By Fred Jandt
Mass Transit magazine editor
I heard an interesting statement recently, “the Madison-Milwaukee train line is dead.” It’s time we took a step back. Sometimes statements get made that, if you don’t know who is making them, sound pretty reasonable on the surface.
That statement about the train being dead was from governor-elect Scott Walker’s transition director, John Hiller. I guess he wishes the train was dead. Since the election, Walker’s camp has been bombarded by a seemingly endless stream of calls about the train. If the train would die it would make his job that much easier.
Quotes, though, are interesting animals. Without context or attribution they become entirely different beasts with minds of their own and have a tendency of outliving the people who said them.
I personally like this quote, “Work at it, if necessary, early and late, in season and out of season, not leaving a stone unturned, and never deferring for a single hour that which can be done just as well now … ambition, energy, industry, perseverance are indispensable requisites for success in business.”
Do you know who said that? Donald Trump? Jack Welch?
Nope. It was P.T. Barnum. Yep, the same man who is attributed with saying, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Suddenly puts a different spin on that quote doesn’t it?
But Barnum wasn’t just a showman; he was an astute businessman who also said, “Men who drive sharp bargains with their customers acting as if they never expected to see them again will not be mistaken. They will never see them again as customers. People don’t like to pay and get kicked also.”
Barnum understood that there was a give and take in every deal, something that could be made from every agreement. Unfortunately, it seems our governor-elect in Wisconsin hasn’t learned that.
A recent poll touts the opposition to the Madison-Milwaukee rail line. But just like the quote from Barnum, you have to consider the source. A conservative group that opposes the rail line? Really? What I think is news here is that there is only 52 percent opposition. What is the margin of error on that poll? And if you dig into the numbers 68 percent of people polled are over 45 and 4 percent are under 25.
I keep hearing the question, “Who do you expect to ride this train?” Evidently, not students according to this poll.
At the end of the day it comes down to one quote, “If you hesitate, some bolder hand will stretch out before you and get the prize.”
That’s Barnum again. He knew what many know now. If we don’t seize this chance for a part of the national rail network, it might just pass us by.
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Fred
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