Morris tribune., 1907-04-20

Died, on Tuesday, April 9, 1907, IN
the Senate, the eastman Distance
Tariff Bill. Interment from the Smith
morgue in the legislative cemetary for
anti corporation children.
Tt is with the deepest regret that
we are called upon to chronicle the
nntimelv death of the eastman dis
tance tariff bill. This industrial relief
infant was born January sth, 1907 and
early gave promise of the usual allot-
ment of life and usefulness. But the
dread contagion, corporatlonltis,
which has resulted in the sudden de-
mise Of 90 many meritorious measures
had marked this bill for mortality and
although it's parent and friends work
al day and night to avert the hnal
summons, all their efforts were Ia
x,o;r Later in the development OF
+ho disease the trouble was complicat-
ed nv an attack of moneyitis and the
measure, worn and wasted by the
weary weeks of terrible struggle with
tho first form of Infection, could only
wait the inevitable dissolution.
IT, cannot be said that the bill died a
Natural death-it had doctors, the
hest that money could procure. But
these practitioners were all from the
combine school of surgery and labored
in perfect harmony with the coroner
and the sexton.
The remains were taken to the
ovarvorked Smith morgue and later
inferred in the large legislative ceme-
terv for anti-corporation children
haside the numerous other victims or
the same dread disease. Besides the
sorrowing parents, score of senators
assisted in the obsequles, but TINS
little assembly of sympathizers did
not constitute all the mournees. FROM
every section of the state thousands
are in the darkest gloom, for upon Uhe
onaration of this eastman bill were
the masses of Minnesota depending
for relief from railroad arrogance and
despotism.
s.The evil that bills do lives after
them. the good is oft inferred with
their bones," sung Shakespeare. But
this cannot be said of the eastman
distance tariff bill. Its brief career
WAS sufficient to establish in the minds
of the masses of Minnesota the mission
for which it was created and now
even in death its influence lives on
and will grow and become an uncon-
+rollable element in the solution OF the
7,dpstrial dilemmas of the state. The
common citizenship of the common
wealth looked to this bill for indus
trial relief and now the very force OF
their intelligent and united demand
fo,. a square deal will call forth an
other distance tariff bill two years
hence, when the whole people WILL
+hrn an uncompromising public sentl-
ment, stand at the back OF those
senatorial patriots who struggled TO
save this one for its mission OF e9aai
ity and Justice to all.
"I asked for bread and ye gave me
a stone,'' is the way the better IN
formed portion of the public Will re-
oard the compromise rate bill which
nassed both branches last week AS
remedy for existing evils in the trans
,ortation Of freight it only touches
the surface. while the enactment OF
tho Eastman distance tariff bill would
have zone to the very problem. 1t
this measure was conceived in good
faith and will, accomplish the results
expected, it will, of course, nrlng
about little relief, but nothing IN
comparison with what ought to nave
heen done to correct the railroad
policy of discrimination against all the
country villages and cities.
And it ought not to be difficult for
intelligent, thinking people to under-
stand the situation which gave rise to
this compromise rate subterfuge. the
corporation control of the legislature
was so absolute that no just and neces-
sarv measure like the eastman bill
,l ..:L1.x ,,o% @bru Tho uaYf