The Portland daily press., 1899-02-17
TRANSPORTATION or STATE OF
FICIALS


have watched the course Of our pres
ent Legislature with . great deal Of in.
tsrest, as have found reports OF their
work In the DAILY PRESS have BEEN
especially eratined /, see the independ.
ence and courage Of some of the Cumber.
land county delegation; OF MIR. Webb in
particular.
But was surprised to find the follow
ing suggestion In Tuesdays PRESS.
Your correspondent at Augusta enclosed
10 In quotation remarks, making It, in
thought and Language. the expression Of
Mr.. Webb.
ut has occurred to me that II law
the roads to provide free transportation
for the governor and his council and
heads OF the stats departments when
travelling on official business, md men,
bers If the legislature during the sessions,
the arrangement night krove q satisfsc-
tory one 70 oil concerned. As to the rail-
roads. they would issue no more passes
under such law then they are now In
the habit Of doing. and they would be re-
lieved Of any imputation that they issue
passes In the hope OF Influencing legisla.
ton. state officers would then travel
free as a matter Of right. or course. the
practice of charging mileage when travel
ling on pass is indefenslble The recep-
ton of passes by members of the legisla-
ture IL now source Of embarrassment
II man returns the pass he feels that
he msy be understood rs reflsoting on
others who don't take thatcourse.
"If he accepts he may have the feeling
that he has by so doing placed himself
under obligation to the railroad"
This must have been spoken without
any thought 1t Gel tainly can not ex-
press the deliberate Judgment OF so clear
headed man. The suggestion that
officials who travel on passes should
not charge mileage is, Of course. right.
But why not have the legislature pass
an article that whenever the Governor or
other State officials are to spend the af
ternoon on public business, the Scarboro
farmers should furnish them dinner Of
free clamsP Or that North Yarmouth
should send, gratis, enough eggs, daily,
for the legislative breskfastf Or COM
mand the hotels of Portland and Bangor
TO furnish refreshments for the Governor
annual reception and charge the expense
to profit and lossf A good many other
things might be- sguagested which our
state officials might have free, las a mat
ter of right'-that would be just rs
fright" as to demand that railroads
should carry them free
A great many voters think that q better
way of Solving vexed question" would
be to forbid railroad and steam boat cor.
porations to issue passes to any state
official, and make 1t n misdemeanor for
any public officer of state. county or
municipality, to travel except on ticket
for which re had paid tho regular price.
Many of us think IL would cost the state
but little more for official travel. that 1t
would increase the receipts of the trans
portation companies and would remove
one source of embarrassment" from
members of thu legislature. And even IL
IL Gust the stats u little more for Official
mileage, / believe the taxpayers would be
glad 10 meet the extra expense for the
sake OF feeling that private favors would
not SO readily influence public business,
A VOTER.
(Mr. Webb's suggestion may or may not
Indie te the test way Of managing this
bul inoss We don't understand that 1t
represents any mature conviction on his
part but was thrown out merely as q
possible way of settling the question
But our correspondent Is very far of
when he likens the furnishing of free
transportation TO State officials travelling
on official business to the furnishing OF a
clam supper by Fair association or by
the PEOPLE of a town. A railroad COM
pany Ia a public corporation and receives
reat privileges from tn, State. By way
of some return for those privileges 10
might be very properly compelled to
transport the States officials representa-
tives when travelling on the public bust
ness. 1t would be imposing upon them
nothing improper or to which they could
reasonably object. Indeed they furnish 1t
now voluntarily. But because it Is 20
furnished it creates feeling Of obligation
to the railroad on the part Of the State
official. Mr.. Webb's idea is to remove this
feeling of obligation by making the trans
portation compulsory. The way suR-
gested by Mr. Webb may not be the best
way, but it is open to mono OF the objec-
tions that our correspondent alleges
against 1t. Ed. PRESS.
WITAND WISDOM.