Smith's (?) Mileage Ticket Case

Ever since the "congressional bee" bas been buzzing around in the bat of H. C. Smith, of Adrián, tnat gentleman and his organ, the Adrián Times, have been londly proclaiming his wonderfnl legal aohieveinent in winning out in the snpreme conrt in the famons ruileage ticket oase, whieh was oarried on nnder the title of "Smith vs. the Lake Shore & Miohipan Southern Railway Co.," by wbioh proceedings Atfrorney General Maynard attemptd to compel the railroad company to sell a tbousand-mile ticket, good for a man and bis family, and Henry has, ever since his nomination, been telling the farmers and laboring men that bis snccess in tb is case has been their only salvation - joyfal tidings to those people who are constantly bnying tiokets in tbonsand-mile chnnks. No one wonld qnestion Mr. Smith 's Tigbt to boast over tbis notable legal viotory, nor begrudge him the privilege of appropriating the glory in sncb a telling manner for thaaid of his congressional aspirations if the facts warranted. bnt carefnl investigation fails to reveal how hecan consistently claim any credit for the viotory or wherein he is the philantropist that he claims to be. In the fall of 1893, Mr. Smith applied at the Lake Sbore ticket offioe in Adrián for a thonsand-mile ticket, good for himself and wife. who was at this time taking treatment in a Cleveland hospital and had occasion to make frequent visits to that oity. The ticket was denied him, and Oot. 20, of that year a petitiou was flled in the oircnit conrt by him, praying for a mandamos to oompel the issuance of the tioket. The matter was then postponed, bnt ■wbether the postponement was dne to tbe fact that the Wabash raihvay company informed Mr. Smith, who was then and is now its attorney, that they did not like to have its attorneys commenoing snits of tbis oharacter against other railroads, or that his wife was traveliug to and from Cleveland on a Lake Shore pass, granted af ter the snit had been oommenoed, we are nnable to say; at any rate the matter was indefinitely postponed. Some time after the oommencement of these proceedings, the legislatnre of the state of Miohigan anthorised the attorney general to bring snit against the Lake Shore road to determine the validity and extent of its charter. In looking aronnd for an opportunity for a test case, the attorney general disoovered this snit of Smith 's and tried to get him to revive it Mr. Smitb refnsed to do this nnless the state wonld employ his firm. This was finally agreed to, and the oase was argned, Nov. 16, 1895, by Attorney General Maynard and K. A. Watts, of the firm of Watts, Bean & Smith, and the state paid this firm a fee of $800 and expenses, whioh the records of the auditor general's office will show. Ontside of tbe use of his name as complainant, Smith had no more to do with tbis case than the governor of the Fiji Islands. Even thongh Reformer Smith had personally condnoted his oase, he ' ceived bis pay for it frora tho taxpayers ! of the state of Michigan, aud we would like to enqnire who wonld not be a reformer at the rate of $300 per reform? - Hndson Qazette. - - - - - Whitiug, our candidate for governor, favors eqnal and lower taxation while Pingree favors eqnal aud higher taxation. The Grass Lake News oontains the following: "I have got Washtenaw oonnty repnblioaDism by the gallet and I know it. William Jndson. '" In these days of demagogism it ís astonisbing how lit-tle it takes to ruake a statesman. - Ypsilantian. In these days of Pingreeism anything goes that has the Pingree "OK" on its back. Senator Hanna is saiü to be trying to raise 2, 000,000 as a oampaign fnndto save the repnblioans the house of represen tatives. A money campaign is abont the only kind Hanna seerus to know how to rnn. If the oorporations hav been given too many privileges in Michigan, what party passed the lawsV There is not a law on the statnte books of the state in the interest of oorporations that was not placed tbere by the repnblioan party. - Midland Sun. The republioans who strive to get np some feeling aroong the demoorats beoanse the towns of Sylvan, Lyndon, Dexter, Lima, Soio and Webster had no oandidate on tho demooratic ticket forgot that they bad no candidate on the republioan tioket either. Nathan Suttou is known to nearly every farmer in this connty and is