Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1907-01-24
KEEP CLOSE TO THE PLATFORM.


The Joint committee of the legisla-
ture charged with the formulation of
bills governing the railroad regulation
planks in the republican state plat
form is getting down to business. The
promises made in the platform are
plain and specific and should permit of
no disagreement.
The platform calls for the eradica-
ton of the free-pass evil, root and
branch, and is strictly limited in its
made are bona fide employees of the
company and members of their imme-
date families and caretakers of live
stock" The republicans in the leg
islatnre might perhaps feel justified
in making the exceptions correspond
with those in the anti-pass section of
the interstate commerce law in order
to procure uniformity as to state and
interstate travel, but the state law
should not go beyond the national law
in opening the door to further free
pass favoritism.
The platform also demands the en-
actment of a law comforting upon the
new railway commission power to
prohibit rebates, determinations and
special rates to corporations, persons
or localities and to see to it that any
and all abuses are corrected and equit-
able freight and passenger rates OBJ
tanned for the people," The intent is,
without question, to invest the com
mission with the fullest possible pow
ers, yet the purpose and scope are fur
Their explained by another plank con-
ditional on the failure of the consti-
tutional amendment to carry. Here
the promise is made to enact such
laws las will give to the people of
this state the same advantages that
congress has already given the nation
under the railroad rate bill in matters
of interstate commerce" The act
passed by congress under pressure of
public opinion is the result of careful
study and corresponds to the conserva-
tive thought of the people generally.
If our legislature is guided by this
great legislative achievement of the
president and his friends, it will stay
on safe ground.
To what extent the maximum pas
senger rate law should be reduced is
not stated in the republican platform,
which refers to the reduction only in
general terms. No one can success
fully dispute the fact that the present
Scent maximum rate in Nebraska is
too high, but care should be taken in
making the reduction not to get 1t too
low, for the law must later be. sus-
tanned in the courts, for it will surely
be attacked. The Wisconsin legisla-
ture is considering one proposal to
make a graduated maximum varying
with the gross receipts of the road per
mile for the preceding year, the idea
being to be we'll outside of the bounds
of alleged confiscation. Our legisla-
ture should not forget that a rate
which might be fully compensatory to
one prosperous road might be alto
gether inadequate to branch line do
ing a small business.
Without wishing to be overofficious
in offering advice The Bee believes the
legislature will do we'll to keep close to
the platform. Our people expect and
demand that every pledge made in that
platform be fulfilled, but they do not
want the promised relief jeopardized
by legislation going to uncalled for
extremes which might not successfully
run the gauntlet of the courts. E..