The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-08-21
THE WAY OF A RAILROAD
New Hompshres Long Struggle Free Itself From the
Boston and Maine Railroad.
IN MARK II LIN IN.
From Golfers WseEi-

n New Hampshire. Assume thet each
pas Is worth 500 % the holder
lhfse 1r four trips ta Boston ard i far
I.ta1 trips would make th. s4u.
ha.i million dollars is a big sum IL i
State bot4 smal ana poor. ana more
over that the power u "a railroad pass
- hE no means measured bE It's Rsiu-
~ dollars ANA cents. those Hha ena
~" psychology of a pass @llI under
si.A4. Consider. too. th4t tl. fsg. .-
I.HI# oL passes aI. the Iuu.T Ia.e.II-
gent. powerful and aggressive the u.t-
hlaI leaders in each community The
iEe thousand holders 81 f,a. s-,-.--lf ti4sf
gifts, by their education. by tus.. nap
y endowment of a foraefuI personal
llE, ought 10 be the leaders in upIfft-
ing their neighbors. are in reality the
beil-Wethcrs who betray the other four
hundred thousand fare paying re,i-
dents Of New Hampshire into tine
power Of the railroad.
The most conspicuous and most
pow erfuI, though not the most nu-
hIefouS class Of pdSS-holdcrs are TIN.
newspapers. That is why Mn. Church,
III, IN his campaign against the rail-
roads, can count on getting his speech
es INTO only seven papers I'm the state.
In giving passes to newspapers. the
railroad always takes the ground that
II Is merely in lieu Of cash payment To-
the newspaper for printing the rail
4uoJu94Bls 9s!ouo0 pue IGolJ -IOJ lJl5 9UU
s!q Ql!M 'I7IpuPQD LolFuoS-Na luH
road timetable liz every issue.
charged: The real object os To is
sue the free passes in violation Of law.
as means of substituting the newspa-
pers. ana preventing them, as public
journals, from criticising or condemn
ing any acts or measures of the rail
road managers.
The railroad has already put into ex-
ecutiOn what Mr. Chandler merely sug-
gested when he said Of all the news
papers Of a state may be thus sup
pressed, why may not all the lawyers
be retained by Il business agreement
under which they receive free passes
With all the newspapers and all the
lawyers of q State thus employed 10
be stifled, what relief can BE- had
against public or priv ate wrongs com
mitted by the railroads."
What Senator Chandler said is lit
orally true. Quite apart from the po-
litical effects of such Widespread pass
giving to lawyers. suppose YOU are
hurt in q railroad accident; You car
ry your case to the leading lawyer Of
your town; you find he has been
thoughtfully "retained' by the rail
road-in his inside pocket is pasSs
marked "Rt'r"; you try tn" next lead
ing lawyer. ana the next and the
next. They have all been "retained."
only some obscure lawyer, of capacity
SO mean as not to be thought worth
while by the railroad, is left to redress
your private wrong.
But the editors and the lawyers arc
not the only beneficiarieS Of Mr.. Tut-
ties passes once the Interstate
COmmercS Commission required the
Boston and Maine Railroad to file d
statement covering the various Glasses
were issued" Onfortunately the lin
itation of the commissions authority
prevented the compelling of an actual
list of ali pass-holderS, and 50 the eN-
act figures as to the number Of passes
issued in New Hampshire remains a
secret of Mr.. Tuttle's ofice-I have
heard them estimated at three thou
sand, seven thousand and ten thou
sandD one Of the classes was de-
scribed in the railroads answer as
gentlemen long eminent in the pul 'ic
seryice;' another class included per
sons whose good will is important to
the corporation and who. 50 long as
the general practice Of railroads re
mains what it now is, might justly take
offence if. in the matter or Tree trans
portatiOn they were to receive from
the Boston and Main different treat
ment from that received from othct
railro2 corporations.
Senator Chandler has vividiy emu
merated the free riders: "All lawyers
ride free The editors and newspaper
managers ride free. Ministers ride
free, or at special rates. The Governor
rides free His council rides free All
officers at the State House ride free.
The members Of the Legislature
there are over four hundfed-ride
free. County, city and town officers
ride free. The wives and children Of
b. ri H,.lsS
No person of any importance in town
or State fails TO ride free. If any
person high or low. rich or poor, IS
heard to make vigorous protest against
any railroad wrong, he is approached
by some ready emissary Of the road
and quieted by a free pass Broadly
speaking. it may be said that in any
community. when any young man
shows the first sign of talent Of the
fa.ntest capacity for leadership. he is
al once brought into the railroad ser
vice with a pass. The getting Of a
railroad pass is the first concrete sign
that young man is coming man.
To free this widespread distribution
Of any possible embarra ssment, the
Boston and Maine had the giving Of
passes legalized. The old law permit
ted passes only to railway officials and
paupers. In the session of 1897, and
others was added after ''paupers,
and New Hampshire is the only state
that legalzes the giving of passes. And
Yet, withal. the recipients Of passes
ara ashamed and conceal the fact
Il appeal to the Republican members
of the legislature" said Senator ,
Chandler in Il ringing address, ITO
avoid the dishOnor which viii come to
them ii they vote on railroad legis-
iaion with these free passes in their
pockets. Is there one Of them who
w ill hang his free pass upon MS breast
and rise III his seat and vote on rail
read bills with his badge Of serVitudc
i'll plain sight of the world? Is there
one of them who i willing to 80 vote,