The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-09-16
A sATURDAY sERMON.

Thou shalt not respect persons. neither
take gift; for gin doth blind the eyes
of the wise, and pervert the words of the
righteous.-Deut. 1913.
This is chiefly sermon to offieehold-
ers about the railroad pass, but other
people may read 1T.
Perhaps you never suspected that the
Bible says that you shall not accept
railroad passes. 1t is true that it does
not specify passes but it does specify
gifts and the acceptance of passes
necessarily comes under the head of
gifts. For if railroad pass is not a
gift. what is it?
Away back in Deuteronomy, when
God gave His law to the children of
Israel through Moses He laid down this
prohibition. He made provisions for
judges and officers over the nation of
Israel, and then He prohibited them from
accepting gifts. Here is His language:
Judges and officers shalt thou make
thee in all thy gates. which the Lord
thy God giveth thee. throughout thy
tribes: and they shall judge the people
with just judgment.
Thou shalt not wrest judgment;
thou shalt not respect persons, neither
take a gift: for a gift doth blind the
eyes OI TIE WIS., anu pSINSII Tic WOIuS
of the righteous"
Whether it is customary for judges
in KanKsas to accept railroad passes
the writer hereof does not know. 1t is
asserted that there are judges who do
ride on railroad passes. If that is true,
it is certainly a reprehensible practice.
For nearly evrey judge in Kansas must
pass on more or less litigation in which
nj NH there
are probably few Judges who would
knowingly allow passes or any other
gifts to warp their judgment, they
would be more than human If such
gifts did not create in their minds
friendly feeling for the givers.
Most judicial officers would scorn to
receive gifts of money from litigants:
why then should they so freely accept
railroad passes. They may intend moth
ing wrong by them. There are undoubt-
eddy railroad attorneys who mean moth
ing wrong by giving railroad passes,
yet it is certainly a reprehensible prac-
tice for judges, at least, to accept them.
For a gift doth blind the eyes of the
wise. and pervert the words of the right
eous"
But there are other officers who not
Oilly dSCSpt IdllIOdQ passes, UuI lnCy
hold up the railroads for them. Think
of two members of the state board of
railroad assessors, for instance, taking a
Pullman palace car, keeping it for two
weeks. and taking party of their
friends on a five thousand mile trip up
the Pacific coast to Portland and back.
Did the Pullman company and the
railroads give this courtesy" to these
two officials because of their admira-
ton and respect for those Off
Gals. Had the Pullman COM
pany not given them the courtesy"
would it have made any difference in
the assessment of the company by the
board? Possibly not. but people cannot
help having ideas on the subject.
The use of passes among public Off
Gals is very common. Good men use
them as well as men who are not so
good. Five or six years ago the mem
Der of the legislature or other officer
who would not use passes was laughed
at. But the leaven of public honesty
which is at work in the nation has made
it plain to some of them that the pass
habit is wrong, and today it is prohib-
tied in Wisconsin, and also in Indiana,
so far as public officials are concerned,
and the Republican state convention of
Nebraska has just adopted a resolution
against it. This is a good sign, and it
is probable that the day is not far dis
tant when the political pass will be
thing of the past. Let us hope so.