The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1903-08-21
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MISUNDERSTANDING afe spi,a tehb mediolis
'pf1prieturs. fiilsf Id: :Hhiy done to iiNaex
pl0lt theif waresi SBnb railroad,
neither ask hot deslfethat.L .Legislator
otE other public officials shall make
public announcement OF the possession
OF passes or RECOMMEND Che .rond :Ssol
Its superior ccommoda dattQns. ,&
y 1 SPECIAL PRIYILEaEs. sg:..;
The cause OF the generosityofgthe
railroads lis not difficult to iltscoyer.SI j,
lays In the fact that they are The
grantees of special privileges; that
Legislators have the power. 10 grant
further privileges, while certain, other
public officials are charged with the
duty Of seeing that tlie companlsG
comply with the laws.
" Is there any necessary relation, or
is it mere coincidence, that officials
in the possession Of passes and whose
duty 1t is to make assessment find
great difficulty in discovering all the
property Of the railroads and assesses
their special privileges at SO low q
figure?
In Ohio this scandal has been car
rIcd TO the extent Of railroad proper
ties being assessed not to exceed 10
per cent Of their value as against GO
per cent assessments on farm property.
The citizens OF that State are to be
congratulated upon numbering among
their officials one-the mavOr OF
Cleveland-who not only knows these
facts, but has the courage and deter
to oppose those who thus
violate their oattB 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 itslis 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 flag
rant manifestations OF contempt for
law are not unaccompanied with
distribution Of passes to the
and other public officials Of
that State. In these dayS Of lavish
and oStentatiouS display
Of wealth the temporary control OF a
private car doubtless tickleS the vanity
while it nunhs the conscience OF the
public Official who accepts IL Is a
courtesy
TERMS OF FRANCHISES.
"A newspaper that pleads custom
and 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
speeches. May this not
account fOI sc .Huch oraciilar antago-
nism being accompanied with so little
result? 1t 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 condemnat0ry, is notorious. Tile
only thing that hurts is an attempt,
unfortunately too rare. OF a public uili-
cial to enforce the terms Of their fran
chises or the laws governing their
operation. ~
'Gentlemen's agreements,' under
which public officials crate, but uin-
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 straiiilng the -cou rtesy- or
the railroad which provided THE pass
and are probably largely responsible
for the feeling AMONG the people that
it Is useless to expect anything effec-
tive to be done; the railroads will gov
ern In any event.
CAN THEY BE PROPERLY ACcEprED?
But can these 'courtcsics' properly
be accepted by the peoples representa-
tivcs? Railroads, surface, elevated
and national highways, telegraph tele-
phone and electrict light companies
have all entered into contractual OBJ
legations us condition Of the special
granted them. The en-
forcement Of these obligations depends
upon the energy and fidelity of GER
tain public officials. Can such officials
municipal, State or National-do
full duty to their employers, the peo-
pie, if in receipt Of fayors from the
other party to these contracts? The
Of the press generally bear
testimony to the very frequen, COM
plaint that these obligations are not
Again, it is we'll known that bills
affecting railroads form large part
Of those dealt with by Legislatures.
AS agents or trustees OF the peoples
property, how can legislators consider
proposed contracts solely from the
standpoint 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 u 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.
Legislators, being chosen by the peo.
pie to act as their attorneys for a
stated period, should they not be held
to the same standard?
FIRE EATER" IMpoTENy.
Here in New York two years ago
we were treated to spectacular de-
by the tire-eating canli-
dates for high legal Office in Man
haitian, being assured that. were he
elected the traction ostcpus OF that
IL Il -. = =