Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-11-02
IT HITS THE HOTELS
Anti-Pass Law Reduces the Number
Of Political Guests at the Des Moines
HostIeries-Some Talk That An
Amendment Will Be Asked at Next
LEGISLATURE.
Special to Tlmes-Reounlican.

Special to Times Republican.
Council Bluffs, Nov 1.--Altho moth
ing will be done openly until after
election for various reasons. there Is
a prospect OF a move later to amend
the law passed by the legislature at It's
last session prohibiting the use OF
passes by public officials. The law Is
said to please railway officials very
well as it Is, since the pass business
under the old system had grown TO
such proportions as to be regarded by
them as nuisance.
Even now the operation of the state
law is said to have made a great dlt-
ference in the amount of travelling IN
Iowa. A Council Bluffs man who vis-
tied Des Moines recently states that
there has been tremendous falling Off
in the number of political hangers ION
which used to be found about the no
tells of the capitol city. Inc necessity
for paying fare has dealt a BODY ploW
to the hotels there. which used to reap
a rich harvest from the men with axes
to grind and asfree ticket from some
where to enable them to reach the
grindstone.1
one OF the provisions of the law,
which it is understood, an effort VIII
be made to have emehded, is that re-
garding the use of passes by peace OF
ticers. AS the law now stands an off,
GER who suspects the presence of a
criminal in some particular locality
can only go to look for him by paying
his fare like any other citizen. II no
bags his victim the county will reim-
burse him, but if not he will have to
pocket his loss.
A number of the counties in the
state are complaining already that the
law has had the effect of diminishing
the police protection of their localities.
and while no concerted effort in behalf
of an amendment to the law has yet
been made. there are indications that
during the next few months such an
effort will be made.
'1The new law has been great boon
to the man who is suspected of having
a pull" said a member of that fav-
ored class to a. Nonpareil reporter.
"Some of the warmest enemies / haVeI
men who would rejoice to vote for me
if / were candidate for dog-catcher,
but on no other consideration have
been made such thru my telling them
that 1t was utterly impossible for me to
work some railroad for pass, when l
was telling them the strict truth.
"The way in which the pass priv
ilege was abused is well indicated by
an instance which came to light sew
eral months ago. There was a stock
man who had in his possession lot
of annual passes over various roads.
Some of them he used very seldom.
and was in the habit of leaving them at
home when he went out on his trips.
His wife was caught in the act of rent
ing out one of these passes, but claim
ed in self defense that it was her first
offense. The railroad investigated and
collected all the trip slips which had
been used in connection with the pass
and found that they had been signed
with graet variety of signatures. 1t
showed conclusively that the woman
had entered into a bargain with tick
ct broker who divided the proceeds of
the passes with her. and she had made
quite a respectable, addition to her
stock of pin-money by farming out the
little pasteboards"