MASSACIIUSETTa 



473 



larger part of the annual report of the 

 railroad rnmmisM.iMers is devoted toal, 

 MOM i.f tho goiioral railroad pr<iliU-iii how 

 rlioap taros and 1'ivights may bo scoured; and 

 tin- ivmrdy of the last resort for unduly high 

 -tho purchase of the railroads by tho 

 Stalo. TIio subject is regarded as highly ini- 

 1" -riant to the interests of tho State, but it is 

 asserted that Massachusetts cannot possibly 

 control by her legislation tho great through 

 luKJiiess, because that is mainly in the hands of 

 tho largo organizations to which some of the 

 Maaohusctti railroads belong, but of which 

 thoy constitute a small part. The plan rec- 

 oiiimoudod to the State by tho commissioners 

 is as follows : 



Let the State adopt its own plan of railroad man- 

 agement, wholly independent of the private railroad 

 corporations ; having done this in sueh a manner as 

 to commit itself to the least possible expense consist- 

 cut with a perfect trial of a great experiment, recog- 

 nizinir it simply as a tentative effort, let tho State 

 then give the existing corporations distinctly to un- 

 derstand that the continuance of their corporate 

 existence depends wholly on (1) tho results of the 

 experiment in operation ; (2) on their own success in 

 the process of competitive development side by side 

 with it. All restraints should then be removed from 

 tho private corporations ; they should be allowed, 

 withm the limits of the law, to freely follow their 

 own devices : the two systems would thus be com- 

 pelled to work their way out in visible and perfect 

 contrast, and that which, at the expiration or a rea- 

 sonable term of years, should prove itself to be the 

 best, would undoubtedly be adopted with general 

 acquiescence. 



They also recommend that the State enter 

 upon the experiment by purchasing the Fitch- 

 burg Railroad, as being the only one fully sup- 

 plying the conditions for a perfect trial. 



The State constabulary force at the end of 

 the year consisted of 109 men, 68 of whom 

 were under full pay, 22 under half pay, and 19 

 depended upon the State allowance for the 

 service of criminal precepts. Within the year, 

 14,275 complaints of all kinds were issued, and 

 the amount of fines and costs paid into the 

 several county treasuries was $192,710.75, 

 $60,000 more than the whole expenses of the 

 office. Tho amount of stolen property re- 

 covered and restored was $20,683.47. The 

 prejudices heretofore existing against the State 

 police have been substantially abandoned, and 

 now, in a degree, many of the cities and towns 

 cheerfully cooperate with them through their 

 police, in the enforcement of the liquor and 

 gambling laws, and the provisions of the gen- 

 eral nuisance act. 



The political canvass^of the past year was 

 one of the most important in the history of the 

 State, and for the first time in many years 

 doubts were entertained by shrewd observers 

 as to the success of the Republican party. No 

 less than four parties exclusive of the wom- 

 an's suffrage movement were in the field. 

 Two of these, the Prohibitory and the Labor 

 Reform, were new parties, composed chiefly 

 of those who had previously acted with the 

 Republican and Democratic parties, and who 



did not so much look forward to the success of 

 their candidates, as they hoped to induce one 

 of tlio other parties to adopt their principles, 

 <>r to found a party that would ultimately 

 achieve success. The campaign was opened 

 by tho Prohibitory party, \v ho held their con- 

 vention in Ho-tou, on the 17th of August, and 

 nominated candidates for the various State 

 offices, at the head of which, as candidate for 

 Governor, was Wendell Phillips. The princi- 

 ples of this party were set forth in their reso- 

 lutions as follows: 



Resolved, That tho policy of the State toward the 

 liquor traffic affects every political interest; that it 

 affects production, expenditure, taxation, pauperism, 

 prostitution, the peace of the streets, the repression 

 of crime, the protection of person and property, the 

 interests of labor, the purity of the ballot, and the 

 success if not the existence of republican govern- 

 ment. 



Resolved, That a policy which thus affects every 

 political interest ought to be decided by the people, 

 and should by common consent have precedence of 

 other issues. 



Resolved, That we can have no hope from a divided 

 party ; that, representing the two extremes of a liquor 

 policy, a divided party can neither decide for license 

 nor for prohibition; that it can neither pronounce 

 for the life nor for the death of the dram-shop sys- 

 tem, and that its opposing forces neutralize each 

 other so that it can neither adopt any policy, execute 

 any laws, nor make any issue on this question. 



".Resolved, That there can be no greater peril than 

 party competition for the liquor vote ; and that any 

 party not openly opposed to the traffic will engage in 

 this competition court the favor of the criminal 

 classes and barter the public morals, the purity of 

 the ballot, and every object of good government, for 

 party success. 



Resolved, That this corrupt competition must be 

 coexistent with the life and political power of the 

 traffic ; therefore an issue with it is the only remedy, 

 and that no such issue can be made without inde- 

 pendent political action. 



Resolved, Therefore, that the organization of an in- 

 dependent political party is an inevitable necessity. 



.Resolved, That, as a political party, we seek a polit- 

 ical object : that we aim at the extinction of the en- 

 tire dram-shop system, national and State, because it 

 is dangerous and injurious to every interest of the 

 Commonwealth. 



Resolved, That, while we recognize tho importance 

 of other reforms and other political measures, we 

 purposely defer for the present thereon making 

 party issues ; that our first work is to place the State 

 in unequivocal opposition to the dram-shop system, 

 and that, until that object shall be secured, we will 

 not be diverted therefrom by other issues. 



Resolved, That the abolition of slavery and the 

 preservation of our Union having been accomplished, 

 there is no issue now before the country equal to 

 that of prohibition ; and we earnestly invite our fel- 

 low-citizens of all political parties to unite with us in 

 giving this great reform a complete victory. 



Resolved, That we invoke the blessing of Almighty 

 Goa upon the proceedings of this dnv. 



Resolved, That, in adopting "Wendell Thillips^ as 

 our standard-bearer, we place in nomination a radical 

 temperance reformer, a fearless champion of truth, a 

 brilliant scholar, a patriotic citizen, and a true man; 

 and we believe that the gubernatorial chuir which 

 has been graced by so many honored and eminent 

 citizens of Massachusetts lias never been more ably 

 filled than it would bo by the man of our unanimous 

 choice. 



Resolved, That the other names upon our ticket are 

 gentlemen well known to the whole community, of 



