New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-03-09
THE LOBBY AND THE BILL.

The managers of corporations who profess to
believe that a franker and more conciliatory
policy is desirable in dealing with the public
have a notable opportunity to exhibit their
change Of heart by their conduct toward the
Public Utilities bill Let them oppose the pas
sage OF the bill in accordance with the new
ideal OF the proper attitude Of the public service
companies toward the people The old fashioned
subterranean methods, of which every session at
Albany has seen so much. are not the kind to
promote a new era Of friendliness. They will
only increase the feeling of suspicion and hos
tility whose existence railroad managers so
greatly deplore. It will not do to have Mr..
Shonts in New York inviting the public to meet
him half way and an INSCRIPTIONS lobby practis-
ing the devious methods Of the old regime at
Albany-that is it will not do if there is going to
be a sincere effort to carry out the new policy
Of winning public confidence and automatically
concliating public opinion
One Of the surest grounds for a certain degree
Of public dlstrust Of the great corporations and
their methods has always been the unscrupulous
ways Of dealing with legislatures which many
Of them have practised. The Albany dispatches
are full now Of stories Of the lobbys activity and
charges that extraordinary efforts viii be made
to defeat the public service bill. Money. it is
said, will be spent in unprecedented amounts.
Political bosses who are the paid agents of GER
tain corporations will be depended upon TO whip
their henchmen in the Legislature into line
against the measure. Those are the old familiar
devices, but they can win at most. as in the case
Of the SO-cent Gas law, only a temporary vic
tory. To resort to them again would be short
sighted folly, for they would certainly provoke
public resentment and add to that hostility of
which managers OF public service companies al
ready complain.
No doubt the public service corporations OPP
pose the bill. They have perfect right TO do
so, provided they conne their opposition to it TO
honorable methods. Some of the provisions Of
the bill doubtless seem to them unjust. unneces-
sarily rigorous injurious TO their business and
designed to restrict liberties which in the past
they have thought necessary TO development.
Let them fight their battle IN the open. Let
them meet publicity with publicity. Let them
produce the facts the figures, the arguments and
convince the public where 1t errs. Their side Of
the case can easily obtain a hearing The trou-
bic IN the past has been that they have let agi-
tators go about denOuncing them and have not
taken the trouble to reply. The principle on
which they have too often acted was that they
cared not who formed public opinion so long as
they bought the legislatures. But there seems
now to be a general agreement that this faith
was misplaced and that Indifference TO public
opinion has proved a poor policy. Corporate
opposition 10 the new bill should be limited to
pointing out its injustice, if It has any, and en-
tightening public opinion regarding its unwis-
dom, If that can be shown. The only proper
place for opposition to the bill In Albany is at
the public hearings before the legislative COM
mittees. Corrupt methods would do more harm
than good If the bill is beaten by them this
year that will not end the public demand for
regulative legislation. 1t will only increase pub
lie distrust and hostility, and the Chicago and
the Cleveland traction companies bear witness
TO what a destructive element that becomes
when once thoroughly aroused