Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1892-01-09
NO MORE PASSES AS BRIBES
The Interstate Commerce Com
mission Makes a Ruling,
Legislators and Other omciais Mutt Pay
Fare or Waik--A Decision OF GEN
erai Interest to the
rublI~.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 2.--Thc interstate
commerce commission has announced
its decision in the railroad pass case
The Boston and Maine railway in its
answer stated that it was in the habit
of giving passes as business feature
of its administration to numerous
classes Of persons, including sick,
nccessitous or INDECENT persons; pro-
prietors OF summer hotels and large
boarding houses, conformably to a
practice which has long existed among
the railroads Of New England; wives
Of employees and other immediate mem
bers of employees families; all agents
of ice companies and all milk contract
ors doing business on the line of the
Boston and Maine road or any part
thereof extending between any two
states; the higher officers Of state in the
states of Maine, New Hampshire, YER
mont and Massachusetts, and certain
prominent officers OF the United States
like collectors OF customs, the railroad
commissioners Of each Of the states Of
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and
Massachusetts; the members Of the
railroad committee for the time being
of the Legislature for each of the states
above named; persons whose good will
is important 10 the corporation and
who, so long as the general practice of
railroads remains what it now is, might
Justly take otfense il ia the matter of
free transportation they were TO re-
ceive from the Boston and Maine rail
way different treatment from that re-
ceived from other railroad corpora
tions
This concession imposed upon the
commission the duty of giving con-
struction to the act 20 regulate com
mercc in respect to the rights of rail
road company TO give interstate passes
to such classes of persons. The com
mission met the question squareiy and
in an opinion discussed the statute and
cited authorities at some length, and
concluded that branch Of the case in
these words:
Without further citation Of author
ity 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 and contem-
poraneous' for different passengers, the
charge 10 one of a greater or less com
pensation than TO another constitutes
unjust discrimination and is UNI
lawful, unless the charge of such
greater or less compensation is allowed
under the exception provided in sec
tion -, and that where the traffic is
under substantially similar circum-
stances and conditions in other re-
spects it is not rendered dissimilar
within the meaning of the statute by
the fact that such passengers hold un-
like, or. as sometimes termed, unequal
official, social or business positions. or
belong TO different classes as they
ordinarily exist in a community, or are
arbitrarily created by tn, carrier This
would exclude the right to give inter
state passes to certain classes specific
in the answer which included gentle
men eminent III the public service.
higher officers of states, prominent
officers of the United States. members
of raIlroal Legislative committees, and
persons whose goodwill is important
to the corporation.
There were other classes of pass
holders named in the answer whose
passes, though in form free, were free
only in name, because in reality there
was some consideration for them, such
exchange for advertising, to hotel pro-
prietors, TO ice dealers and milk deal
ers and to some other persons who are
claimed 70 stand on special ground of
right AS to this class of persons the
commission said the investigation
would have TO be extended to enable it
topass satisfactory Judgment thereon