adopting it. We ought not to allow the directors of companies to be continually annoyed by persons for passes; just as the judge has gone upon the bench who was to try a cause in which the railroad company was a party, he has been tendered his pass, and after the jury were called to the bar and they were challenged four jurors had free passes in their pockets, and they had been called to sit upon a jury in which the railroad company was a party! Now, Mr. President, I know the evil that this system is working. It is ruinous to shareholders; it is ruinous to the morals of the country. It has demoralized the Legislature, and I for one trust that this Convention will vote down the amendment and unanimously adopt the section that has been offered by the gentleman from Philadelphia. Mr. CARTER. Mr. President: I hardly suppose that the gentleman from Mont gomery (Mr. Corson) was in earnest in the expression he made of the hope that he had that this section would be voted down unanimously. I hope it will be voted in unanimously, and I think it would do the Convention vastly more credit than the other course. If this was a matter in which only the interests of the railroads were concerned, and not the public at large, it would be something, perhaps, not fit to introduce into the fundamental law, but we have reason to believe that it has had a deteriorating influence upon the public, and that it has been abused. The gentleman from Indiana says that free passes have had no bad effect, and never will have any such effect. I can scarcely believe that he is serious. I can scarcely believe it possible. So far as the money value of the pass goes it is an indirect bribe or inducement held out for favorable consideration. The gentleman from Centre (Governor Curtin) mentioned to me, sometime back, that he had known as many as thirty passes given to each of the members of the Legislature and Senators. These were matters of familiar knowledge, and it is idle to attempt to justify the practice. Mr. HARRY WHITE. Allow me to interrupt the gentleman. May I ask the delegate whether he, as a member of this Convention, has accepted and traveled on a free pass or not? Mr. CARTER. You may ask that with perfect safety. I have not; nor have I used any; I thought it was proper for me to return my passes and I did so. Mr. HARRY WHITE. I am satisfied. Mr. CARTER. What I did or did not do does not matter. I only say it is a matter of notoriety that passes have been given and given extensively in cases where thought to be useful. As I was saying, the gentleman from Centre stated that he had known between thirty and forty passes given to each member. These possessed a certain market value and no doubt were supposed by the donors to be well applied. Will gentlemen say that there was nothing corrupt in that? I do not say that those individuals were corrupted by it, or at least influenced, or they were more than human, and it was unquestionably of a corrupting character. It could not be otherwise in the nature of things, and therefore it does concern us that if we wish to purify the legislative bodies, if we wish to keep pure the judiciary, that we remove this temptation. I think it is eminently proper this thing should be done. The instance was referred to of the Emperor of Russia, and it was sneered at as taken from one of those despotic dynasties, as the gentleman from Montgomery termed them. I apprehend that we can copy what is good from any source with propriety. Mr. BIDDLE. Certainly; "business is business:" Mr. CARTER. It is a good example; and the source from which this amendment came, the most excellent delegate from Philadelphia, who sits behind me, (Mr. Knight,) having known and seen the necessity of such an enactment, entitles it to consideration. It may not answer all the purposes intended, but unquestionably it is a movement in the right direction. I hope, therefore, that it it will pass. One word more. The late delegate from Philadelphia, (Mr. Gowen,) among certain reforms in reference to railroads which he said it was the duty of this body to pass, specified this matter of free passes as one of them. No doubt he had seen the abuses of the system, and was desirous to correct them. Mr. SIMPSON, I shall vote for the amendment of the gentleman from Indiana, because if this inflexible rule is to be put in the Constitution it should bear alike upon every human being; there should be no exception to the rule. If the employees and officers of a railroad company are required to travel on the road, the company can furnish them with tick ets and charge them to expenses, and there should be no device and no means by which any human being could travel free of charge on the railroads. If it is to be put in the Constitution, let us make it so inflexible that it cannot be evaded or escaped from under any circumstances. Unless you adopt the amendment of the gentleman from Indiana, you will have railroad companies who want to avoid this provision employing thousands and tens of thousands of persons to do trivial work for the mere purpose of furnishing them the means of riding on their road free. The PRESIDENT pro tem. The question is on the amendment of the delegate from Indiana (Mr. Harry White) to the amendment of the delegate from Philadelphia, (Mr. Knight,) to strike out the words, "except officers and employees." Mr. BOYD. On that question I call for the yeas and nays. The yeas and nays were ordered, ten delegates rising to second the call, and being taken resulted as follows: YEAS. Messrs. Baer, Bailey, (Huntingdon,) Boyd, Broomall, Brown, Campbell, Corbett, Corson, Edwards, Fulton, Gilpin, Green, Guthrie, Hanna, Hunsicker, Lear, Lilly, MacConnell, M'Murray, Mann, Patterson, T. H. B., Purman, Purviance, Sam'l A., Russell, Simpson, White, Harry and White, J. W. F.