Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-01-01
FREE RIDES CUT OFF.

Important Decision 1ly the Interstate Com
mission on the Pass system-Politician ms
Must Pay Their Way Unless They Come
Under the Head of Thoss Who Other
wise Compensate Railroad Companies
WASHINGTON, d. c., Dec. 31.-The
Interstate Commerce Commission to-dav
announce&its decision in the railroad pass
case. The Boston and Maine Railroad Com
pany, in its answer, stated that it was in
the habit of giving passes, as business
feature of its administration, to numerous
classes of persons, which it specified in the
answer as follows:
Glass 1-1ncludes sick, necessitous or in
disent Dersons-in short, ell cases of charity,
strictly.
Glass 2-Includes gentlemen like Hon.
James n. Bradbury, long prominent IN the
Glass 3-Incliides proprietors. of summer
hotels and large boarding houses, conform
ably 20 practice which has long existed
among the railroads of New Englund.
Glass 4-Includes wives of employees and
other immediate members of the employees
families.
Glass 5-Includes all agents of ice COM
panies and all milk contractors doing busi-
ness on the line of the Boston and Maine
Kailroad, or any part thereof, extending De-
tween any two States: said agents ana con-
tractors travelling on the lines in the conduct
of their business
State O fficials Who RIDE Free.
Glass 6-Includes the higher officers of
State in the States of Maine, New Hamp-
shire, Vermont and Massachusetts, and GER
tain prominent officers of the United States,
like Collectors of Customs.
Class T-Includes the railroad commission
erS of each of the States of Maine. New
Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts.
Class S-Includes the members of the Rail-
road Committee, for the time being, of the
legislatures of each of the states OF Maine,
New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachu-
SettS.
Class 9-Incudcs persons who are trustees
under mortgages on the property of the cor
poration, and who are entitled to inspect its
property by virtue of the deed of indenture
constituting them trustees.
Glass l0-The schedules annexed, called
complimentary include persons whose good
will is important to the corporation and
who so long as the general practice OF rail
roads remains what it now is, might justly
take offense if in the matter OF free trans
portation they were TO receive from the
Boston and Maine Railroad different treat
ment from that received from other rail-
road corporations.
The Commission Does Its Duty.
This concession imposed upon the COM
mission the duty of giving construction to
the act TO regulate commerce in respect to
the right of n railroad company to give
interstate passes to such classes OF persons.
The commission meets the question square
", and in its opinion discusses the statute
and cites authorities at some length, and
concludes that branch of the case in these
words:
without further citation of authority,
the construction we give to section of the
act to regulate commerce is that where the
service OF the carrier subject to the act is
like ana cotemporaneous' for differenS
passengers, the charge to one of greater
or less compensation than to another con-
stituted unjust discrimination and is unlaw-
ful. unless the charge of snch greater or less
is allowed under the eXcep-
tions provided in section %; and that where
the traffic is under substantially similar
and conditions in other re-
spects, it is not rendered dissimilar, within
the meaning OF the statute, by the fact that
such passengers hold unlike, OF as sometimes
termed, unequa. official, social or business
positions, or belong to different classes as
they ordinarily exist in a community, or are
arbitrarily created by the carrier"
Politicians squareIy Ruled Out.
This would exclude the right to give
interstate passes to certain classes specified
in the answer, which included gentlemen
eminent in the public service higher Off
GERS "of States, prominent officers of the
United States" members of railroad legis-
lative committees and persons whose good |
will is important to the corporation.
There were other classes of pass holders |
named on the answer whose passes though |
in form free, were free only in name because |
in reality there was some consideration for |
them, such those issued to newspaper !
men in exchange for oradvertising; to hotel pro- !
prietors, ice dealers and milk dealers, and to |
some other persons who are claimed to stand |
on special ground of right. As 10 these |
classes of persons the commission said that |
the investigation would have to be extended |
to ena BILE it to pass a satisfactory Judgment |
therein, and that to avoid the delay which Il /
proper and full Investigation of these classes 7
wonld occasion. and in view of their minor I
and yet perhaps greater diff i
Guilty of decision. and of the urgency that |
defendant should be informed Mt this time |
Of the decision upon the leading question
involved, namely, the general construction
)f the statute upon the subject of free trans
the commission concluded to
lold the case as to such special classes of |
persons for such further investigation as
might be necessary to put it in full posses
sion of ali the facts before passing upon
hem, and i'll the meantime TO issue an order
applicable to the classes first named, in ac-
,ordance with the construction at law as
et forth. this being pursuant to the practice
n other cases.