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Some Stubborn Fact*.*Editor RECORD:♦‘Little Johnny Hornor sn Sat In a cornerin Eating a Christmas pie.i- He put in his thumb.And pulled out a plum,And says what a great man am 1. ’ ’Q. If Coroner Hornor was on trial for malfeasance in office in refusing to hold an inquest over the killing of Mr. Chevalier by a Santa Fe train, his ca communication in the Record would furnish enough circumstantial evidence to convict him. When I wrote the article signed ‘Ttaxpayer” I was in some doubts as to the extent of his y obligations to the Santa Fe Railroad ze Co. for free passes over their road, or in their employ as their physician, his assertion that he would not hold an inquest over Mr. Chevalier though v- every man in Lawrence should sign a n request for him to do so,was evidence to me that the Santa Fe Railroad Co. had the same hold upon him that ol they have upon many other county 3d and state officials, but not knowing it toj be a fact when I wrote my communication I did not assert it. When he displayed such an amount of exces-i- aive indignation in his eommunica-at tionl could not help coming to the ,e conclusion that he was in the * same predicament as the woman of soiled reputation who paraded the i© streets with a placard on her back on r- which was written “I am an honest woman.” Before the county coroner published his placard I was aware ofhis immense social and political im-portance. The fact of his being a ■m coroner was proof of that. I am now u willing to admit that he is the biggest man of the nineteenth century, yea ua bigger man than old Grant” but am not willing to admit that that gives him in fee simple a title to all the people in Douglas county. Notwithstanding his immensity he is the U representative of the people.Not the people. On this point our worthy coroner is a little off. He 10 may transfer himself to the Santa Fe railroad company in eonsidera-v~ tion of an annual pass or for one dol-n lar, but I cannot see where he gets the right to transfer the people of f90 this county. When he says that he he would not hold an inquest though every man in Law-3, rence should ask him to, ed he virtually repeats in spirit if not in words, the saying of W. K. Yander-a. bilt, “Thepeople be d d! what arein they going to do about it?” It is a lamentable fact that the Santa Fe . Railroad 'Company has more influ-18 ence over our law makers, and state IU and county officials than is warranted by the interests of the tax payers of ,r‘ the state. If Dr. Hornor does not *** ride on a free pass he is an exception to the rule. He can get one by an-m1 plying for it. He has earned it. In at these matters the Santa Fe Railroad Company is not niggardly. Before ig be gets it, however,lie may be asked ig to sign a contract of which the fol-i. lowing is a copy; r„ Atchison, Topeka Santa Fe ][u. Railroad Company, y)n Topeka, Kas., Jan. 1891. JReceived a time pass good on the u A. T. S. F. railroad in Kansas for I? the year A. D. 1891, in consideration I of which I as coroner of Douglas 8 countv in the state of Kansas do hereby agree not to hold an inquest on n* the dead body of any man, woman or p child killed by any train of the said ry A, T. S. F. railroad company in Douglas county, if I have a reason to 1(1 believe that a coroner’s jury in such a_ case would hold the offici Is or opera-id tives of said rcwd guilty of negligence lt* in causing the \leath of such person.--—jCoroner of Douglas County, Kansas. Id This contract is the kind of collar no that the county officials who ride on ui- free passes wear. If this kind of con-ig tract is signed and sealed by county lie officials* in other counties and I know ►le it to be a fact. The question natur-Highest of all in Leavening Powwatching and a dishonest one needs watching, and the only way the peo- E pie have of judging them is by their actions. From that standpoint I judge Dr. Hornor. This railroad con- *-trol of the state and county officials S is a serious matter. Let us sum up to the case in a dispassionate manner and see how it looks.As^soon as a man is elected to any A office where his official duties require * him to interfere in any way with the o business or operations of the rail* P roads of the state he is furnished with p passes over the road. Be he county h clerk, treasurer, coroner or judge, it P is all the same. The state officials and ? editors of newspapers are supplied ft with passes, and every man in an offi- tl cial position who accepts of a pass aaccepts a bribe and nothing • else can be made of it. * It is a valuable consideration b and is given on account of his official s position. Members of the state administration are crammed with passes before they get to the capital. 1 They are wined and dined by the ^ railroad officials. All this attention g is for a purpose. The governor’s Big- Knature is necessary to make effective ° an act of the legislature. The state o officials are the railroad assessors. sj When the time comes to make the t] assessment they are put into Pullman si cars (on which no taxes are paid) and lc hauled over the road with porters. fj cigars and champaign are furnished o by the railroad companies and at the t] end of the trip tb'ey practically accept £1 the statement prepared by the rail- r road clerks and the work is done. There is no appeal. The board of r railroad assessors and the board of \i equalization are composed of the 11 same men and while the valuation of ^ farms and stores can be put up at p pleasure, the sacred belongings of the P railroad companies must not be in- a terfered with by the people. If the d devil himself had been called upon to £ invent a scheme to compass the rob- J bery of the people in the interest of o the railroads he could not have hit on tj a more diabolical one than this. They j,rob us with impunity and commit c manslaughter on our citizens and * nothing is said. tlIn view of these facts it is not w,ise u in us to assume that the people are a mob who have nothing to do with making the laws and that their bus!- -ness is to obey them after they have been made by the railroad corporations. They have shown very effectually in their political action last year that if they don’t fully understand the workings of the railroad political machinery there are plenty of | men who are willing to instruct them I even though some of them have a sur- £ plus of hair—and others a scarcity of a socks, and it looks very much as if b the end was not yet. - ^ ■ SFacts are stubborn things—and the a' people will not shut their eyes to ti them even though the party leaders JJ would have them do it. In the lan- ti guage of Senator Ingalls, “The Re- u publican party of this county and ^ State must adopt the live issues of a' the day and not depend on dead is- dlt; sues and sentiment.” JJJ. H^Shimmons. ql______ si
Newspaper Details
Lawrence Daily Record
Lawrence, Kansas, US
Mon, Jun 29, 1891
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Lawrence P.
KS, USA 24 Apr 2023
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