The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-10-13
BUTLER ON THE HAYsEEDER.
The Senator Snaps His Finger in the
GideOn's Face.

OlutOu Il ace
Evidently Marion Butler is not afraid
of any exposure Ohio Wilson can make.
He doesn't exactly ignore the Gideon in
this weeks Caucasian, but he does
worse, he gives his paper little measly
notice of a dozen or so lines, snaps his
finger in his face and challenges him to
do his worst. Here is the notice:
"Mr. Ohio Wilson, one of the sus-
| pended Railroad Commissioners, has
started a small newspaper called the
I'Hayseodcr.' The first issue came out
last Thursday There is nothing in it of
any special note. The railroad and
niger organs had all been announcing
with great prominence that it would APP
pear, and would contain some mighty
interesting reading but they seem to
| think now that it is rather tame. Mr..
Wilson says that it will be a straight
| Populist paper. If it stands on the PeO-
pies party platform it will condemn free
passes and demand a reduction of
| freight and passenger rates to the gold
standard level. VIII it do this? If it
would it would make mighty interest
| ing reading"
This is all Wilson, the editor, gets, but
| Wilson, the Railroad Commissioner,
comes in for a more extended notice. At
ter accusing him of trying to fool the
people in the matter of rates, proving
false to his trust and riding on free
passes, the Caucasian says:
"The evidence collected by Governor
Russell against the Railroad Commits
sioners has not been published, as. the
Governor is to send it in to the legis-
lature, who alone, by the act, is author
lied to pass upon its sufficiency. But
one funny thing has leaked out. II
appears that S. Ohio Wilson shipped
This furniture and household goods to
furnish his mothers % hotel at Round
Knob at half rates, contrary to the law
fOrbidding railroads to discriminate
in rates. When called upon by the Gov
ernor to account for this he wrote that
it went half price as tourists bag
gage There is no class of freight
known as tourists baggage, and if there
had been, furniture and household be
Iongings hardly fit the title of baggage
nor was it known before that S. OthC
was tourist for his mother"
Writing further of the free pas
business Senator Butler makes the fol
lowing grave charges:
"Many of the solicitors, it is said, ride
on free passes themselves. 1t is ever
said that some of the judges have beer
touched and one judge is known Il
have gotten railroad president to iii
struct his conductors verbally to pas!
him free, without having an actua
printed pass. There are other people
ashamed to be seen with passes t.
whom the railroads issue mileage book;
without paying for them. This evasion
is no good. These men are more guilty
morally and legally, than those who
openly carry passes, and thus defiantly
compel their poorer neighb0rs to pay fol
the free riding of pass toters.' Wher
Judge Simonton, the injunction man.
came to Raleigh last January to hold
court. he not only came on a free pass
but in a railroad officials palace car
This was against both State and Fede
raj law, but with him, like Vanderbilt
The law be id Yet a sturdy NORTH
Carolina judge and jury can make the
railroad company pay $4,000 for hauling
him here free all the same-unless III
can show that he is "a railroad EN-
ployee.'"