The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1890-01-24
4 PASS"
is IT BRIBERY OR NOT?

is IT BRIBERY OR NOT?
sa IT Is.
The universal use of passes on the
railroads by officials OF cities, villages;
legislatures, courts and big pol
iticians, is still crying evil in the
land. The newspapers get mileage
on "advertising.' But the adver'
Using is at rates which would make
a merchants heard swim: and is then
either put in the paper or left out;
at will For instance, road gives
a country editor four 1,OOO-mile
tickets $500 to $500 for the inser-
ton of a notice once month.
This is, of course, in all it's broad
extent, a corruption bride. Men will
say: do you suppose I would sell
myself for pass?" We say eyes
some men, most men, would sell their
grandmother's corpse for dissection
for a railway pass! There's 'big-
ness" about a pass which ranks
above everything. Remove the pass
es absolutely and there would be no
trouble in keeping the railways in
check. The Chicago Daily News has
been opening up the subject. Here
is one of it's articles, in which even a
city coroner is shown up:
Two men were recently seated in a
Chicago & Northwestern railway
coach conversing about the weather
and one thing or another, when the
conductor came along collecting tick
cts. The gentleman sitting next the
window wore the happy air of a man
well to do-one who seldom had the
blues and who could go as high as
Mumm's extra dry, Unnecessary. when
ever he dined. He reached in his peck
ct and produced an annual pass,
which he presented to mcknight of the
punch. There was nothing startling
about that, for on the face of the
pass was written the name of E. P.
Wilson, general ticket agent of the
Chicago & Northwestern company.
The conductor returned the piece OF
cardboard with all Difference. The
gentleman seated next the aisle hand
ed out passengers ticket, which he
had bought at the depot and for
which he paid his good dollars. The
general ticket agent noted the fact,
and when the man in the blue cap
and brass buttons had passed on the
official asked how it came that his
travelling companion, being the rep
resentative OF a certain Chicago daily,
did not pass?
"Why, Pm not an attache of the
coroner's ofice,'' replied tie gentle
man, half in fun.
"It wouldn't make any difference
if you were," returned the official.
ooh, I think it would, for then
/ would be sure to have a pass
1.-THE coroner doesn't get passes -
The man in the end of the seat
laughed in his sleeve. 1t seemed such
a funny state of things for him to
know that the coroner, as well as
every deputy in the Office, should be
Juggling annual passes on the Chicago
& Northwestern railroad around in
their pockets and their general ticket
agent not know about it.
Now the truth is that judicious
distribution of passes to city and
county officials, including aldermen,
commissioners, and even judges on
the bench, is frequently understood
to be a first-class investment. There
is a good illustration of this in the
case of judge now sitting on the
bench in Chicago. One day the attor-
ney for a certain railroad asked a
favor OF the court and was refused.
1t offended the lawyer, and as a re-
suit, when the judges pass was
presented for renewal it was refused
He went in person to demand an ex-
PLANTATION, and was referred to the
attorney of the corporation. Call.
ing upon that gentleman, he was
informed that since he had said he
didn't "have to- grant request to
the railroad attorney, the railroad
people didn't "have to" issue his an.
nual pass, and they didn't.
CORONER HERTz's DEMANDS HoNoRED
A Morning News reporter, being
commissioned to discover to what
extent passes were issued to county
officials, discovered that the word Of
Coroner Hertz was practically as
good as law to the railroad compan.
les. The Chicago & Northwestern
never fails to honor either his orders
or that of his chief deputy Philip
Knopf. For the purpose of putting
to a test Coroner Hertz's influence
over the Chicago & Northwestern
railroad company, which it was
claimed issued no passes, the report
er was instructed to "strike' the
county official for pass. It was
%A0A Il.