Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-07-14
Fifty Years Ago
In The Star
Continuing its fight against special
privileges to railroads within this city.

Continuing its tight against special
privileges to railroads within this city.
The Star prints the
The Wolf and following editorial In its
the omb issue Of July IL, 1890:
"A few papers in
cities directly Influenced by the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad have taken up the cudgels
for the Atkinson bill and repeat, parrot
like. the railroads formula, to the effect
that this is only freight measure OF
childlike simplicity and innocence, sur
passed In harmlessness and In offensive
ness only by the road itself, which per-
verse and unprogressive Washington
brutality abuses and 'pexsecutes'. To
those who know the real relations bee
tween the Capital and the corporation
nothing could be more ludicrous than to
picture the city as the tyrant and the
railroad as q suffering martyr with q
fully developed halo.
Nothing is recorded in literature or
history which can fairly be compared
with the roads complaint Of persecution
by the Capital, unless 1t is the grieved
outcry of the wolf in Aesop's Fables, who,
coming downstream, met the lamb COM
ing upstream, and, seeking pretext to
devour her, charged her with muddying
the water that flowed under his lips.
THE road has never been required to
pay a cent for right of way in the city
and the use of public reservation for
station site was loaned to it. In return
for these favors the road has disre-
garded the law and while engaged in
lawbreaking has injured property and
destroyed life. The people have not
stepped over the bounds of the law even
in retaliation. They have not illegally
destroyed foot Of this railroads illegal
tracks or even threatened such destruc-
ton. The people have prosecuted this
road only by appealing to the law for
protection against 1t.
1.-THE road has occupied streets and
reservations in a manner and for pur-
poses not warranted by its charter. It
has converted itself at times into public
nuisance. 1t has Illegally interfered
with domestic comfort, with the instruc-
ton Of youth in the schools, with the
worship of God In the churches. A few
Of its victims have appealed to the courts
and after long and expensive litigation
have obtained judgments. At each re-
covery Of inadequate reimbursement for
damage which 1t had illegally inflicted
the road has emitted q grievous cry OF
persecution. It has ignored the laws
which limit its rate OF speed within the
city and has not fully observed those
which provide for guarding the grade
crossings.
I'm some Of the cases in which it has
illegally destroyed life or property 1t has
been sued or indicted and again the
mournful lamentation of the abused cor
poration has filled the air. It has used
the streets, inextensively but illegally, for
freight and storage purposes, and when
indicted for this nuisance of the resulting
obstruction it has assumed once more
the role of the prosecuted. It bought a
little piece of property, OF its chartered
line, and in violation of the law at
tempted to reach this property with
tracks, illegally crossing and obstruct-
ing the thoroughfare leading across the
Long Bridge. and when checked by citi-
zens and the Supreme Court Of the
United States the su11erings were akin
to those Of the early Christian martyrs.
Not content with the public property Of
which the free use is granted, it seized
and occupied with sidetracks other prop
erty of the United States, including six
small reservations to which the commits
sioner Of public grounds laid claim for
the United States and for the occupa-
ton of which it has been indicted. Again
the cry Of persecution and appeal to
Congress to protect it from Uncle Sam,
who has only asked for his own.
Spending large sums Of money in
other cities to save life by the removal
Of grade crossings, 1t has not spent .
single cent since the building Of its line
for that purpose here, and when the
people take advantage Of its application
to Congress for favors to ask simple JUS
tice in requirements which win decrease
granddaughter and adorn the city, the air
u ct once filed with the cry Of persecu.
ton b. unprogressive Warrington. Il