The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-12-16
Lively Times May Be
Expected i'm T1ichigan
Governor-elect Pingree Tells of His Plans for
Whets His Snickersnee for the Corporations.

of reform, while the whole country
looks on at the battle. The famous
mayor-governor has outlined his plan
of action and the coming fight between
him and his Legislature will contribute
the most intensely interesting chapter
in the history of commonwealth govern
ment in the United States.
Mr.. Pingree will go to Lansing
primed with several far-reaching and
radical measures that will profoundly
stir the people of the state and attract
the attention and invite the study of
the nation. He has in meditation
many reforms calculated to draw pub
lie interest to the swapping point OF
tensity. He proposes to apply cOrrO-
sive remedies to conditions long stand
ing and to put an entirely new face
on many important matters that have
been accepted as permanent in the
past.
WILL. BE A HARD FIGHT.
In a word, the new governor will at
tempt to overturn completely much In
the business, industrial and agricultur-
al life of the state, and to do this
without delay. 1t will be hard fight.
but Hazen S. Pingree is hard fighter.
To correspondent Of the Times Her.
aid Mayor Pingree outlined his plans
today. Yes, sir" said he, I'm going
to see to 1t that the people of Michi-
gan get 2-cent railroad fare. That
will be one number of my programme,
If you choose to call it by that title.
I've said in my speeches that l stood
for 2-cent fares on the railroads, and
what | said | meant.
you know. don't you, that the peo-
pie that have plenty of money can ride
One-third cheaper In this state than
those that are poor? II Il man has $50
to spare he can buy 1.000-mile book
and ride for 2 cents mile. But If he
Is poor the railroads make him pay )
cents. Nice state Of affairs. isn't 1t?
Fine thinc for the railroads, too, you
know.
Did YOU ever stop to figure how
much ready cash this mileage system
gives railroad? Supposing the Michi-
gan Central has 10000 mileage books
out. The people pay 5000, 200 for them,
don't they? Well, supposing they are
on an average half used up, that leaves
100000 that the railroads keep ahead
Of their patrons. They manage to keep
ahead of the game right along.
TwO-CENT FARES.
"They say they couldn't make liv-
ing on 2-cent fare basis. l claim 1t
would be the best thing that could
happen to them. Let them get their
prices down to where the people can
afford to ride and they won't be slow
to get on the cars. They act scared
when l mention 2-cent fares. and say:
why, We'll have to have a receiver.
We can't get along on a 2-cent fare.
Now, that's all bosh. How do they
know they can't? The never tried it.
t.ah l.s 4 l,,tt
they cant afford to pay one-third
more than their rich neighbors, SO they
stay at home.
Nov, one of the best arguments
have seen in favor Of a 2-cent fare road
in Michigan is right to the point. 1t
was road that sold a 5O0-mile book
for so. That's the Flint and Pere Mar
quette road. Why, / was never so as
tonished in my life as the day ! struck
Saginaw and didn't have quite money
enough for $40 book. The agent
told me he would sell me 5OO-mile
book. l thought he was fooling me
at first, but he passed it out and l paid
for 1t.
Now, If roads that sell transporta-
tiOn for 2 cents a mile have to have re-
ceivers. why doesn't the Flint and Pere
Marquette get one? And why doesn't
Ing tickets for any distance in the
state for cents for several years now,
and the Englishmen that own the road
haven't asked for a receiver. 1t must
be this receiver business is an Ameri-
can dodge-a regular sharp yankee
trick.
A POINT.
And. do you know. the very day
II hot t1n
a sleeping car bertha lOwer-fOr 81;
clear from Saginaw into Detroit, too.
Why, ! was so astOnished to see a rail-
road corporation with SO sensible ideas
] couldn't sleep! l remarked to the
porter that fellow could afford to
take a whole section at that price. and
he took the breath away from me by
saying that would not be necessary,
he would not let down the upper.
might take the lower and pay for 1t,
and If any one came along wanting the
upper he would just say it was taken,
and in the morning I could pay for it.
II no one wanted it l shouldn't have to
pay.
That's the nearest thing to a cor
poration with soul that l have ever
come across. l asked If the president
of the Flint and Pere Marquette was
u.
down there you can buy 500 mile tick
ct and whole family may ride on it.
The agent told me l was right, the
president did live down east.
Il tell you this simply goes to show
that railroad can do business profit
ably without fleeing the public. The
Flint and Pere Marquette railroad isn't
avery big system, you know, and / guess
If the 2 cents mile with a 5OO-mile
book doesn't compel 1t to hire re-
ceiver and 60 bankrupt the Michigan
Central and some of the other roads
could do 1t. Two cents a mile these
days. when all sorts Of farm produce and
labor are so cheap, is worth as much
to the railroads as cents was twenty
years ago.
THE UPPER PENINSULA.
"Of course, you know the upper PEN
insula Is little differently situated
than the lower. and the 2-cent idea
would have to be made into a 3-cent
fare up there. They charge 4 cents
there now. One Of our legislators had
a hill last session to reduce the rates
to 3 cents, but the railroad lobbyists
got 1t on the side track, and 1t Is there
yet. I'm going to shove it Off this WIN
ter II / can. You see. the country Is
SpoiSViy sCttitu uc THERE, anu
they can't carry people so cheap as
they can down here"
LOWER FREIGHT RATES.
The 2-cent fare idea is only the first
plan that Mr.. Pingree hopes to get
into the form of law this winter. He
also expects to tackle the freight trans
portatiOn matter. The governor wants
lower freight rates and no discrimina-
tiOn.
1T is largely for the interest of the
farmers that I want to secure a law
regulating freight rates." said the
mayor-governor in discussing this
phase of his programme. High freight
rates are an injustice to them. Every
extra cent 1t costs to get the produce
to market Is so much out of their pock-
cts. Competition would do the work
II we had enough competition in rail-
reading, but we haven't.
when only one road runs through a
given territory its freight charges are
fixed at the point where they think