the meanwhile, 1.-THE public be
id"
Will Taylor's bill pass! l don't
know. In view of the foregoing l
doubt it. So long as legislators do not
feel il beneath their dignity, or con-
trary to principle, to receive pour
boirs from the railway magnates,
there is small probability that the in
terests of small shippers, or the public
in general will receive much consider
alton at their hands. Two years ago
an attempt was made to do away. by
law, with the pass corruption business.
but il was promptly tabled on a par.
liamentary point which enabled the
members to vote for the retention of
their pelquisites under cover of mo-
tiOn which TO the uninitiated appeared
to be in opposition. The same sharp
practice will no doubt be reSOrted 10
in the case of any bill which may
come up limiting or entirely eurtailing
these precious perquisites OF these
modern cOnseTipt fathers. These re.
, marks desire to be understood apply
only TO those members who throw
their votes and influence in favor OF
.~,.z.,