The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1892-01-08
NO PASSES.
The Interstate Commission Decides
Against Passes-''Gentlemen Eminent in
the Public Service" Must Pay Their Fare
or Walk just Like Other People.

Against BasSPS-'Oentiemen Eminent IN
the Public Service" Must Pay Their Fare
or Walk just Like Other People.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 2-The interstate
commerce commission Thursday an
nounced its decision in the railroad pass
case.
The Boston & Maine Railroad Co.,
in its answer, stated that it was
in the habit of giving passes as bust
ness feature of its administration to
numerous classes of persons, which is
specified in the answer as follows: Sick,
necessitous or INDECENT persons, all
cases of charity strictly; gentlemen
like Hon. James n. Bradbury,
long eminent in the public
service; proprietors of summer
hotels and large boarding houses, con-
formally to practice which had long
existed among the railroads of New
England; wives of employees aud Other
immediate members of employees fam
lilies; all agents of ice companies and
all milk contractors doing business on
the line of the Boston & Maine railroad
or any part thereof extending between
any two states. said agents and con-
tractors travelling on the lines in the
conduct of their business; the higher
officers of the state in the state of
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and
Massachusetts and certain prominent
officers of the United States,
like collectors of custom; railroad
commissioners of each of the states of
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and
Massachusetts; members of the rail-
road committee for the time being of
the legislature of each of the states of
Maine. New Hampshire, Vermont and
Massachusetts; persons who are
trustees under mortgages on the prop
erty of the corporation and who are
entitled to inspect its property by vir-
tue of the deed or indenture constitut-
ing them trustees; persons whose good
will was important to the corporation.
This concession imposed upon the
commission the duty of giving con-
struction to the act to regulate COM
merce in respect to the right of a rail.
way company to give interstate passes
10 such classes of persons. The COM
mission met the question squarely and
in an opinion discussed the statute and
cited authorities at some length and con-
cluded that branch of the case in these
words: Without further citation of au-
thority the construction we give to Sec
ton of the act to regulate commerce
that where the service of the carrier
subject to the. act is like and contem.
poraneous' for different passengers the
charge to one of a greater or less COM
pensation than to another constituted
unjust discrimination and is unlawful,
unless the charge of such greater or
lesser compensation is allowed under
the exceptions provided in section -;
and that where the tariff is under sub
stantiallv similar circumstances and
conditions in other respects it is
not rendered dissimilar within the
meaning of the statute by
tie fact that such passengers
hold unlike or, as sometimes termed,
unequal official, social or business po-
sitions, or belong t. different classes as
they ordinarily exist in community,
or are arbitrarily created by the
carrier"
This would exclude the right to give
Interstate passes to certain classes
specified in the answer which inc udes
gentlemen eminent in the public SER
vice higher officers of states"
prominent officers of tho United
States" members of railroad legis-
lative committees and persons whose
good will is important to the corpora
ton"
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
as those issued to newspaper men in
exchange for advertising. to hotel pro-
prietors. 10 ice dealers and milk deal
ers and to some other persons who are
claimed to stand on special ground of
right AS to these the commission said
that the investigation would have to be
extended to enable it to pass salts
factory judgement thereon and that
to avoid the delay which a proper and
full investigation + these classes
would occasion and in view of their
minor Importance aud yet perhaps diff
ficulty OF decision and of the urgency
that the defendant should be informed
of the decision upon the leading ques-
tons involved. namely, III. general
construction of the statute upon the
subject of free transportation, the COM
mission concluded t. hol the case as
to such special classes of persons for
such further investigation as might be
necessary to put it in full posse sion of
all the facts before finally passing
upon them, and in the meantime to is
sue an order applicable to the classes
first named and in accordance with the
construction of the law as set forth,
thus being pursuant to practice in other
cases
Americas TnhAccn PRODUCTION.