Meade County news. [volume] (Meade, Kan.) 1900-1918, 1904-09-01
The Political Situation.

cratic party in its profound wisdom
has adopted platform just as neal
like the one that the Republican
party won on four years ago as pos
sible and hardly distinguishable from
the present Republican platform
thereby eliminating national issue:
from the campaign. Does this moi
present fine opportunity forpeople
to attend to home matters? 1t is
conceded that the most importan,
legislation to come before our legis-
lature this winter will relate to rail-
roads and will consist of efforts to
correct various abuses in the man,
agement of those "Public High
ways.
Shippers of livestock have been
greatly inconyenienced and often
suffered heavy losses occasioned by
the failure of the railroads to furnish
cars at or anywhere near the tin e
ordered. They would like to see a
law passed in this state similar to
a Texas law inficting a penalty up
on railroads for failure to furnish
cars to shippers on application.
Live stock shippers have another
grievance in the mode of handling
stock trains by which they are often
kept on the road twice as long as ap-
pears necessary, resulting not only
in loss to the shipper but in case of
long hauls, to a shameful and un-
necessary cruelty to animals. AS a
remedy for this evil shippers will
ask for minimum rate of speed for
all trains carrying live stock, siml
lar to the provisions of an Iowa law
People at one end of the line have
suffered for coal while mine owners
have applied in vain for cars.
In the matter of granting elevator
sites on their right of way, it is COM
planned that the railroads have been
guilty of the grossest discrimination.
But another matter that touches
all classes of people in Kansas is
the insolent disregard of the inter-
ests and convenience of travelling
public by running their passenger
trains at such time as suits their
own convenience regardless of their
scheduled time. If railroad com
pany was liable to fine for each
station at which passenger train
was late or show a good and suffi-
cient reason for the delay, do you
suppose there would be SO many
late trains as there now is. Take
any "a hours and count the time lost
at all the railroad stations on all the
roads in Kansas by the people there
waiting for belated trains and the
loss would be enormous. Then
count the time lost in that manner
for one year and who will will say
that it is not a matter that needs
correction? That all these abuses
can be corrected without serious in
jury to the railroads is certain.
If stock trains were run at reas-
enable rate of speed there would be
plenty of stock cars. 1t does not
require great mathmatical calcula-
ton to discover that given number
of cars running 90 miles per hour
will carry twice as many stock to
market as the same number running
10 miles per hour.
How mach more would it cost the
CON- pdulGS " Iuh luCll u dlllS vi
time than to run them 3, S, or IL
hours late?
1 hope to have the pleasure OF
of voting for a candidate for the
legislature from this district who is
fully alive to these issues; who is
i
qualified by disposition and ability
to render the people valuable ser
vice along these lines. Unto him
will 1 render my active support re-
gardless of his party affiliations.
There will be many members ot
our next Legislature elected on these
issues and shall be glad to see oul
district helping the good work aloug
l have not written this in the in
terest of any candidate, but for the
good of the cause only:
Having the value of your space il
view, l have only mentioned few
| e A. l~,,1.