The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1907-02-14
OLD TIMER
He Seems to be Sort Of Petering
out Only Touches on two Sub
iects, Railroad Meetings and
Semi Centennial.

1Qore mas not been muCn DOING IN
Legislative circles the past week. The
railroad committee had a meeting
and the railroads We're represented by
a host Of attorneys headed by the
smooth, suave, ever-courteous l.. l..
Brown of Winona. He is little the
slickest article that ever came over the
pike. He showed the committee that
the railroads were actually losing
money on the passenger business.
That two-cent rate would bankrupt
them. AS this same story was tear
fully told at the time fares were re-
duced from four to three cents it did
not seem to impress the committee.
Then came the "ultimatum" of the
roads. ''Pass a two cent rate and
there will be no more excursion rates
for any kind of meetings, no reduced
fare for harvest hands, no half-fare
permits for ministers, just fiat two
cent rate for everybody" And now
the State Fair management, the twin
city department stores, the preachers
and the Red River Valley wheat
makers are expected to food their re-
representatives. with requests not to kill
the State Fair, not to hinder the spread
Of the Gospel, and above all not to let
the golden grain of the northwest go
ungathered for want of men. Yet
there is another side that law makers
will do we'll to heed. The excursion
rates to the State Fair and similar
gatherings have for years been the
bane of the business men of the north
west. People save up for four weeks
to 60 to the fair, and they save up
four weeks afterwards to pay the bills
while they were there, and during
eight weeks of the best part of the
year country business is paralyzed.
If person can't pay two cents a
mile to go to the State Fair he can't
afford to go, and to induce a man to
do something he can't afford to do is
genteel larceny.
We do not believe there is a self
respecting clergyman in the state who
would not gladly give up his "halt
fare permit and pay two cents a
mile and travel like "other folks" and
be forever relieved from the super
cilicousness and annoyance that every
holder of "half fare permit" must
undergo in order to get his reduced
rate. If there is one he is unfit to
preach.
AS far as harvest hands are con-
cerned the scum that float westward
on nominal rates are, as a rule, no
good. Nine out of ten do not work
two days.
Just make two cent rate and the
men that 60 west to work will still go
and the tramps will beat their way.
Both political parties declared for a
fiat two cent rate, the abolition of
passes, reciprocal demurage and a
regulation of freight rates.
Lie VOtClo WIZ w d llIGlC ultl-
mating on their own account if these e
measures fail to pass, ane their ulti-
matum will carry every man to the
political bone-yard that votes against
reasonable measures along these
lines. Bye and bye candidates will
learn that something more is necessary
to secure an election than to write
high sounding pledges on the back
of campaign cards.
neously introduced in both branches
of the legislature this week. 1t is
really wonderful how simultaneous
certain things happen. That was
bill appropriating $500, 900 for six
months semi-centennial celebration
of Minnesota's admission into this
glorious union. It's 50th birthday.
l can't just understand why 5Oth
birthday should be celebrated any
more than the 18th, the 21st or the
35th. When was so, 1 kept as still
about it as possible.
The bill will probably pass. 1t will
only mean small sum to each per-
son and it will mean harvest of
dollars for the transportation COM
panies and a six months carnival
of bargains for the twin cities and
that for six months country business
men will sit on dry goods boxes and
pick their teeth with splinter and
watch people take the trains for St.
Paul and Minneapolis. That is all
"God made the country and man
made the cities" 1t is up to the
Lord to take care of what He has
created, bat man-made institutions
must be fostered.
l wish that the legislature would
give me control of that ST. SOC, 600.
would take million and put it on
the country roads of the state. I
oould toko tuo hundrod and fiftv.