Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-06-19
THE PASS TO PUBLIC OFFICIALS


MUST GO.
The newspaper man pays for every mile he
| rides on the railways. He may have the privil-
eye of paying the bill in advertising, just as he
| pays for dry goods or groceries, but he gives
| value for what he receives in a legitimate way.
Yet you find well-meaning people who are ready
to charge that the press is absolutely bought up
| with free passes. Sometimes q member of the
legislature is caught with free pass in his vest
pocket. His constituents suspect him at once,
because they consider that this pass increases
his obligations to the corporations against
which they expect him to exert himself.
Now comes the attorney general Of Texas,
very David before the people, with his
sling running night and day and the compli-
pocket. He gives Goliath thunder on Saturday
and starts out early the next day on free passes
in the coaches and over the roads of corporations
which he has SO soundly abused. How does At
torney-General Hogg pay for his transportation?
He does not pay for 1t in advertising. He does
not pay Cor it by voting in the interest OF the
corporations, as the representatives are charged
with doing. He has free passes and he uses
them. There is no doubt OF that. It is true that
railroad companies. But it does not appear
that from these only he shas received
free passes. -, OF course this is not
railway pass. Some might go so far az to
claim tibet it is not at ali wrong for the attor-
ney- general, whose duty it is to keep the cor
porationS straight, TO carry complete deck of
dea1head passes; but it is a little difficult to
understand why some people are so willing to
suspect that the newspaper man and the mem
Der of the legislature are bribed because they
have railrOad passes, and will co slider dead
heading on the railroads all right in the man
and the o.fCial WI keeps his voice raised con-
tinually efa nst the roads, their methods and
their mauagements.-l Dallas News.
II anything were needed to arouse the
public mind to the need of law forbid
ding public servants from accepting
railroad passes, it is supplied in the use
which has been made of pass issued by
the Central road to Attorney General
Hogg.
1t is nothing to the purpose that the
railroads of the state have been in the
habit of sending passes, unsolicited. to
state officials, as well as to other public
servants, and that, until now, these
passes have been regarded as mere court
estes to official position. The letter of
Col. Faulkner and the comments of anti
railroad commission newspapers will be
accepted as proof that under the guise
of courtesy to official position the roads
have been seeking to influence Official
action.
Nothing that can hereafter be urged
by the roads or their organs will remove
the popular impression thus created, that
the railroad pass was intended as
bride. This impression cannot rebound
to the credit of those who have accepted
such favors aud who have not by any ut
terance or action incurred the criticism
or enmity of railroads or their organs.
The people Will readily recall the fact
that the lands which were the subject of
SO much discussion between Mr.. Hall and
Mr.. Hogg belonged to the Central road
aud that it was the Central road which
called public attention to Mr..
Hogg IS pass, while preserving silence as
to the pass of Mr.. Hall, who is also
candidate for governor, and who also
favorB a railroad commission, and also
while preserving silence as to the pass of
Mr.. Wheeler, another candidate for gov
ernor. The people will bear these things
in mind and wonder if only Mr.. Hogg's
pass was intended to be bride while the
other passes were mere courtesiss.
Another question the people will ask is
this: If these passes have not been
courtesies, as popularity supposed, but
are brides, as it now appears, what
has been the return made by the
public officials to the roads? Col.
Faulkner's letter and the echoes of
the railroad organs have sharpened the
issue in this campaign and placed the
roads In the attitude of an interest sep
arate and apart from other interests.
This is most unfortunate, and If the pub
lilo mind becomes inflamed it will be due
largely to the railroad pass question in
jected into the campaign by Col. Faux
ner.
As courtesies, the people have
tolerated the railroad pass to pub
lilo officials. AS brides, the peo-
pie will not tolerate railroad passes to
public officials. The Dallas News is con-
cerned to know how MIR. Rogg, a COM
mission advocate, has paid for his pass-
the people are concerned to know how
other state officials, who are anti-com-
have paid for their passes.
The pass to the public Official must go,
now that it is paraded as something de-
a return service from the official |
10 the railroads.