-27. NAYS. Messrs. Alricks, Baily, (Perry,) Bannan, Barclay, Biddle, Bigler, Black, Charles A., Brodhead, Buckalew, Calvin, Carter, Cochran, Cronmiller, Curtin, Dallas, De France, Elliott, Ewing, Funck, Hall, Harvey, Hay, Horton, Howard, Kaine, Knight, Lamberton, Landis, M'Culloch, Mantor, Newlin, Niles, Patton, Read, John R., Reed, Andrew, Reynolds, Rooke, Smith, H. G., Smith, Henry W., Smith, Wm. H., Temple, Turrell, Van Reed, Walker, Wherry, White, David N. and Worrell-47. Hazzard, Hemphill, Heverin, Lawrence, Littleton, Long, MacVeagh, M'Camant, M'Clean, Metzger, Minor, Mitchell, Mott, Palmer, G. W., Palmer, H. W., Parsons, Patterson, D. W., Porter, Pughe, Parviance, John N., Ross, Runk, Sharpe, Stanton, Stewart, Struthers, Wetherill, J. M., Wetherill, Jno. Price, Woodward, Wright and Meredith, President-59. Mr. HARRY WHITE. I move to amend the amendment, by adding after the word "company," the words "traveling on the business of such company," so as to read: "No railroad company shall grant free passes or passes at a discount to any person, except officers or employees of the company traveling on the business of such company." Mr. KAINE and others called for a division on agreeing to the amendment. Mr. HARRY WHITE. Before a division is called or a vote is taken, I submit that if we are sincere in this matter and want to except officers and employees, this expression should be included. It is perfectly reasonable and proper. I submit road companies, traveling in palace cars that there are gentlemen, officers of railand indulging in luxuries that the stockholders of such companies cannot indulge in. Mr. KAINE. I have just a word to say in reply to the gentleman from Indiana. A pass is given by a railroad company to one of its employees. He proposes to insert an amendment there that the employee shall only use that pass when he is traveling on the business of the company. How are you to make that definition? Are you going to leave it to the employee to say "now I am going on business of the company and I will use this pass," and "now I am going on my own business, and I will pay my way." How is the officer or conductor of the road to know anything of that kind? The thing is utterly impossible. Several DeleGATES. Swear him. Mr. BUCKALEW. I desire to say a few words upon the main question, as I per So the amendment to the amendment ceive we are to have debate pending was rejected. ABSENT.-Messrs. Achenbach, Addicks, Ainey, Andrews, Armstrong, Baker, Bardsley, Bartholomew, Beebe, Black, J. S., Bowman, Bullitt, Carey, Cassidy, Church, Clark, Collins, Craig, Curry, Cuyler, Darlington, Davis, Dodd, Dunning, Ellis, Fell, Finney, Gibson, amendments, and I may as well say what I desire now. I intended originally to vote against this proposition abolishing free passes; but I have changed my mind, and now, being one of those who intend to vote against this proposition—— Mr. M'MURRAY. I rise to a point of order. Is it in order to discuss the question now while the vote is being taken and a pannelled in our courts; and upon men division called for? The PRESIDENT pro tem. A division was called for. Mr. M'MURRAY. When the vote is being taken, I submit whether discussion is in order. The yeas and The PRESIDENT pro tem. nays were not called for. from Columbia is in order. Mr. BUCKALEW. I say, sir, that now, being classed among the supporters of this proposition, I appeal to its friends to keep all amendments off. It is obviously intended by putting amendments on this proposition to break it down. Of course, that will be the ultimate effect. By the section itself we have a simple rule, that railroad companies shall not issue free passes unless to their officers and employees, of course while they are in their employment or officers of the company; and if there is any abuse, we must leave it to the Legislature to correct it. are But I undertake to say that this amendment will be one of the most acceptable amendments that you can propose to the railroad companies themselves. The officers of railroad companies now harassed, absolutely harassed with applications from all quarters for free passes, and so long as the fashion of issuing them is permitted to exist at all, the harass ment of railroad companies will continue, and they will be obliged to do more than the interests of their own stockholders require, under this general system of favoritism. I believe that every well regulated