“The law which makes it a misdemeanor for any individual not an officer of a railway company to use a pass was enacted by Congress and approved by the President 18 years ago, and as an individual rule of action it was ignored by the congressmen who passed it and by the President who approved it; and subsequent congressmen and presidents, with rare exceptions, have ignored its provisions. Travelling, they present the evidence of their misdemeanor before the eyes of the public in a way which indicates no regard for the law. The governors of the States, many of the judges,—in short, all officialdom from the highest to the lowest,—the higher clergy, college professors, editors, merchants, bankers, lawyers, present the evidence of their misdemeanor in the same manner.” As we shall see presently, there are other forms of passenger discrimination, such as the free private car, the rate war, etc. But neither of these nor the selling of tickets below the normal rates through scalpers, constitutes so inequitable or dangerous a form of discrimination as the pass system. As Hadley says: “The really serious form of passenger discrimination is the free-pass system. It is a serious thing, not so much on account of the money involved, as on account of the state of the public morals which it indicates (and develops). When passes are given as a matter of mere favoritism, it is bad enough. When they are given as a means of influencing legislation, it is far worse. Yet this last form of corruption has become so universal that people cease to regard it as corrupt. Public officials and other men of influence are ready to expect and claim free transportation as a right. To all intents and purposes they use their position to levy blackmail against the railroad companies.”[15]