The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1907-10-20
TWO-cENT FARE MISTAKE.

Make haste slowly is not only a
good adage but it is also something
we ought to use more in our daily
lives, for by so doing we would avoid
many mistakes that take valuable
time to eradicate. We have drifted
into this vein of thinking owing to
reflections about the two cent fare
legislation that has been enacted by
so many state legislatures during the
past few months. When Indiana was
wrought up over the question of two
cent fare per mile on the railroads
the Palladium believed in it and ad-
vocated it and we did our share to-
wards helping the two cent fare bill
through the general assembly. Yet
If we had it to do over again we
would rather see the two cent fare
bill defeated provided the following
program could be carried out.
At this time the entire country is
wrought up over the great number
of dreadful accidents that occur every
day or so on our railroads and are de-
manding means to remedy the cause
for them. Wisconsin, which recently
passed a two cent fare bill. had a bill
pass one house providing that the di-
rectors of any railroad in that state
could be held on the charge of man
slaughter for a fatal wreck on their
railroad There is no fairness about
that measure and it is a good thing
It was defeated. Suppose the engt-
neer had disobeyed his orders or mis-
taken them. Should the directors be
tried for 'manslaughter because that
engineers disobedience or careless
ness caused a fatal wreck? Manifest
ly, no. But the directors responsible
ity should be determined by whether
or not they provide proper safety pre-
cautions for the trains on their road
and whether they have strongly built
wood in a wreck or collision.
And there is where we feel our leg
islators made a mistake in going after
the railroads with the two cent fare
club. Reducing the passenger reven-
ues of practically all railroads by one
third, how can we expect the rail
roads to heed our demands for proper
safety appliances and better built cars
for the citizens who can not afford to
ride in Pullman cars? And by far
the most important Improvement that
is needed on our railroads is better
built cars. The average citizen can
not afford to ride in a Pullman car
and is carried in a car that is no
more fit to stand the shock of a col
lision than an egg shell. Realizing
this how much better it would have
been for all of us if instead of urging
on our state representatives and SEN
ators to pass the two cent fare bill,
we had through them given the rail-
roads to understand that we would
not reduce their passenger receipts
one third but we would insist that one
third of the passenger receipts be
spent to eliminate grade crossings, to
provide proper safety appliances and
to replace the present egg shell day
coaches with cars as strongly built as
the Pullman coaches. Had we done
that the wreck of the future, and we
must all admit that any age without
the possibility of a railroad wreck
would be too decidedly utopian to be
true or possible, would not only be a
rare occurrence but would also be far
less terrible than the wreck of today.
So it is easy to see where we made
haste too hastily in looping off one
third of the passenger revenues of the
railroads by only allowing them to
charge two cents mile instead of
three cents. We have succeeded in
obtaining cheaper transportation but
at the same time we have placed the
railroads in a position where they are
less able than ever before to provide
us with better built cars and more
safety appliances. 1t is not too late
to remedy this mistake. The state
legislatures can undo their recent en-
charge three cents per mile for pas
senger transportation and at the same
time provide by law that one cent per
mile for every passenger carried
should go for the improvements we
have mentioned above