Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1906-01-11

utterly indefensible from any point of
view. 1t Is certainly not true that
every pass issued by railway company
is issued with corrupt intent. nor is Il
true that every person receiving a pass
accepts it with an unlawful motive. A
great deal of free transportation has
been issued and is being issued in obedi-
ence to custom that has become firm
ly fixed IN the gradual growth OF years
1t IS, however, true that the system has
taken on such proportions and Is so gen
orally used to influence public opinion
and bride public officers that it Should
be abolished, root and branch. / shall
enoeavor TO point out in another part of
my message how natural it is-indeed,
how inevitable it is-for railway com
panies, in common with other great cor
porations, TO attempt to direct the
course OF government and mould it's
policies TO promote their own interests
lt Is to be expected that railway man
ayers Will endeavor with all their might
ana main to secure the enactment OF
such laws as will make their properties
more valuable and their revenues more
ample. 1t Is to be expected that they
VIII exhaust every influence to prevent
the passage of laws which restrain or
regulate their practices. In so far
as tney can accomplish these results
Dy Iair, open argument, they are emit
tied to all the victories they can win;
put When they use free transportation
10 tempt either the private citizen or
the public official into friendly COO ,era-
ton; when they employ the pass t.
turn activity into apathy or to convect
independence into servility: in short
When they pay men to ignore the public
good and forget the general welfare, they
commit crime against the fundamental
tenet OF free government. 1t IS wholly
m sci 70 TNie -,
who can be influenced with such courte-
sizes and those who cannot and there
fore IL the remedy is to be commen-
surate with the evil it must prohibit
all Tree transportation. This il right
from any point of view. The RAILWAYS
are public highways, and all persons
are entitled to use them upon the same
terms under like conditions. Under
the pass system those who are best able
to pay travel for nothing, and thoss
who are least able make up the loss
earnestly recommend the adoption Of
u law which shall have no exemptions
TO the prohibition except two, and they
are not, when properly analyzed, excep-
lions. Persons in the service of a rail-
way company who receive passes by
the custom OF the companies as 4 part
OF their compensation should De peI-
mltted to receive them, and the stock
shipper, who must either accompany his
stock or send someone in his stead.
should be allowed free transportation and
return to his home, because an attend
ant is necessary to care for the stock
ana the transportation for such an at
tendant is part of the freight charge.
In some states in which there are stat
utes against passes, the attempt ia made
to limit the prohibition to persons hold.
ing Official position. l regard such
statutes as altogether inadequate, for
there Is as much harm in giving free
transportation to prominent men, to
leaders in political contests and to dele.
gates to conventions as there is in CIV
ing them to men after they have been
elected to office. 1 sincerely hope thar
your patriotic judgment will lead you
to make an end, once for all, of this
custom, not part of it but all of it,
condemned as it is by the universal
opinion Of mankind. 1t will be UNDER
stood that what l have said about rail.
ways applies with equal force TO street
railways, telegraph, telephone, express
companies and sleeping car companies
IN short, to all public service corpora
tions.
l respectfully recommend, also. a fur
Their regulation with respect to passen-
ger fares upon railways. At the pre-
sent time, the ordinary traveller PAYS
three cents per mile. The railways
sell mileage book covering 1000 miles
OF travel, good for one year, at the
rate OF three cents per mile with a re-
bate for the mileage, to be exhausted
within the year, of $3.50, or substanti-
ally one cent per mile. They have al
so a credential system which involves
travel of 1000 miles within the same
period, with a rebate of one cent Der
mile. l am unable to perceive the
equity of fairness of these rules. II
the mileage book plan be good one,
it seems to me that you should require
the railways to sell mileage books, good
for 1000 miles and upwards, at a fiat
rate of two cents per mile, good until
used, and If purchased by the head Of
family there is no reason why il
should not be used by any member of
the family. L understand and ap-
preciate the difficulties of Identification,
and the menace of the scaiper, but the
difficulties are not insurmountable, and
l believe the effect of Such legislation
would be to at once tighten the burdens
OF the people and increase the revenue
of the railways. The man who travels
little is at present at too great dis
advantage as compared with the man
who travels much.
What is commonly known as the
long and short haul' clause in our sta
tute absolutely forbids a railway from
charging less passenger fare for a
greater distance than a lesser one on
the same line. The general justice Of
such a provision is unquestionable, but
| believe that there are circumstances
permitted to meet competition without
affecting intermediate points. You
will better understand what mean
through an illustration. A passenger
desiring to travel from Des Moines to
Marshalltown has the option of sever
al routes. The Chicago and Great
Western line is the shortest route, and
the fare which that company is per-
mitted to charge is three cents per mile.
| can see no good reason why the
Chicago and Northwestern, for instance,
should not be permitted to carry the
passenger for the same fare that Is al
lowed to the Chicago and Great West
ern line, without affecting the charge
to intermediate points between Des
Moines and Marshalltown on the Chic
ago and Northwestern line.
/ therefore recommend such an amend
ment to the law as will authorize the
board of railroad commissioners, under
such circumstances, and after due In
vestigation, to relieve the railways from
the effect of the long and short haul
clause in the statute. / do this not
only because / believe It Is just to the
railways, but because 1t will greatly
convenience the travelling public.
The Governor then refers to the sub
jects OF pardons and paroles, the census
of 1905, the historical building. the
state square and the educational institu-