railroad company in the State will rejoice in accepting, along with their fellow citizens, an amendment of this kind. It will not only relieve them from great abuses in the management of their own companies by ending the issuing these passes on the principle of favoritism, but it will also protect the interest of the stockholders and relieve the companies from a great deal of public odium which now attends upon the pass system; and while that is the aspect of the question as to the railroad companies themselves, it will be about the same as to the great mass of the community outside of those organizations. The amendment will be very acceptable to the people, and they will accept it as a proclamation against the exercise of a species of illegitimate influence of railroad companies, not only upon members of the Legislature but upon the judges of our courts, upon the jurymen who are im the Commonwealth who apparently are of high influence and position throughout porations by the issuing of these passes subsidized to some extent by these corto them. views that honorable railroad companies Taking into account that these are the and the general public will hold upon this subject, I believe this to be one of the most popular amendments which we can place in the Constitution. fect measure in itself, and that there will Yet I can perceive that it is an imperbe various modes of evading it to some extent. You must permit the issuing of commutation tickets, and they may be issued at nominal rates if the railroads choose, and in other respects to some extent the operation of this amendment rely to some extent upon the interest may be avoided. But as to that you can of the railroad companies and their stockThis will be to some considerable extent holders against the issuing of free passes. a security against attempted evasions. Mr. TEMPLE. Mr. President: I have not uttered a word since the railroad resire to say that I was in favor of this report has been under consideration. I deform when this subject was before the Convention before; but, like the distinguished delegate from Columbia, I have it is for this reason that I desire to exchanged my mind upon this subject; and press my views in about a dozen words before the vote is taken. The reason I shall vote against this proposition is that I believe it to be a blind only for the purpose of giving a railroad corporation an opportunity to refuse railroad passes to the citizens at large, whereas they can issue them to politicians and legislators and others in authority, without stint. delegates upon this floor that it is a mere leaving the business interests and the form in this respect, when it really has Price, Woodward, Wright and Meredith, effected nothing. I do not believe in such a reform, and I say to delegates upon this floor if this be an abuse at all, which I do not undertake to say here, so far as legislators are concerned, it is traceable directly to the corporations themselves. The PRESIDENT pro tem. The question is on the amendment of the delegate from Indiana (Mr. Harry White) to the amendment of the delegate from the city (Mr. Knight.) President-59. The PRESIDENT protem. The question recurs on the amendment of the delegate from Philadelphia (Mr. Knight.) Mr. CAMPBELL. I move to amend the amendment, by striking out all after the word "section" and inserting the following: "No corporation engaged in the business of a common carrier shall permit the gratuitous transportation over the road or canal owned or controlled by it of any Mr. HARRY WHITE. I call for the person except its own officers and emyeas and nays. ployees." Ten members rose to second the call. The PRESIDENT pro tem. The call is sustained. That is stronger than the section offered by the gentleman from Philadelphia (Mr. Knight.) It is substantially the see The question was taken by yeas and tion reported by the Railroad Committee. nays with the following result: YEAS. Messrs. Alricks, Baer, Baily, (Perry,) Broomall, Campbell, Corbett, Corson, Cronmiller, Edwards, Fulton, Gilpin, Guthrie, Hanna, Howard, Hunsicker, Lilly, MacConnell, M'Culloch, M'Murray, Mann, Mantor, Patterson, T. H. B., Patton, Purviance, Sam'l A., Read, John R., Russell, Simpson, Smith, Henry W., White, David N., White, Harry and White, J. W. F.-31. NAYS. Messrs. Bailey, (Huntingdon,) Bannan, Barclay, Biddle, Bigler, Black, Chas. A., Boyd, Brodhead, Brown, Buckalew, Bullitt, Calvin, Carter, Cochran, Curtin, Dallas, De France, Elliott, Ewing, Funck, Green, Hall, Harvey, Hay, Horton, Kaine, Knight, Lamberton, Landis, Newlin, Niles, Purman, Reed, Andrew, Reynolds, Rooke, Smith, H. G., Smith, Wm. H., Temple, Turrell, Van Reed, Walker, Wherry and Worrell-43. So the amendment to the amendment was rejected. ABSENT.