Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1908-04-30
Thursday, April 80, 1908.

the Crawford Legislature passed
q cent railroad rate bill, the Web
ster World finally replies as follows:
"On the 4th day ofMarch, 1907, ~"
Gov. Crawford approved of House
Bill No. 80, which directs the rail
way commission to make schedule
OF reasonable maximum fares and
rates OF charges for transportation
of passengers and freight, provided
the maximum compensation per
mile for the transportation OF any
person shall hot be greater than y
cents. Chapter .2l3 Laws" And
this is what the World calls the
passage of p cent rate bill In
its original article upon the subject
of railroad legislation, the Reporter
admitted the passage of this bill
which saddled the duty Of enforc-
ing y cent rate upon a stalwart
board of railroad commissioners,
but it also called attention to the
fact that the Price bill, calling
directly for p cent rate, was
defeated by the insurgents 10y vote
of 50 to %. The reproduction of
this article is the most direct way of
insisting that the Legislature did not
pass rate bill, neither is such
rate in operation at this time and as
matter of fact, freight and express
rates are much higher at present
than they were before the legisla-
ture was in session. la our edition
of April 9th will be found the fol-
lowing: Representative Price, of
yankton, an insurgent and sincere
reformer, introduced III. b. 269,
which was very brief in character
and called directly Tor y cent
rate. 1t read, BE il enacted by the
legislature of the State of South
Dakota; Section /. The maximum
compensation per mile for the trans
portation of any person with ordih-
airy baggage, not exceeding 100
pounds, over any and all railroads of
the state shall not be greater than
two and one half cents per mile"
That was all there was to the bill.
Was il not clear and to the point?
The insurgents had majority enough
to pass end did pass any measure
in which they were interested and to
defeat and did defeat any measure
which they desired defeated. They
did not desire a reduction of railroad
rates and the Price bill was defeated
by vote of 50 to % and it may be
noted that the Day county members
voted for this measure. In its place
was passed the Carroll bastard bill,
H. B. No. so, directing the board of
railroad commissioners to fix rates at
p cents per mile. They did not
pass q cent rate bill, did not de
sire its passage, SO they lodged it by
saddling the responsibility upon the
stalwart board OF railroad commits
sisners in the hope that they would
not act upon it and the failure
to reduce passenger rates could then
be placed upon the stalwarts. But
this stalwart board did endeavor to
enforce such rate and were
restrained by action of the court.
In so far only is the World state
ment correct. The Price bill could
heve been passed, had the insurgent
majority so wished, and in operation
within go days free from any danger
OF injunction by the railroads. Gov.
Crawford declared in his speech in
this city that the rate bill was
defeated by stalwart votes, yet the
World declares that rate bill was
passed. Even in his handbook,
Crawford does not 60 to the extent
of claiming the passage by the legis-
lature OF rate bill and do you not
suppose that il one had been passed
Il would have been the most valu-
able asset Of the Crawford campaign
and loudly proclaimed from the very
housstops." The World will have
to come again before u can convince
anyone that rate bill was passed
Tor House Bill No. 30 is not . rate
bin, but merely an evasion OF the
question. On the other hand Is
,e~fablished the fact that q "A cent