Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1906-09-14
are. It Is believed BY, us that. with

fare. 1t u believed by M that, witt
/ the passage of q law prohibiting tn,
: issuance Of practically ali free trans
} lportation, as suggested by Congress
| Imam Hull at his nominating conven
| ton, the saving to the railroads iron
: that source alone would be sufficien
to permit them, without financial los,
Ito themselves, to reduce the passen
ger fares to Lne rate mentioned; this
together with what we believe woult
, result In the way Of largely increased
travel, would cause no injury to the
railroads themselves and be of mucl
benefit to the travelling public. Gov
ernor Cummins, in his political life
J has been consistent in this one re
spect If no other; in that he has
steadfastly opposed all legislation OF
this character. While a member OF
the house from Polk county, and
though elected on democratic tick
ct and by democratic votes. he voted
against a bill then pending in the
house of representatives to reduce
passenger fares to two cents per mile.
and this with but eighteen associa.
ties out OF membership OF one hun
dred. In his biennial message to the
Legislature written within the last
year. and about the same time as his
peculiar fitness for third term guber-
material honors was being urged upon
him by ~ Overwhelming demand.
of the republican party and his claim.
ed awakening to the present injustice
practiced upon the people by the rail-
roads of this state, he was still un.
able to recommend to the legislature
bill OF the character now advocated
by us. He recommended that as far
as the legislature should 60 in this
respect would be to require the rail.
roads to sell mileage books good for
one thousand miles and upwards. This
he said, would have the effect to Eat
once tighten the burdens of the peo-
pie and increase the revenues OF the
railways" We hold that the man or
member of his family who travels
ten miles should be treated with the
same consideration and respect as
the man who travels one thousand:
and neither do believe that any
good or substantial reason can be adj
yanced In favor of the man who tray-
els one thousand miles or more en-
1oying the privilege OF the cheaper
rate and denying it to the one who
travels less. While talking along
this line it might not be out of place
70 notice another recommendation
OF the Governor and his action there
IN IN reference to some railroad leg
lslation. In this same message he
calls attention to what is known as
the long and short haul" clause of
our statutes and recommends the
passage of a law permitting the long.
er line between two competitive
points to charge the same rate as
that charged by the shorter line. it
Is in accordance with this recon-
mendatton, am informed, that a bill
was introduced into the state senate
by a frm friend and supporter Of
the governor, and was referred to the
ralioad committee. There, after due
consideration, and with the knowl-
edge OF the Governor, the committee
reported bill known as Senate File
No. 337. After pending the usual
time In the senate, the bill was passed
by that body and messaged to the
house. from where it was recalled In
order that its provisions might be
limited to railroads operated by
steam. 1t was then resent to the
house, and. after pending there some
time near the close of We session.
was passed and sent to the Governor
Tor his approval. With a legislature
nlled with friends of the Governor,
Watching most carefully every item
OF Legislation in his interest, no OBJ
lection from him seems to have been
made to the. bill from the time it
was pending in the legislature that
was not then cured; nor does any
objection seem to have been made
by him until near the ull limit of
the thirty days allowed him by the
law to approve or disapprove meas
ure had elapsed; and during the in
terval an important primary was held
in republican county, then it was
discovered the legislature had been
too generous in its treatment of the
people and too harsh and exacting to.
wards the railways, for in place of
limiting the provisions of the bill to
passenger rates, the members of the
legislature had the effrontery to ex-
tend 1t beyond the recommendations
OF the friend of the common people,"
enlarging its provisions so as to ap-
ply to freight rates. For this reason,
largely, the Governor, exercising one
OF the strongest constitutional DOW.
ers vested in him, returned to the
secretary of the senate the bill with.
out his executive approval. WHY is
II. II 1t is in the interest Of the peo-
pie to allow the longer line to COM
pete with the shorter ones in the
matter of passenger rates, that 1t
would be injurious to them to have
It also extend to matter of freight is
beyond my comprehension. II it is
good thing to permit a resident OF
Des Moines, to use the Governors
own Illustration, to buy passengers
ticket from Des Moines to MARSHALL
town over the Northwestern by the
way OF Ames, at the same rate that
he could buy one from Des Moines
to Marshalltown by the Great Wes-
tern, would it not be equally bene.
hcial to permit the merchant and
Jobber to send his freight by the way
of the Northwestern if he SO desire.
When we also remember by proyis.
ion of this bill that mo charge for
a shorter haul shall be greater than
the charge for a longer haul in
which such short haul is included"
every town on tue line OF the North
western that was not situated at a
greater distance from Marshalltown
that Des Moines is by the Great
Western would have been entitled to
the same rate, passenger and freight,
as the residents Of Des Moines. Hun
dreds of towns in our state would
have been substantially benefited ex.
cept for the veto of this bill, And.