The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-04
SOME ETHICS IF
 THE FREE PASS Georgia Railroad Commission Travels In Private Car MUCH CRITICISM FOLLOWS Chairman McLendon Defends His His Acts, But Announces That In
 Future the Commission
 Will Pay Their Fares.
MUCH CRITICISM FOIL LOWS

Atlanta, November 3.-(special.)-T ethics of the free pass' have again been brought prominently into public notice as the result of recent inspection trip made by Chairman S. G. McLendon of the state railroad commission over the Atlanta and West Pcint railroad.
 On this trip, an official inspection trip, Chairman McLendon and other members of the commission travelled in the pri- vate car of President c. A. Wickersham, which was rendered for the purpose and as courtesy by MT. Wickersham.
 The Atlanta Journal, which supported Gov. Hoke Smith and incidentally the anti-pass crusade, which, in fact, met with favor has written several editorials c-iticising the railroad commission and the chairman in particular for accepting courtesies from the railroads, after hay ing psssed an order prohibiting the is- suance and use of free passes and franks within the state.
 The question has resolved itself into this: If the railroad commission sees fit to make personal inspections of railroad property, as 1t is empowered, but not required, to do under the law, can it's members depart from the rule forbidding free transportation or must they, in the absence of state appropriation for the pur- pose, go into their pockets and pay their own railroad fare?
 Chairman McLendon and the other members of the commission, did not see anything wrong in accepting a private car for the purpose of making official in- spection. They felt that it ought to be done and this was the best way to do it. Then, too, it would cut a good slice out of railroad commissioners salary to have to pay railroad fare and the ex- penses of a private car besides every time an inspection is made.
 Again, why should not railroad trans- portation be used free of cost in the pub- lie servjcef It was done when the demon- stratlon train of the State Agricultural college was permitted to travel over the state, dispensing information among the farmers without expense to the dispens- CTS.
 But the Journal pretends not to believe in the use of free transportation for this or any other purpose There are some who nave been unkind enough to say that the chairman has been of late getting Q little lukewarm in his allegiance to the Hoke Smith policies, and that there is an effort on that account to get even with him.
 However that may be, it is a we'll known fact that Chairman McLendon has occupied a far more liberal attitude to- ward the corporations than was attrib- uted to him when he first went into office.
 The criticism of his use of President Wickersham's private car in making his inspection of the West Point route has apparently nettled the chairman no little. Today he issued a statement in reply to the Journals attacks, in which, after showing that there has been no violation of law, express or implied, in the com- missions acceptance of this courtesy, he announces that hereafter he and the other members of the board in making these inspection trips will pay their fare out of their own pockets.
 In conclusion Chairman McLendon says: 1.-The source of the Journals profound perturba ton on this subject does not seem to be so much the fact that inspections are being made as the fact that no fares are paid. Its nervous agitation upon this subject reminds me of the lady whose modesty was so great that she put pant lets on the legs of her piano. want to say that rather than have any domestic unhappiness about the matter, and rather than have the world shift its axis, or have the legs of the piano exposed, in the future l and such other members of the commission as see proper to go with me will pay our Georgia railroad commission standard tariff on the road over which we are travelling. But have not the slight. est idea or intention of abandoning these l inspection trips. 1 believe 1t to the gen. eral prosperity and welfare of this state l to have the railroads and the. people ad- just their differences to the end that busi- ness may move forward without unneces- sary disturbance. I am going on each trip | to be accompanied by an officer of each | railroad who can deal directly with the l people. For the life of me I cannot see how anybody can object or discover the slightest impropriety in an effort to bring | shipper and carrier face to face, and all of these things l say in the spirit of ut- most kindness and amiability.'