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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 30, 1902)
syndicates being formed almost en tirely of members of .the two houses , and I recollect one instance in which a demand was made on an auxiliary railroad corporation for $8,000 , and two annual passes and the two latter to bo given to an employee of the senate and his partner , who drew a certain bill and had it introduced. A repre sentative of the corporation attacked , hurried out from Chicago , and before seeing any member of the syndicate , asked me what I would advise his do ing. I advised public exposure of all the men implicated. He did not see fit to follow my advice and I was afterwards informed by a represent ative of the company that $2000 had been paid to defeat the measure. As I stated before , this was not a railroad bill , and the railroads had nothing to do with it. The foregoing is but one of several like incidents which have come within my knowledge. It has been charged , by those ignor ant of the facts , that large sums of money are paid by the railroads to defeat legislation. So far as this charge applies to any period of which I have knowledge , which covers at least the last six sessions of the legis lature , not one single dollar has ever been given to a member of the legis lature , to anybody for him , or to any member of any syndicate , for this or any other purpose of like character. Railroads Not Represented. It has always been my policy , which policy has been approved by the man agement of the Burlington road , which I have had the honor to rep resent , to furnish to the members of the legislature all possible informa tion that they may require in legisla ting upon any subject touching the interests of the railroads , relying upon the fact that a majority of the legis lators are honest men and intend , when fully informed , to do justice to the railroads as well as to any other legit imate interest. The last legislature , like its predecessors for at least five sessions , contained within its mem bership practically representatives of most of the chief industries and pro fessions existing or practiced in the state. Among its members were man agers of farms , ranches , stores , mills , factories , banks , while lawyers physi cians , teachers , mechanics and insur ance men helped to make up the body. Yet of its entire membership of 188 not one man connected with the manage ment of any portion of the 5,884 miles of railroad in Ne braska entering all but six of the counties of the state , built at a cost of many millions of dollars , paying in 1900 taxes to the amount of $1,109,474 , giving employment to 14,858 men , to whom are paid yearly salaries aggre gating more than $8,000,000 , has had \ a voice in the deliberations upon the floor of either house or a vote upon any measure upon which it lias been called to act. This fact is referred to simply to direct your attention to the further fact that it is only by appear ing by representatives before the leg islative committees , that the roads can make known to the legislature the views of their management upon proposed legislation affecting their in terests. The friends , to whom I have con fided the details of some of the schemes that outside lobbyists have undertaken to make money out of , have said : "Why don't you expose them. ' ' My answer has invariably been that I had never taken any pains to conceal any knowledge I possessed on the subject , or to shield or excuse any man connected with the nefarious business. At the last session of the legislature one of the miscellaneous corporations did accuse a couple of outside lobbyists of procuring the in troduction of several bills of this character , and instead of meeting the approval of the legislature as they had expected they would , the story was at once started that the corpora tion itself had stood behind the intro duction of the bills'and had made the exposure in bad faith , for the purpose of bringing into bad repute any bill affecting that corporation. A railroad man entrusted with the care of the great properties represent ed by the railroad systems in this state , would be culpable indeed should he not do all in his power , in a legiti mate way , to protect his stockholders against the onslaughts upon their property made for mere political pur poses , or in furtherance of the money making schemes of private individu als. At a republican state convention some years ago , the then attorney general of the state stood in the corri dor of the Capital hotel importuning the delegates to the convention to vote for the nomination of a certain man as judge of the supreme court , on the plea that he was "against the rail roads. " The case was one in which the railroads felt entirely justified in trying to prevent his nomination , as were also the cases of the six state senators previously referred to , who formed a combine for extorting money from corporations , and I am happy testate state that not one of the six were nominated for a second term , although all were candidates for renomination. Railroad and Private Property. In closing , permit me to say that the political interests of the railroads are best subserved by the election of honest and capable men to all the offices within the state. The railroads are best served by that legislation which fosters the growth and develop- meut of its varied agricultural and commercial possibilities. Whenever a mile of railroad is built in Nebraska , somebody's land is made more valu able , and the number of his conveni ences and comforts increased. When ever a quarter section of Nebraska prairie is turned into a productive farm , some railroad is benefited by the receipt of new business. All citizens of Nebraska should feel the same de gree of pride in its splendid railroads and their unexcelled equipment and service , that the managers of the road feel in its rich and beautiful farms , its sleek herds , its crcat packing houses , its thriving cities and numer ous varied manufactories. All these are the products of the joint efforts of the railroads and people , and every interest , in its effort jfor expansion and betterment , owes to all others , fair , unprejudiced treatment , and willing co-operation. No legitimate interest in Nebraska or elsewhere can prosper if it becomes the oppressor of other legitimate interests. This applies as well to the treatment of railroads by the people as that accorded to their patrons by the roads ; their interests 1 are so closely interwoven that neither can prosper without mutual benefit , or suffer without mutual loss. J THE EXPOSITION. Why is St. Louis in such unnecessary haste to give her-great fair next year ? We have waited a hundred years to pay any respect to the Louisiana Purchase ; we can wait one more without strain , if a better show can be arranged for 1904 than for 1903. The management seem to be in two minds as to this matter . /themselves ; one day we read that the fair is to be deferred , the next day the story is contradicted. We rather hope they will put it off. Fifteen months is a short time to or ganize anything to compare with the Columbian Exposition of Chicago. To tell the truth , it seems impossible. Mr. Francis says the buildings can be got ready , and he no doubt speaks from knowledge ; if enough money is at hand , there is no limit to the number of men that can be put to work ; but how about the exhibits ? To speak with any degree of confidence of them suggests unpleasantly that the same old goods we have seen so often are lying somewhere in packing boxes , ready to be shipped to the next ad dress. This would be discouraging. We have been looking for something new at St. Louis. Chicago opem d our eyes , took us off our feet ; has not St. Louis been promising to do as much for us again ? And how can the im mense complexity of auniversal display bo solicited , obtained and arranged in fifteen months ? They admit at once that foreign displays will be out of the question ; and how about getting together an extensive art exhibit in a year and a quarter ?