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Show FREE PASSES. Charles Francis Adams Tells All About Them. Testimony before Senate Committee.) ' Senator Piatt That (the free pass system) sys-tem) is one of the things which might be remedied by positive law about as easily as anything else. Mr. Adams How would you go to work to remedy it? Senator Piatt By forbidding the issuing issu-ing of passe. Mr. Adams If you would, in a way that will be effective, forbid the issuing I of passes, I would agree at once to make considerable reduction in our passenger rates. Senator Piatt Would you like to have it done if it could be done ? Mr. Adams Nothing would please me more. I should like to have a heavy penalty imposed. I do not, as a rule, like to work through legislation in these matters, but if you will pass a law. prohibiting pro-hibiting all free passes and subjecting to fine and imprisonment any man who signs a pass or any conductor who takes a pass up Senator Piatt Or any man who rides on a pass. . Mr. Adams (continuing) Or anv man who rides on a pass. Such a law would relieve us of one of . the greatest annoyances, annoy-ances, outrages and abuses that now exist ex-ist in connection with the railroad business. busi-ness. Our free transportation over the Union Pacific amounts to $2,000 a , Ever since I have been President of the Union Pacific I have been laboring to cut it down. It has been one of the greatest annoyances I have met with, but I have been foiled at every attempt. m The Chairman People who have been in the habit of getting them still insist upon having them. Mr. Adams They not only insist upon having them, but the pass system mixes itself up with newspapers, politics and everything. There is no reason whatever why anv one should be carried free over a railroad any more than why he should be boarded and lodged free at a hotel, drive free in public carnages, car-nages, or order goods without paving for them m shops. Yet, and especially in the West, things are getting to such a pass that no man who has money or official position or influence especially political ornewsDarjer inflnnnpo fkir.! u u v-w iuao UC UUglll to pay anything for riding on a railroad. The company which .flings about passes r.ght and leftis "liberal?' the company which refuses to do so is "stin " and it shall be assuredly be made "hot" for it when the Legislature meets. That a large per centage" of those who travel pay nothing noth-ing merely means that the rest have to IZTT is inconceivable inconceiv-able to what an extent this pass system has gone. You cannot understand what an outrage it is upon the railroads and upon the body of the public. I do not hes,tate tosaythat, in my opinion, ten-percent ten-percent or more has to be charged to those who do pay fares to make up for those who do not. ,; . |