Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1904-12-09

After some maneuvefing we agreed
that we should withdraw our offer from
the legislature; that Whitney should
secure the new charter. and that 1T
should be SO worded as to expressly al
low his company TO lay pipes, manu-
facture, buy or sell gas and to consoli-
date any or all OF the existing or new
gas companies III the state OF Mas
sachusetts, and that when the charter
was granted 1t should belong equally
to the Addicks. Boston gas companies
and to Whitney. Upon their part the
Boston gas companies would buy OF the
new company all the gas 1t produced at
something less than 1T cost them to
manufacture 1t under the old process.
That bound us to nothing dangerous,
and we were rot forced to AXE Whit
ney's gas unless he actually got the re-
suits he promised.
AT this period / knew nothing what
ever of the workings or the wirepull-
ings of state legislatures. Ny business
life had been engaged at the stock end
OF corporation transactions. and | had
not troubled myself about franchises
or how they were obtained. being cen
tent to play my part with the manufac-
tured product with which we dealt on
the market. In a general way l knew
political corruption existed. That Rog-
ers had obtained favors for his Brook
AAAAt &OAAtRaAAN 0h6 0AlOttIE OtttNLtlHs
l had good grounds to believe. / had
read of strange doings in connection
with III. M. Whitney's West End rail-
way franchise obtained from the Mas
sachusetts legislature amid an accom-
paniment of much public scandal; but,
being quite without personal expert
euce, l had no clear conception OF how
things were done, and, innocently
enough, | asked Whitney before we
parted:
How is IL possible for you to get
this valuable charter from the legisla-
ture, particularly with such a strong
and honest man as Roger Wolcott in
the governors chair, when Addicks a
been trying continuously for four or
five years, regardless OF expense, to se-
cure an ordinary one under which he
can combine our gas companies 2"
George Towle answered for Whitney.
Lawson, that part is no affair OF
yours. Mr.. Whitney will absolutely
guarantee to deliver all those goods,
and If 1t is necessary to override the
governor in getting them he will also
guarantee to do that, too. You can call
all that done the minute we sign
papers"
There was no doubt the new COM
bination was a winner for both of MS.
! frankly stated that | considered
bribing a legislature as a low-down
crime and that | did not believe sc was
done in our straight-laced old commons
wealth as freely as they all seemed to
think. Thereupon | was sarcastically
referred to my Bell telephone, New
Haven and Boston e. Maine railroad
friends, the organizers OF trust COM
panies and many other representative
pillars of social and business society
who had had occasion to deal with the
state. ! began at once a round Of in
v~estigation among men who would talk
frankly to me. and discovered that a
most Ubiquitous condition existed. Mas
~sachusetts senators and representatives
were not only bought and sold as sau-
sages and fish are in the markets n
there existed q regular quotation sched-
ule for their votes. Many OF the prom
inent lawyers of the state were traffick-
ers in legislation and earned large fees
engineering the repeal of old laws and
the passage Of new ones. Agents of
corporations nominated candidates for
Office and paid the expenses OF their
election In return for votes for a favor
lite measure n promises TO do busi-
ness" The legislature was organized
on the same basis; it's executive officers
were chosen because OF their subservi-
ence TO certain corporation leaders;
committees were rugged to do a given
thing n prevent other things from
being done. Above all, / learned that
the chance OF a citizen of Massachu-
sets of obtaining a charter from the
legislature of his state, unless he had
money TO put up for IL, was about as
good as a hobo's of securing a diamond
and ruby studded crown at Tiffany's by
explaining that he wanted 1t. In fact,
thec citizens request would be regarded
by senators and representatives very
much as Tiffany's would TAX the hobo's
las a joke first, then as an impertin-
ence.
Right here I desire - say to my read
ers and especially to all those hypo-
critical and ignorant people who, mag
lining any strong statement expresses
a strong prejudice and not a fact, will
cry, He o~yerstates! He exaggerates!''
that in years after when / had full OPP
portunity TO study at close range the
Massachusetts, legislature, its workings
and those who worked 1T, all the i'm
pressions / had received at his time
were absolutely confirmed. 1 do not
hesitate to say, then:
The Massachusetts, legislature Is
bought and sold as are sausages and
fish at the markets and wharyes. That
the largest, wealthiest and most prom
inent corporations in New England,
whose affairs are conducted by our
most representative citizens, habitually
corrupt the Massachusetts, legislature,
ana the man OF wealth among tnefm
who would enter protest against the
iniquity would be looked on as a class
anarchist" / will go further and say
that II In New England a man OF the
type of Folk, of Missouri, can be found
who will give over six months TO turn
ing up the legislative and Boston mum
icipal sod of the past ten years, who
does not expos to the world a condi-
ton of r~ottenness more rotten than was
ever before exhibited in any community
In the civilized world, 1t will be because
he has been suffocated by the stencil
of what he exumes.
There was every reason at this stage
to regard victory as assured, for IL did
look as though the Tapping sails on our
much buffeted and battered craft were
at last to be filed with a lusty breeze
which would be strong enough to carry
us TO the harbor we had so long been
trying to make. Besides what we could
do and had already done, we now had
Whitney for an ally, and certainly he
was a stock selling power throughout
New England. He had agreed to go
before the legislature and the public.
and pledge his word that his scheme
would do al the wonderful things he
had promised for ii. CAS- a matter of
fact, he did later. and as the peroration
OF an eloquent address before q public
legislative hearing, electrified the law
makers with, Il here and now pledge
my word, my fortune and my sacred
honor TO the fulfillment of these prom
ises.") And when amid ali this ac-
cfamafiOn the charter was a warded apd