OCR Text |
Show CLERGYMEN CAN NOW BE CRANTED RAILROAD PASSES Any clergyman may be granted a pass on any railroad hereafler, accord-! ing to a ruling of the Interstate Commerce Com-merce commission. The following letter let-ter has been Issued by that body: The commission takes this occasion to state that the position taken by the transcontinental clergy bureau Is far in advance of anything required by the law or the rulings of the commission. com-mission. Reasonably Interpreted, the ruling to which reference Is made by the transcontinental clergy bureau can rot possibly necessitate the drastic action which it has taken. For Information Infor-mation of carriers and the general public we take this opportunity to ox-press ox-press our views in terms that It Is hoped hop-ed will not be susceptible of misconstruction. miscon-struction. ' A clergyman does not lose his ministerial min-isterial standing by reason of the lact that, he leaves the pastorate for some other field of religion activity. A minister min-ister who becomes editor or a church paper, instructor in a theological Fern-Inary, Fern-Inary, financial agent for a church or other religious Institution, or who engages en-gages In other work which may talriy be regarded as religious In character, and who does not abandon his ministerial minis-terial work, may legally be accorded special transportation privileges. The courts have been consistently liberal In giving construction to the words "charitable" and "eleemosynary," "eleemosyn-ary," and we see no reason for belnjj unduly narrow In Interpreting, these words as found In the act. A chant-able chant-able institution la one which Is administered admin-istered In the public Interest and In which the element of private gain is wanting. This dellnltlon Is broad enough en-ough to Include hospitals, almshouses, orphanages, asylums and missionary societies. This enumeration Is not Intended to be exclusive it Is "only representative. It Is important to note that such an Institution does not necessarily lose Its charitable character charac-ter by reason of tho fact that It Is under tho management of a particular denomination or s,oct or because a charge Is collected rrom some or all ot those who enjoy Its privileges. It is only necessary that it be conducted In the public interest and not tor private gain. The commission entertains no doubt that carriers subject to the act may legally grant free or reduced rate transport atlon to some persona who may be Included In any class comprehended compre-hended by rules I. 10, 11,12 and 11 ot the transcontinental clergy bureau. We can not undertake to pass upon Individual In-dividual cases. It is believed that no carrier, following the principles outlined out-lined here, need have any difficulty in determining who may be given concessions conces-sions In the matter of transportation. |