Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-10-16
PEOPLE B. RAILWAY
Fierce Franchise Eight In Des
Noines Involves Promi-
nent Men
MevlcAR AND CHESHIRE IN IT
People Trying to Gain Municipal Own
ership of Their Street Railway by
Proving Bribery Charge Against
Street Railway Manager ard Pre-
venting New Franchise.
specia, to Times -Republican.

| one of the deepest laid political games
the state of Iowa has ever known. A
feature of the game, however, is that
there is great deal about ths game
that is not known to the public. One
of the first things , that the Civic
question of the Des Moines street rail-
way franchise. and it might almost be
said that the situation with reference
\ to the street railway franchise and
the activity Of The street railway in
1 politics gave rise to the organization OF
the. Civic League
!! Along with the agitation for a gov-
ernments by a commission in this city
there is -tHe agitation for municipal
ownership of the street railway system.
This has not cropped out to any great
extent, but some of the leaders, If not
Kali of them, who are conducting the
franchise fight are municipal owner
| ship men and 1t can be said that the
fight they are making Is the most thor
oughly planned. It has been believed
for years. that some of the public SER
Twice corporations of this city were
bribing the city aldermen and getting
anything that they wanted in that way.
| The $50 employees Of the street railway
have been used sts very potent factor
i in political matters, and every election
1 the street railway dictates the nomina-
| ton and election OF a mayor.
At the head Of the fight in the in
| terests OF the people here there are
men as shrewd as any. John ]. Ham
| ilton, former editor OF the Daily News,
a graduate of the state university, is
| a man who never knows defeat and is
a tireless worker Ex- Mayor john
Maevicar, who is secretary of the
League of American Municipalities, is
as well posted on municipal matters,
and as shrewd politician, as any man
in the country. Senator Thomas j.
Cheshire and Judge w. H. Baily are
two as. capable constitutional and cor
poration lawyers as there are in the
west. There are some others inter-
ested in the fight, but these men are
typical and are at the head.
When they started into the matter
Of forcing the question of whether or.
not the street railway had franchise,
they very carefully mapped every foot
of the way thru all the litigation de-
termining that question, and thru all
the mazes of finally determining what
should be done with the franchise if
I it was shown that the street railway
did not own it. The bribery charge
against General Manager Hippee is only
step in the campaign. AS stated, it
has been believed that bribery was go
ing on for years. When the franchise
question came up the men at the head
of the Civic League were sharp enough
/ to set a trap for the supposed bribers.
This bribery charge complexities the
franchise question. If the bribery
charge is proven the street railway
will have to stand out in its true light
when it asks for franchise. But OF
top of this comes the strike of the en-
ployes. For years these employees have
been receiving from 16 to Il cents an
hour. The highest wages were pail
only to those who had been in the en-
! ploy of the company for eight years.
That means from $3.50 to S2.10 a day
in a town where 1t costs SIS to SIS a
month house rent for any kind Of a
unmodern house. With the bribery
charge and franchise question hanging
over the heads Of the street railway
the street car employees saw their op-
! portunity and were not slow to grasp
it. Now there is a. third element in the
big political. game that is being played
| between the people on one side and on
the other corporation that has not
failed to use every political dodge that
is known to the business
The anti-pa.ss law that was enacted
at the last session Of the legislature
| fails to say anything about street car
transportation and it may be said that
street car transportation In the shape
Of books containing 100 rides is easier
to be had.tn Des Moines just now than
ever before. The one thing above all
others that the street car company Is
working for now is to stop the bribery
! prosecution. If that suit can be head
ed off the franchise question is half
won. knowing the political ways in
this city and the strength of corpora
tons in politics, it would not surprise
a great many II there was no indict
ment returned. even in the face of the
testimony of eye witnesses. 1t may
truthfully be said that those back of
| the prosecution of the bribery charges
are little worried over their case. AZ
ter the brides had been offered Alder
man Hamery consulted the lawyers as
good as any in the west. They mapped
out a course for him to follow and the
street car people walked into the net
and paid the money, actual currency,
before the eyes OF witnesses, and the
clearest case of bribery was perfected
that was ever known and yet men with
thorough acquaintance with the politi-
cal ways, fear that the corapany's> pow
err In politics is such that it will be
able to escape the proof in court
The grand Jury that is sitting in
Polk county at this time has two more
weeks in which to do business and
will then adjourn for the term. Not
only the atfidavits of the men who
saw the money change hands in the
bribery charge have been laid before
them, but the men themselves Were
before the erapd jury as witnesses and
testified But along with this the
street car company have not been idle
In the first place there is not member
of the ssand jury who has not been
approached by some one with the ar
gument that It would BIZ a shame to
"persecute" Hippee and that to prose-
cute Hippee for bribery would mean the
stopping Of hundreds of thousands OF
dollars. of contemplated improvements
by the street railway people The