St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-03-04
AREYoURowN HANDS CLEANq

The railroad companies ask the SEN
ate to defeat the MARKHAM bill because
the state engaged to exempt these lands
if the companies would pay gross
earnings tax. Ordinarily this would be
a strong argument. A state must keep
its word or suffer- just as a citizen must.
1t cannot afford to set the example of
causelessly breaking solemn pledge or
contract.
The companies, unfortunately, do not
come into court with clean hands.
Have they kept faith with the state al
ways? Have they kept it with the peo-
pie of the state? Have they adhered to
the single purpose for which they were
organized. attending to that business,
dealing fairly with all? If they have,
they can come and ask that faith be
kept with them. If they have not, they
have no right to ask or to expect it.
These lands were to be exempt only
so long as they were the property of the
railroad. When sold they were to be
taxed. If there is one of these land
grant roads that has not con 'pired with
persons to whom it has sold lands to
alton, the GLOBE is not aware of it. The
president of one of them kept farm
owned by him from taxation for years
by keeping the record title in his COM
pany'S name.
Another land grant cOmpany'S lands
were at last decided to have been taxa
bic for years because of a concealed
tn r.
nearly million dollars were due the
state. Its lobby entered the legislature
and bribed representatives and senators
with grants of its lands to pass bill in
which was concealed release by the
state of all these taxes. Does the GLOBE
need to remind these gentlemen, who
talk so SIMULTANEOUSLY now of good
faith, of House File No. 157?
Your duty to the people of the state
was to be common carriers of their
produce, affOrdlng them every facility
to get it to market. Instead of keeping
this plain primary article of faith. you
have entered into "rapaciOus and con-
scienceless combine with the millers
and elevators TO throttle the freedom of
the grain markets, and have used your
great power without stint to create and
support the monopoly. One of these
roads that pirates of good faith refused
to permit woodmen to ship wood to the
cities from points along its line until
obliged to by an act of the state.
What are you doing at this session?
Your lobbyists are busy buying the
passage or defeat of measures affecting
you. You defeated that just measure
to remove the shameful limit of $1,000
liability for the lives you take by your
negligence, by cajolery where that
would answer. coercion where that was
needed, and money where that only
would get vote. You have sent your
poor stool pigeons, your conductors, into
the legislature to get passed for you an
infamous bill which fines and impris-
onS a man who sells the unused portion
of a right to ride over your roads for
which he has paid you. Do you wish
the GLOBE to tell you how you have
accomplished this?
And, with this meagerly told tale of
how you have kept faith with the peu-
pie who created you to serve them, you
have the audaclty to ask that ali ex-
emption originally procured by the same
methods you still use, be continued be
cause the state promised it should be.
DO you think it becomes you to prattle
about the obligations Of good faith?