Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1905-09-18
RIGHT OF JURY TRIAL SETTLERS SHUT OUT THE PASS ASA BRBE
EASTERN RAILWAY OFFICIALS CON.
FESS IT TO Be SUCH.

eS.. Several Illustrations of fhe
Manner of Reciprocity Expected by
the Railroads.
The Kansas City Journal. republican
paper, is authority for the statement
that the managers of an east ern rail- Dad
have refused all requests for free trans.
porlatlon coming from he cougra ssmen
who support the Eech Townsend bin.
The journal says that The president of
this road has written to certain members
OF congress letter saving that since fav-
ors donot induce on he part Of the reclpl.
ent "even iair consideration OF ihe rail.
roads rights" his company will grant
no more of these free passes. In the
same letter this railroad president says:
81 never was in favor Of granting polit-
i'al transportation, and now | have a
good opportunity to cut off some Of these
Objectionable deadheAds. I am not hand
ling them with gloves, eitbe,. Trans.
portation has been given them in the
past upon the theory that they were
friends, but when we needed friends they
were not there"
Several years ago a member of the Illi-
| n"is legl- -Iature applied to the president
Of the Santa Fe railicad for pass. In
reply The legisIa Or received the folIowing:
"Your letter Of the 22nd 10 President
Ripley requesting an annual over the
railroad OF this company has been referr.
Ell to me. A couple of years ago, after
you had been furnished with an annual
over this line, you voted against a bill
which you knew this company was di.
rectly Interested in. Do you know Of any
particular reason, therefore, why We
should favor you with an annual this
year,"
These two letters state as plainly as
language can that railroad gives passes
to legislators and to public officials ae q
matter of business expecting to receive a
favorable consideration in return. They
show further that the legislator who re-.
fuses to recognize the pass as bribe
must not expect to get any more passes.
Perhaps the most striking illustration
of the evils Of the pass system, and also
! demonstration of the fact that the evil
is recognized in law, is to be found in the
very general practice among our courts
If it was known that juror in a case to
which a railroad company was a party
held pass over that railroad company's
lines the presentation of that fact to the
court would bar that juror from partici-
patton in the case. Recently such an
objection was raised in western court.
1t was shown that juror had received a
a trip pass over the lines of the railroad
company which happened to be defend
ant in that particular case. The attorn-
ey for the plaintiff objected on this
ground, and the judge promptly told the
Juror to stand aside. At the same time,
however, the judge who made that rul.
ing had in his pocket an annual pass over
the lines of the same railroad company.
1t is true that the man who had accept
ed trip pass was not qualified to serve
as Juror in that case. Who will deny the
truth Of the statement that the man who
had accepted an annual pass from that
same line was not qualified to act as
judge in that case?
The whole pass system is an abomina.
ton. When pass is given to private
citizen it is unjust to the travelling pub
lie generally, and when it is given to the
public official it is given with the expect
alton that the company will receive con-
siderably more in the way of official fav-
ors-in the matter of things done which
should not be done and things left un.
done which should be done-than to be
derived from the payment by that official
of cash fares.
In refusing passes Secretary Bonaparte
| showed that he understood that the pass
| is in the nature Of a brlbe. But other
members of Mr. Roosevelt's cabinet have
not yet followed Secretary Bonaparte's
good example.