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Mayor H. L. Hiccrnson has made an appeal through 
the columns of the Boston Herald on its editorial page 
for fair play for the old and the ‘new management of 
the Boston & Maine railroad. Major Higginson has al- 
ways been a careful thinker and a wise counsellor and it 
will be well for the younger generation to pause and con- 
sider his words. Mr. Higginson has summed up the 
whole problem succinctly and fairly, He writes: 
‘‘Mr. Mellen has resigned the presidency of the Boston 
& Maine railroad, and Mr. MeDonald has been put in his 
place. The latter gentleman has an excellent record and 
may be presumed to be a fit choice. He is a brave man. 
Gen. Meade took the Army of the Fotomac at a highly impor- 
tant moment—and won the battle of Gettysburg. Mr. Me- 
Donald is taking his place in the midst of a campaign. 
‘‘Now, if the public which uses the Boston & Maine 
system, and also the public which owns it, will be patient, 
and will remember how great a task Mr. MeDonald has be- 
fore him, and, therefore, will give him a full chance, we 
may look for good results. To manage a railroad which has 
not been in first-rate condition for many years and which 
must be brought up to such condition in order to serve and 
earn fairly is a very hard matter. Mr. Mellen has laid the 
foundations for great improvements, and yet he has been 
hounded for his conduct of affairs in all directions. Is it 
not fair for the public now to ‘knock off and call it half a 
day,’ and, still more, to help the company with kind words 
rather than hinder it by fault-finding? There is an old 
proverb about ‘giving a dog a bad name, and then hanging 
him,’ and if ever it applied anywhere, it does to Mr. Mellen. 
‘¢Tt is idle to offer excuses for faults and lack of judg- 
ment and even for past extravagance. Probably many rail- 
road managers, like other of us sinners, have made bad mis- 
takes. But this constant abuse of all railroads has two re- 
sults: It cripples the power and judgment of the managers, 
and it demoralizes the operating force from top to bottom, 
It discourages the investing public, and only a rash man 
would advise the small or the large investor to put money 
into railroads so long as these companies must meet abuse 
from the public and largely increased expenses, and yet get 
no increased rate of receipts. 
‘We have seen the effects of the savage attacks on Mr. 
Mellen and the New Haven system, and perhaps we are now 
seeing the effects of the excellent committee which has 
taken up the investigation of the New Haven system. What- 
ever one thinks about Mr. Mellen or the New Haven system, 
no fair-minded man can justify the savage attacks on both. 
It is fair to ask our, whole community to believe in Mr. Me- 
Donald, and to give him a full chance to show his quality.’’ 
Every fair minded man must weigh well these words 
so opportunely spoken. The real curse of our age is the 
fatuous selfishness of industrially organized labor, the 
walicious attacks on legitimately organized capital and 
the unreasonable houndings that successful corporations 
are bound to suffer. Capital makes mistakes and so does 
Labor. We need to usher in the day when there may 
be a just weighing of everyone’s rights. 
Tur Younc Man or Weavru who disappeared and 
was later found working for a living had “sand.” He lost 
his interest in the “society gare” and found more genuine 
“fun” in working for fifteen hundred dollars a year than 
“waiting around for something to turn up.” More and 
more men with fortunes are using their inherited wealth 
as means of increasing their capacity for labor rather than 
using them as an excuse to avoid industry. 
Ts New Coar Tax that has been imposed by the 
State, of Pennsylvania is not likely to be approved by 
the nation-wide consumers of coal. As a financial scheme 
to increase the state revenue at the expense of the public 
it is a success. However clever the proposed measure 
may be as a Pennsylvania expedient it appears to make 
the manufacturers and householders of America pay the 
expenses of the State of Pennsylvania. The two and 
one half percent. tax appears small, but when that tax 
reaches the consumer the price ot coal will have increased 
materially. It is becoming more and more evident 
that the solution of the coal problem has not yet been 
reached, ‘There are those who are still persistent in their 
socialistic demands for government ownership. 
Tur Recent Narrow Escape that attended the 
automobile omnibus at Pride’s Crossing only accentuates 
the necessity for care on the part of chauffeurs coming 
out of private avenues into the highways. The death of 
the bicyclist last week and this narrow escape of a public 
conveyance teaches its lessons. Come out of avenues 
slowly, and blow your horn! Approach all avenues 
slowly and blow your horn! The entire North Shore 
ic threaded with avenues. Each avenue may easily be a 
death trap if care is not used by the drivers of automo- 
biles passing, entering and coming out of these roadways. 
Maror Hieccrnson Spoke to the point when in the 
Semi-Centenarv address at Beverly Farms, he said “the 
days of revolution and progress in government had not 
ended.” Every age is an age of transition, It is for 
us to’ pray that the transitions may be peaceful. America 
is rapidly being settled by men who need to be taught 
the first principles of our democratic government. 
Tre Exection oF A Presipen’t of the Boston & 
Maine Railroad is a step in the right direction. The 
territory, the equipment, and the unrest that permeates 
the entire svstem demands a strong man. It looks 7s 
though McDonald had come into his own and will ral 2 
goo d - 
Ex-Governor Curris Guinp’s return to America hs 
caused much unrest in the ranks of the Progressive ard 
Democratic parties. There are aspirants for office in the 
Republican party who wished he had stayed in Europe. 
But then, will they not believe what Guild has said? 
Tire Beverty Scroor Boarp has elected to the posi- 
tion of superintendent one of the three foremost leaders 
in industrial education in the state. It is evident that 
the broadened policy of the school committee is to be con- 
tinued under the new administration. 
Tae Witt of CHaries B. Stas of Wenham con- 
tinues the benevolence which characterized his life. The 
erowine custom, among men of means, of endowing 
effective charitable institutions is the best sort of socialism. 
