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WENDELL COX'S "TWO-BIT MAYOR" REMARK
DIDN'T SIT WELL
Prominent anti-passenger train writer Wendell Cox of The Heartland Institute in Chicago remarked in a March 22 newspaper article about "two-bit mayors" who favor Amtrak serving their towns. His unfortunate attempt to put down small- town citizens failed to enamor him among residents of many places in America. One mayor, of Rugby ND, on the Empire Builder route, responded to Cox on March 29 with the letter reprinted below: Dear Mr. Cox: I have a copy of an article written by David Lightman, Washington Bureau Chief of the Hartford Courant of March 22, 2005. The article was titled “Amtrak Funding: Saved Again?”. You are quoted throughout the article. I take exception to being called “ a two-bit mayor” toward the end of the article. The writer details a quote by you that reads: “You have every two-bit mayor who has service coming through town at 3 in the morning, saying their town will die if that train doesn’t run anymore”. Mr. Cox, have you ever been in North Dakota or other rural parts of the United States? I hope you would have a clearer understanding of the need for rail passenger service, as provided by Amtrak, if you lived here. I want you to know that I lived in the city of Chicago for six years. I had a bank account in the LaSalle Bank and worked on the south side of the city. I left the city to come back home to a life of less stress and turmoil. It isn’t that we don’t have turmoil here, it is just different. Our last murder was in 1963. You need to understand that we don’t have or need the CTA or the Metro here in Rugby or even Fargo, the largest city in North Dakota. But we do need Amtrak. Citizens must drive 65 miles to board a commercial jet to travel, first, to Minneapolis, to fly anywhere in the world. By the way, the Empire Builder stops at Rugby at 7:19 A.M., not 3 AM. Citizens, here in rural America, which is a large part of our beloved country, can get on a safe Amtrak train and get to a destination with comfort and safety. Many times there is no need to change trains to get to your chosen stop. It is time that the federal government sees the need for a respectable support for passenger rail service. Nearly every other civilized country in the world has passenger rail service. Their federal governments subsidize nearly all of these countries. What is wrong with having a decent passenger rail service in the United States of America? The federal government pours money into the highway system, the airline industry, and the waterways. But it sees fit to only give a token amount to have a passenger rail system in the nation. You, living in an urban community, know the importance of using less gasoline for the thousands of cars that drive from Palos Park or Oak Lawn to the Loop everyday. It is also important here in rural America to use methods of transportation that can transport sufficient numbers of people at a reasonable cost. Amtrak can do this for America. Not everyone has or can drive a car to their destination. Grandma can get on the train and get to her granddaughter’s wedding without the hassle of an airline terminal. I will admit that Amtrak is not perfect, but it is all we have, we must support it. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) is also quoted in the article several times. Senator Dorgan, along with Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Congressman Earl Pomeroy (D-ND), and I have worked hand in hand for over 20 years for the continuance of passenger service in Rugby and North Dakota and the United States. They have been extremely loyal to the needs of people who see a real need for passenger rail service. Personally, I have dedicated countless hours and my own funds to support this cause in my community long before I was the ‘two bit” Mayor. Twice, within the past year, I have spent the day with Amtrak President David Gunn in his private car traveling through North Dakota and Montana. We talked about the importance of this service to our country. Next time you call someone a “two-bit mayor” think about the entire nation and not just Chicago. You might even consider the fact that your own Illinois Governor Blagojevich wrote a letter to President Bush urging him to support Amtrak with decent funding. Take a walk down to Union Station, get on the Empire Builder (which has served this section of the United States for 75 years) and come see us here in North Dakota. We will show you just how important Amtrak is to the citizens of America. I will watch for you from my window as you get off the train in Rugby, the Geographical Center of North America. In closing, here’s a quarter and a dime. When you get to Rugby
take some time to call this “two-bit” mayor, who cares an awful lot about
Amtrak.
EMPIRE BUILDER DERAILS The westbound Portland section of Amtrak's
Empire Builder, train 27, derailed Sunday morning along the Columbia River
in Washington State 20 miles west of the Bingen-White Salmon station.
Administration is "Out of Touch" on Amtrak WILL AMTRAK GET FULL FUNDING? REBUTTING SECRETARY MINETA AMTRAK RUNNING TRAINS TO PLACES NOBODY WANTS TO GO TO? A REPLY TO NORMAN MINETA By Wes Roberts AMTRAK BOARD LOOKS TO FY 2006 HOUSE VOTES FOR $1.2 BILLION FOR AMTRAK Amtrak Endpoint On Time Performance, Feb. 2005 ATTEMPT TO INCREASE AMTRAK BUDGET FAILS (March 17) WHAT THE MEDIA ARE SAYING ABOUT AMTRAK FUNDING AMTRAK DEFINITION OF CHILDREN TRAVELING ALONE TO BE CHANGED AMTRAK FUNDING: AN ANALYSIS By Carl Fowler Join or donate to the National Association of Railroad Passengers. Donate to tsunami relief Site map |
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