People's voice., 1897-02-11

the operating company, though not
rpending dollar to build a road, taxes
the people an additional 6 per cent to
20 per cent on paper capital. Reduce
the charges for fares and freights to the
legitimate 6 per cent on the cost of the
leased roads, and we should cease to see
competition stifed by leasing rival
roads.
If the people insist on the relief to
which they are entitled, there isscarcely
a passenger or freight rate that cannot
be cut in two. Two cents per mile is
the highest that can fairly be allowed
for first class fare on any railroad, and
on most of them economists say that
cent per mile would pay fair interest
ON the property actually used. We
should make fewer millionaires; rail
road salaries would be more moderate;
railroads would run fewer newspapers
and lobbies. But, On the other hand,
the country would be prosperous. In
stead of a few cars half filled with peo-
pie, and large part of them with free
passes in their pockets. there would bs
more trains and cars filled with people.
The freight rates would not afford a
few residents Of New York and London
palaces, with all their adjuncts,
Where low browed baseness watts perfume to
pride,
but there would be countless thou
sands Of happy homes when the pro-
ducer could get his produce to market
without all the margin being taken off
to pay for transportation.
How can these moderate rates be OBJ
tanned? Clearly experience has demon
strated that we cannot get them from
the railroads themselves nor from the
railroad commissioners, either state or
national. The remedy is by act of the
legislature as to rates within the states,
and by act of congress as to interstate
rates, which acts should:
First. - Cut down passenger and
freight rates to, on an average, one
half those now exacted to accord with
the doubled value Of money and the
halving the prices Of our produce.
Second. More powers should be Civ
en- the railroad commissions, with
stricter penalties for the nonobservance
of their regulations.
Third. Free passes should be rigor.
ously forbidden, as is now done by the
constitution of New York and several
other states.
And, lastly, railroad commissions
should be made independent of corpo-
rate influence, as far as possible, by be-
ing in all cases made elective by the
people instead of by the legislature. The
railroad lobby cannot control elections
by the people as easily as it can have a
deciding influence in a legislative eau
Gus.
There is no influence more debasing
in legislation than that of the lobby.
Every well wisher of his country would
wish to see it broken up. Chief Justice
Maxwell of Nebraska discusses this
subject and the remedy for it in late
number of The American Law Review.
He calls attention to the fact that very
recently the governors of Illinois and
q Missouri were forced to call special ses-
siOns because the corporation lobbes
had defeated necessary legislation at the
regular session. But instances abound.
1t is notorious that in all the southern
states the corrupt legislation of carpet
bag days was procured by lobbies.
Attention should now and pending
the election Of members to the legisla-
ture be pointedly called to the fact that
the most potent lever Of the corporation
lobby is the free pass. As these favors
are not sent to members before they be.
come such and cease when they cannot
longer vote ON railroad measures, that
fact alone should prevent acceptance by
any member. The excuse is, "They all
do it," and hence an aroused public
conscience must procure an act forbid
ding free passes. This the people have
now forced into the constitution Of New
York and several other states. A simi-
lar provision should be in every state
constitution. There is no excuse in any
member of the legislature taking free
pass, as he is one Of the few officers ex-
pressly provided by the state with mile
age, and the sum allowed is enough to
pay his actual railroad fare to the state
capital and home again not once only,
but several times. Yet the free pass =
the railroad lobbyists strongest pull. A
railroad official has been heard to de-
fend it on the ground that he could Gin
fuence many a man by free pass, to
whom he dare not offer money direct. :"
In the last North Carolina legislature
a bill TO forbid free passes, copied from
the provision in the New York consti-
tuition, was introduced and favorably
reported by the committee, but it was
not allowed to pass, being stolen from
the files no less than three times by
some railroad lobbyist. A legal investi-
CATION resulted in the desired delay and
nothing more. The bill had been copied
from the New York constitution, and a
well known railroad official, having
called in person to secure the with
drawal Of the bill, was told that the
bill had not only been prepared by re-
quest, but that it was in the interest Of
honesty and honest legislation. He used
the following language, which may be
pondered over by all honest men outside
of North Carolina as well as within its