The railroad commission in one of our giant States says the fact “that for the most part passes are given to official persons for the purpose of influencing official conduct, is made manifest by the fact that they are not given to such persons except while they hold official positions.”[6] The president of an important railroad is stated to have said that he “saved his company thousands of dollars a year by giving annual passes to county auditors.” And a man who had been auditor for many years said that the taxes of the —— railroad company were increased about $20,000 a year because it was so stingy with its passes.[7] Members of legislatures and of Congress have told me that after voting against railroad measures the usual passes were not forthcoming. A little while before the introduction of the rate legislation now pending, in pursuance of President Roosevelt’s regulative policy, a congressman from the Far West was visiting with us. He had free transportation for himself and family anywhere in the United States any time he wanted it. A lady in the family asked him if it was the same way with the rest of the congressmen, and he said “Yes.” I have in my notes conversations with senators and representatives from eighteen States, and all of them stated, in reply to my questions, that passes were an established and regular part of the perquisites of a member of Congress. But since the Esch-Townsend bill for the fixing of rates by a government commission came on deck, I understand that the congressmen who supported it are learning the lesson conveyed in the pass-denying letter above quoted, as some of the railroads are refusing all the requests of such congressmen for free transportation. The president of one of these railroads is reported to have said: “I never was in favor of granting political transportation, and now I have a good opportunity to cut off some of these deadheads. Transportation has been given them in the past on the theory that they were friends, but when we needed friends they were not there.” This, however, is only a passing phase—an emergency measure to punish a few congressmen who have shown so little appreciation of the right of the railroads to make the laws affecting transportation, that they actually voted for what they deemed right or for what the people desired, rather than for what the railroads wanted. Aside from such little eddies, the great stream of dead-headism flows on as smooth and deep as ever. The people take the thing so much as a matter of course that it has been a constant cause of surprise to passengers on the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad to see Governor Douglas pay his fare day by day as he travelled to and fro on an ordinary commutation ticket.