The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1903-08-19
The only Other private business

The only other private business
that INDUCES in the luxury Of extend
ing valuable ccurtesies to public oll;-
Gals, aud then only to those unusual
i CONSPICUOUS, are patent medicine
uroprietO-s This is only done TO eS-
ploi: their wares. But railroads
neither ask nor desire that Legislators
nr other public officials shall make
public announcement OF the possession
OF passes or recommend the road for
its superior accommodations.
SPECIAL PRIVILEGES.
The cause Of the generosity Of the
railroads is not difficult to discover. It
laws in the fact that they are the
grantees of special privileges: that
Legislators have the power to grant
further privileges, while certain other
public officials are charged with the
duty Of seeing that the companiSe
comply with the laws.
Is there any necessary relation, or
is it u mere coincidence, that officials
in the possession Of passes and whose
duty it is to make assessment find
great difficulty in discovering all the
property of the railroads and assesses
their special privileges at 50 low a
figure:
In Ohio this scandal has been car
ried to the extent of railroad proper
ties being assessed not to exceed l6
per cent Of their value as against 66
per cent assessments on farm property.
The citizens Of that State are to be
congratulated upon numbering among
their officials one-the maTor OF
Cleveiand-who not only knows these
facts, but has the courage and deter
mination to oppose those who thus
violate their oaths Of office and who
has conducted a vigorous and success
full fight against members Of his own
party who have broken their pledges
and betrayed the people in voting for
the infamous Curative Act extend
ing for long term of years Senator
Foraker's Cincinnati street railroad
franchises.
IN PENNSYLVANIA.
"In Pennsylvania it is notorious
that the railroad are daily violating
not only the laws, but the Constitu-
tion OF the State, which prohibits
railroads from mining coal or engag-
ing directly or indirectly in any other
business than that Of common carriers.
1t is safe prediction that these t]ass.-
rant manifestations Of contempt for
law are not unaccompanied with
wholesale distribution Of passes to the
Legislators and other public officials of
that State. In these days Of lavish
EXPENDITURES and ostentatious display
of wealth the temporary control OF a
private car doubtless tickleS the vanity
while it numhS the conscience OF the
public official who accepts it as a
courtesy
TERMS OF FRANCHISES.
4 newspaper that pleads custom
aud courtesy as an excuse for this de-
moralizing practice states that even
those who oppose the railroads accept
the passes and then proceed to deliver
anti-railroad speeches. May this not
account for so much oracular antago-
nism being accompanied with so little
result? It has become trite saying
that corporations have no souls This
is certainly true as to special privilege
Their indifference to
mere talk, no matter how boisterouS
and condemnatory, is notorious. The
only thing that hurts is an attempt,
unfortunately too rare, OF public offi-
cial to enforce the terms Of their fran
chises or the laws governing their
operation.
= 'Gentlemen's agreements, under
which public officials crate, but uu-
accompanied by any overt act com
pelling compliance with the statutes,
are an excellent means Of enabling an
official TO save his face with the peo-
pie without Straining the courtesy OF
the railroad which provided the pass,
and are probably largely responsible
for the feeling among the people that
it is useless to expect anything etfec-
tive to be done: the railroads will gov
ern in any event.
CAN THEY BE PROPERLY ACCEPTED?
''But can these 'eourtesies' properly
be accepted by the peoples representa-
tives2 Railroads, surface, elevated
and national highways, telegraph tele-
phone and electrict light companies
have all entered into contractual OBJ
legations as condition Of the special
privileges granted them. The en-
forcement Of these obligations depends
upon the energy and fidelity Of GER
tain public officials. Can such officials
State or National-do
full duty to their employers, the peo-
pie, if in receipt Of favorS from the
other party to these contracts? The
columns Of the press generally bear
testimony to the very frequent COM
plant that these obligations are not
enforced.
Again, it is well known that bills
affecting railroads form large part
Of those dealt with by Legislatures.
AS agents c-- trustees Of the peoples
how can legislators consider
proposed contracts solely from the
Of the interest OF public,
when they are recipients Of even such
favors as annual passes presented by
those asking either for new privileges
or extensions of old ones?
No Judge would knowingly per-
nit an attorney to appeal for a client
if the other party to the suit had
given the attorney some secret favor.
The Court would not accept either
courtesy or custom as an excuse.
being chosen by the peo-
pie to act as their attorneys for
stated period, should they not be held
to the same standard?
FIRE EATER" 1MPOTENT.