The Norfolk weekly news-journal. (Norfolk, Neb.) 1900-19??, 1907-03-08

| '""hp'i WI buD'IHhloIlul signature
II would be blocked by the man oc
cupying that Office and that thus tn,
enactment would be held up, Will,
they the peoples representatives
would be patted on the back as IRE
formers"
But Governor Sheldon fooled tn,
lawmakers who had him down In the
dope sheets for that move. He re
fused to assume the responsibility Of
turning down the bill that had come
to him with pretty nearly unanimous
vote from the legislature. The legis
lature had voted for It, and he de
clined to be made the tool to destroy
1t.
have been passed But he declined
to act as sponsor for the lawmakers
and, by allowing the bill to become
law without his approval, he has
placed entire responsibility for Its
enactment upon the house and the
senate.
1t remains for the investigation
that should have been made by the
legislature, just as was made in Wis.
consin, before final action, to be taken
by the courts. For 1t is stated in a
dispatch from Chicago that the new
law will be fought in the courts by
the railroads. In Wisconsin the roads
accepted the reduction of half cent
ordered by the Wisconsin railway
commission after a years investiga.
ton. In other states there was prac-
tically no investigation into the sound
ness of the legislation, the reduction
was greater than in the badger state,
and in other states it will take a
legal battle to test the foundation of
the measure. Governor Sheldon be.
lieves that commission appointed
to investigate such matters, should
have thoroughly Investigated before
acting, in order that their act might
nave SOllulJy 10 STAND up.
Another feature of the case which
is interesting is the emergency clause.
The Interstate commerce railroad
enacted by congress last winter, says
that no change shall be made In any
railroad rate without thirty days no.
tice being given. The new law in
Nebraska, carrying the emergency
clause, says that it shall be effective
Wednesday morning. Here again is
conflict between states rights and
federal authority. Which shall pre-
vail?
In case the law should go into effect,
one point that the country towns will
watch closely will be the effect in
diminishing local trade. Country mer-
chants and country residents, all of
whom are or ought to be enough in
growth to spend the money they make
at home, with the other business folk
who are trying to upbuild their own
towns, will be anxious to note how
many more of their patrons ride into
Omaha on the new two-cent rate, to
do their shopping. than before. 1t will
be feature worth taking notice of.
And, in the meanwhile, the whole
public will watch the freight-rate eff
feet with interest. If the two-cent
fare should not prove enough to sup
port passenger service, as the Wiscon-
sin commission says it would not in
that state, the whole public would ex-
pect to pay for the passenger trains in
freight cost, and the people who never
travel very much, anyway, may not
like the idea as theory. That's why
they will watch 1t in practice.
Again, the effect upon improvements
which these western towns in many
cases badly need, will be watched. 1t
is announced from railroad offices that
railway managers will not be in a
mood to spend any more money build
ing up improvements, with prospects
of having their incomes further cut,
and the west. which wants more rails
and better depots will keep an eye
for this reason on the two-cent fare
bill.
And there are other reasons why
the new laws effect will be watched
with interest and even anxiety by
business interests. For this fare bill
is fire on one end of candle, which
also has fire at the other end. The
railroads are the candle and there is
a burning process going on at two
eXtremities. For while the legisla-
lures are enacting law to reduce
passenger incomes one-third, railway
trainmen in Chicago have just de-
manded more pay from these self-same
railroads, to say nothing of the de-