The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1912-10-31
P|TTMAN'S Rail.
ROAD RATE RECORD

Key Pittman, Democratic candidate
for United States Senator, has made
tour of the state of Nevada, but he
has not once explained to the voters
his reasons for urging the members Of
the legislature of 1907 to protect the
railroads and permit them to charge
whatever the traffic would bear. the
policy of those corporations. Pittman.
pretending friendship for the people
of Nevada today, presents a different
attitude than when he appealed to the
representatives of the people. about
to enact railroad commission bill 10
spare the great corporations that were
grinding down the merchants of Reno.
In fact, every town in the state.
Pittman's defense Of the railroads
took place at banquet given by the
citizens of Tonopah to the visiting
legislators. His amazing speech was
reported In the Reno Journal of Feb
ruary IL, 1907, which says:
Key Pittman, an attorney and sell
declared champion of the people,
spoke for the railroads; he said in
part What Nevada needs is a lot of
railroads, and not cheap ones. The
present railroad rates are cheap
enough, let us not lower them. Do not
prepare your railroad bills with radi-
cal provisions. The state is treated
all right by the lines which are doing
business today, and we should give
them another chance
In direct opposition to the corpor-
alton attorneys remarks, Speaker
Skaggs of the assembly cautioned the
audience against the tendency Of
some OF the prominent Nevadans to
throw down the state at critical time.
lie said that railroad regulation at the
present is imperative for the good of
the state. Skaggs favored the rate law
and the railroad commission bill. -
Throughout his campaign Mr.. Pitt
man has remained silent about this
rate question.
He has never uttered syllable
about this rate question.
lie has never uttered syllable
about the overeharge of the Southern
Pacific in its famous back haul charge,
the excess rate exacted of ever person
in Nevada, and which has been fought
for years by the people Of Nevada.
The present rates are cheap
enough, insists Pittman, and it will
be noted that he does not exclude the
back-haul charge.
Mr.. Pittman, in his tour Of the
state, failed to tell the people whether
he was then in the employ of the rail
roads to defend them and to influence,
if possible, legislation favorable to
them, or whether he pledged for high
rates because of his sincere belief in
the right of corporation to charge
what the traffic would bear
The Railroad Commission has been
a great amount of good since its or
ganization by members of the legisla-
ture whom Pittman endeavored to ca
jole into throwing over the measure,
or, at least adopting an inocuous bill
that would permit the railroads to
continue the rates then in vogue, and
denounced from time to time as
hold-ups.''
Had the legislature of 1907 accepted
Mr.. Pittman's gratiuous advice there
never would have been a railroad CON-
mission or rate bill that would have
done any service to the people Of Ne
vada.
~ would like to ask Mr.. Pittman
three questions, said prominent
Reno merchant today. "Here they are:
First-Were you paid for your
Tonopah speech advocating the cause
of the railroadss
"Second-Do you believe the pres
ent railroad rates are cheap enoughf
"Third-When did you change your
mind about the goodness of the rail-
roads and the greatness of the peo-
ples'
Mr.. Pittman has ample opportunity
to answer.