Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-03-30

the Pie eaters I'm Eo1ng 70 Ire tneM
cut neck and crop. Richard They
make me excessively weary"
Gantry's playful mood fell away
from him like q CASTOR garment
Fl DON'T quite believe I'd do that Il
I were you, Evan There are pie eat
ers on both sides In every political con-
test. and. while they can't do any cause
any great amount OF good, they can
often do q good bit OF harm
wouldn't be too hard on them IL were
you"
what would you do. or. rather.
what did you do when you were man
aging the state campaign two years
agoT inquired Blount pointedly.
'T cut the pie" said the traffic man
ager simply.
"In other words. you let this riff
ran bIackmail you and incidentally
put big black mark against the COM
pany's good name"
"Oh, no: wouldn't put It quite that
strong. Not many OF these little fell
lows ask or expect money. A free ride
now and then on the railroad is about
all they look for
But you cant give them that IN
der the interstate commerce law" pro-
tested the purist-
Not outside of the state. Of course.
our own business"
You mean it was our own bust
ness previous TO the passage of the
state rate law two years ago." cor
rected Blount
cit Is our OWL business TO this good
day-in effect That part of the law
has been q complete dead letter from
the day the governor signed IL. Why,
bless your innocent heart, Evan. the
very men who argued the lordest and
voted the most spitefully for it came
to me for their return tickets home at
the end Of the session. OF course we
kept the letter OF the law. 1t says
that no free passes shall be given.
We didn't issue passes. We merely
gave them tickets out OF the case and
charged them up to expense"
"Faughw said Biount You make
me sick. Gantry, it's that same child
ish whipping of The devil around the
stump by the corporation. an expe-
dent that wouldn't deceive the most
ignorant voter that ever cast ballot
IFS that very thing that has stirred
the whole nation up to this unreason-
able fight against corporate capital
Don't you see ftf'
Gantry shrugged his shoulders.
+ 81 guess / take the line of the least
resistance-like the majority Of Them
was the colorless reply. When 1t
comes to practical politics.
Don't say practical politics TO me.
Dick" rasped the reformer. We've
got the strongest argument in the
world IN the fact that the present law
is an unfair one. needing modification
or repeal. We mustn't spoil that argu-
ment by becoming lawbreekers our
selves ana descending to the methods
OF the grafters and the machine poll
ticians the country over. II you have
been sending these pie eaters to me.
don't do It any more. have no use
for them. and they won't have any
use for me after open up on them"
II don't believe ia do anything
RASH" said Gsntry.
Dating from this little heart to heart
talk with the trafic manager, Blount
began to carry out the new policy
'the starvation policy" as IT soon came
to be known among the would be
henchmen. The result was not alto
gether reassuring.
Many of the small grafters were on
the payroils OF the railroad company.
and Blount was soon definitely assured
Of what he had before only suspected
that they were merely nominal en-
pIoyses, g1ven a payroll standing so
that there might be an excuse for Civ
ing them free transportation and a re-
tanner in the form Of wages, IL need
full.
In many cases the ramificat1ons of
the petty graft were exasperatingly
intricate. For example. one Thomas
Gryson, who was on the payrolls as
a machinist's helper in the repair shops.
demanded free transportation across
the state for eight members Of his
family" Questioned closely, he ad-
mitted that the "fnmily" was his only
by a figure Of speech: that the rela-
tionship was entirely political
Blount promptly refused to recon-
mend the issuing OF employees passes
for the eight, and the result was an
immediate call from Bentley, the Gi-
vision master mechanic.
About that fellow Gryson," Bentley
began. Cant you manage some way
to get him transporta ton for his Jones'
boro erewd1 He Is going to make
trouble for US II you don't"
Blount was Justly Indignant CRY
son is on your payroll" he retorted.
why don't you recommend the passes
on account of the motive power depart
ment. IL he Is entitled to them?
II can't" admitted the master me-
chanic. 1T am held down to the issu-
ing Of passes to employees travelling
on company business only. We can
stretch It little Sometimes. of course.
but we can't make 1t cover the whole
earth"
Neither can l." BIount exploded
let II be understood, once for all, Mr.
Bentley, that I am not the scapegoat