highl-y esteemed. It was the farmers who asked for and obtained his nomination. He bas already seen legislativo service, having a creditable reoord. He should defeat his opponent for representativo. Henry Stnmpenbnsen, the legislativo nominee in the eecond district, is a fine man and makes an admirable candidate. We are glad to see men of his stamp brongbt ont in politios and tbe peulpe sbonld show the favor witb which snot) noininations shonld be reoeived at tbe polls. A. F. Marsh, the chairman of the repnblican state central oommittee, in aD interview the other day espressed the fear that the Pingree voters might beoome so enthnsiastio in the support of tbe repnblioan ticket that too many of them might vote it straight and thns elect Bnrrows legislators, yet he undonbtedly expeots tbe confiding Bnrrows men to vote their ticket straight. The Ypsilantian evidently thinks the repnblican nominee in tbe second representativo district is inerely a "Me Toó." It says: "'A. J. "Waters ia a yonng mas of fair promise, bnt in bis speech accepting tbe nomination seeined to forget the fatal mistake made by Captain Stewa'rt wben, in accepting êhe nomination for mayor of Detroit, he stated that he wonld do anything Mr. Pingree said. " Ann Árbor shonld xoll np a very heavy majority for Charlee A. Ward for senator and the county should follow it np with a like wholesome gain.; Mr. Ward, is known here. He possesses the reqnisite ability and honesty. He is thoroughly trnstwortby and capable of looking after the great interest to be intrusted in. bis hands from this district, wbile bis opponent is generally nnderstood sto be an eneruy of those interests. This is one of tne most important offices to be voted npon tbis year and the voter irrespeotive of bis party aíBliations will make no mistake ia voting for Mr. Ward. Over in Lenawee both the Pingree candidates for the state legislatore were beaten by the Burrows candidates, after long and olose oontests. Here in Washtenaw two anti-Borrows Pingree candidates are running. In Lenawee a Pingree Benator runs and in Wasbtenaw a Barrows senator. The figbt for the control of the republioan legislativo oancus will be a warm one. Every Bnrrows voter who votes for a Pingree legislator votes to prevent Burrows from going back to the senate. Every Pingree man who votes for a Burrows candidate votes to send him hack. There seems to be no qnestion of the republioans having a majority in the legislature but will it be a Burrows or a Paok majority. That will depend simply upon whether the Pingree men vote for Burrows candidates or the Burrows men vote for Pingree oandidates, in other words upon wbich side the best politicians are found. Considerable over half of the enormous state tax levy this year is for general purposes. In other words der the beadiug of general pnrposes inore tases are pnid this year tban are paid for tbe support of Miohigan's five ednoational intitntions, her asylums, her reform sohools and prisous, the soidiers' borne, the schDols tor the blind and the deaf, and the Coldwater sohool, the National Gnard and the oare of soldiers at the front, the fish commission, board of bealth, weatber servioe and muny other expenses, which are speoifically provided for. Of the $2,158,770.67 tax lsvy this year, 11,154,875 is for general pnrposes [ Over one-balf of the tax, it will be seen, is for "general pnrposes," a terra whieh, like tbe mantle of nharity, covers a mnltitnde of sins. OJd General Porposes pays tbe salaries of the clefks and Pingree's postage bill. He sqnares op for tbe awards of tbe board of state anditors, and settles for tht) bigh-priced attorneys who try tbe por ernor's law suits. He also pays tbe traveling expenses of state oificers wbo ride on passes, and like tbe fond fatber of a young man who ia sowing his wild oats, pays a great many bilis whicb the publio doesn't know anytbing abont. That is why old General Pnrposes has to have snoh a big som placed to his oredit. Wasbtenaw eounty taxpayers alone go down into their pockets for 132,382.26 for tbe benefit of General Pnrposes. VVhen Governor Winans and a set of democratio state officers were in office in 1891, G-eneral Purposes was only given an allowanoe of $552,383.00. Now he gets $1,154,375. Quite an inorease, isn't it? Pingreeism comes high, and we really don't have to have it.