-Messrs. Achenbach, Addicks, Ainey, Andrews, Armstrong, Baker, Bardsley, Bartholomew, Beebe, Black, J. S., Bowman, Carey, Cassidy, Church, Clark, Collins, Craig, Curry, Cuyler, Darlington, Davis, Dodd, Dunning, Ellis, Fell, Finney, Gibson, Hazzard, Hemphill, Heverin, Lawrence, Lear, Littleton, Long, MacVeagh, M'Camant, M'Clean, Metzger, Minor, Mitchell, Mott, Palmer, G. W., Palmer, H. W., Parsons, Patterson, D. W., Porter, Pughe, Purviance, John N., Ross, Runk, Sharpe, Stanton, Stewart, Struthers, Wetherill, J. M., Wetherill, J. 1 like the formation of it better, and it will prevent any possibility of the railroad company evading this prohibition. I propose to call for the yeas and nays upon it. Mr. NILES. I should like to inquire if the amendment of the gentleman from Philadelphia will allow an employee to ride upon a gravel train? It seems to me it will not. Mr. CAMPBELL. Yes, it will. Mr. KNIGHT. I do not think the amendment is as strong as the proposition I offered. The language of my sec tion is that there shall be no ticket issued at a discount. The amendment does not cover that point. Mr. COCHRAN. The amendment offered by the gentleman from Philadelphia, (Mr. Campbell,) and which is now pending, was considered in the Committee on Railroads, and was reported in this form. I think it is probably better expressed than the one originally offered by the other gentleman from Philadelphia, (Mr. Knight,) and I certainly prefer the form of expression of that amendment to that of the original amendment. It differs from it in extending also to poor and indigent persons. Mr. CAMPBELL. I call for the yeas and nays on the amendment to the amendment. The yeas and nays were ordered, ten delegates rising to second the call. Mr. CARTER. Let it be read. The CLERK read the amendment to the amendment. Mr. KNIGHT. Now, I should like to say one word. It will be observed that the language of that amendment is that no railroad shall permit of gratuitous transportation. The language of my amendment is that the tickets shall not be free or sold at a discount. If a man can get a ticket for a five cent piece, it is not gratuitous; he pays something for it. I do not think the amendment is in any way a substitute for the one offered by myself. The PRESIDENT pro tem. The yeas and nays have been ordered, and the Clerk will call the roll. Mr. CAMPBELL. I withdraw my amendment and will vote for the amendment of the gentleman from Philadelphia, as there seems to be some difference of opinion on the subject. The PRESIDENT pro tem. The question then recurs on the amendment of the delegate from the city (Mr. Knight.) Mr. HANNA. 1 move to amend the amendment by adding the following: "And shall provide every purchaser of a ticket with a seat in the cars of said company and with ice in the water cool[Laughter.] ers." Mr. CAMPBELL. I hope such nonsense as that will be voted down at once. Mr. EWING. I submit that that is not in order. The PRESIDENT pro tem. The amendment to the amendment is not in order. The question is on the amendment of the delegate from the city (Mr. Knight.) Mr. CAMPBELL. On that question I call for the yeas and nays. The yeas and nays were ordered, ten delegates rising to second the call, and being taken resulted as follows: YEAS. Messrs. Alricks, Baer, Baily, (Perry,) Bailey, (Huntingdon,) Barclay, Biddle, Bigler, Black, Charles A., Boyd, Brodhead, Broomall, Buckalew, Calvin, Campbell, Carter, Cochran, Cronmiller, Curtin, Dallas, De France, Edwards, Ewing, Fulton, Funck, Gilpin, Green, Guthrie, Hall, Heverin, Horton, Howard, Kaine, Knight, Lamberton, Landis, MacConnell, M'Clean, M'Culloch, M'Murray, Mann, Mantor, Newlin, Patterson, T. H. B., Patton, Pur man, Purviance, Samuel A., Read, John R., Reed, Andrew, Reynolds, Rooke, Russell, Smith, H. G., Smith, Henry W., Smith, Wm. H., Turrell, Van Reed, Walker, Wherry, White, David N., White, J. W. F. and Worrell-62. NAYS. Messrs. Armstrong, Bannan, Bullitt, Corbett, Corson, Elliott, Hanna, Harvey, 45-Vol. VI. Hay, Hunsicker, Lilly, Niles, Simpson, Mr. COCHRAN. I offer the following as a new section, to come in at this place: issued to any passenger by any railroad "Every ticket except excursion tickets company shall entitle the holder of such ticket to transportion over the works of such company from his place of departure to his place of destination, either by continuous train or by any other train on which the same rate of fare is charged, without any additional charge or subjecting him to any inconvenience because of his stopping off at intermediate points." I merely wish to say that this is the same form which I offered as an amendment to the section proposed by the gentleman from Philadelphia this morning, and I withdrew it in order that he might have his section voted on 'without any embarrassments. I ask that this may be considered and disposed of, and I ask for the yeas and nays on its passage. Mr. BRODHEAD. I rise to a question of order. That having been already voted down, is out of order now. The PRESIDENT pro tem. It was withdrawn, not voted down. Mr. BRODHEAD. A similar section was voted on. Mr. HOWARD. It was voted down in committee of the whole in connection with the same subject offered by the del-. egate from Philadelphia, (Mr. Knight,) but has not been considered at all at this stage. Mr. CAMPBELL. I call for the yeas and nays. Mr. CALVIN. I second the call. The PRESIDENT pro tem. Do ten members rise to second the call? More than ten members rose. |