The Butler weekly times., 1908-10-10
THE TWo-cENT FARE FIGHT.

Further. Governor Folk in his St Joseph
speech in his present campaign for the
United States Senatorship said. in speak
ing' OF this litigation:
"a great deal OF testimony was taken
to determine the fairness Of these rates
and as a result Of those Investigations into
the cost Of freight and passenger service.
the conclusion was arrived at both by
myself and the General Assembly. that
passenger rates could be materially re-
duced without doing any injustice to the
corporations. Believing that the passenger
business Of the railroads justified It. I rec
commended the reduction Of the passenger
rate from three cents to two cents mile"
With the enactment OF the two-cent
passenger rate law in 1907, the railroads
announced that they proposed to enjon its
enforcement in the Federal Court, as they
had two years before eniOined the en-
forcement OF the freight rate law OF 1905
They also announced that they proposed
to make Missouri the battle ground in
their contest against the twO-cent fare.
had learned something in the two years Of
litigation ! had had with the railroad COM
panies as to their methods of legal war
fare. and I decided to use the same meth
Ods In fighting them that they had used
in fighting the people Of Missouri de-
cdcd not to let them select both the form
and the forum OF litigation. and on the
day that they announced that they would
ask for an injunction In the United States
Court to restrain me from enforcing the
two-cen fare law against them, / went
into the State courts and asked for an In
junction enjoining the railroad companies
from disobeying this law; and I went into
the State courts few hours earlier than
the railroads went, into the Federal court.
Judge Matt w Reynolds Of st. Louis, and
Tttd0 Tory arb 49, to- a
the injunctions ! asked for against the
railroad companies. and the railroads then
prepared their papers for an application
to have me adjudged guilty OF contempt
Of the United States Circuit Court. This
question was argued on the 5th day OF
June, 1907. before Judge Mcpherson Of the
United States Circuit Court at Kansas
cred the railroads weakened in their fight,
abandoned their plan to have me adjudged
guilty OF contempt and agreed to put into
effect. for ninety days. the two-cent fare
as an experiment The result Of the ex-
pertinent was an increase in earnings for
the railroad companies until the business
| depression last winter affected unfavor-
ably the railroad business along with all
other lines Of industry. The railroads have
recently endeavored again to secure a
temporary injunction against the two cent
passenger rate law, but their application
was denied by the United States Circuit
Court. and the entire controversy. includ-
ing both the freight and the passenger
rate laws. is now set down for final hear
ing on the 5th Of next October.
| In this controversy with the railroads
over the two cent passenger rate law, II
has not been my intention or desire to
do injustice to the railroad interests. !
do not want to see the railroad companies
of the State compelled to carry passen-
4 af fwn cents a untla N hv dntr, o
they will lose money. But I contended
that this question could not be intelli-
gently determined until the railroad COM
panies had actually carried passengers at
two cents a mile and ascertained by
actual experience whether or not the de-
crease in the rate would result in an IN
crease In the number Of passengers. The
results have vindicated the correctness Of
my insistence that the railroad companis
should comply with this law. And while
| Il has not resulted In any substantial re-
duction In passenger earnings It has re-