Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1871-04-26

signed. This statement proves that
I the minds which have given the sub
I ject the most study in our own State
/ were in favor Of q supervisory power
over railroads; that this Office was
originally designed TO exercise this
power. and chat its results, even un-
der abridged powers, merit the conf
denee and support OF the State, and
would justify an enlargement Of its
capacity.
LEGIsLATIOs5 IN OTHER STATES AND
COUNTRIES. 90 --
The necessity for resort 10 q super
visory power over railroads, as / re-
marked a short time ago, has given
rise to much thought and discussion
/ In Ohio and elsewhere, the result OF
which has been, 50 far as results have
been reached, the establishment OF
the Oftiee OF Railroad Commissioner,
with power similar to those now pro-
posed by this bill. In each OF the
States OF Massachusetts, and Conneeti-
cut there are three Railroad COmmis-
siOners- with power more extensive
than will be given should thi bill
pass IN Ohio, and the tendency in
both Of those States, / understand, Is
still further to increase the authority
/ OF their Commissioners. The result
IS that the people Of those two COM
FnOnwealteS are in great degree re-
lieved from the evils Of which our
people so bitterly complain. Rail-
roads flourish equally well In those
States as in Ohio, aud while their
management is far from perfect, il Is
more In accord with the rights and
the welfare OF the people. -s
In other States the duties of this
Otiee are performed by other State
officers, but are merely statistical; as
IN New York, Pennsylvania, West |
Virginia and Michigan. In still 9TH
er States, the subject Of establishing
this ofhce with powers similar to
those conferred in Massachusetts and !.
Connecticut Is being earnestly dis !
eussed, showing that people are eY- 1
erywhere looking toward supervise Z
~ power IS means Of relief from the
evils Of railroad domination.
In European countries, where the
subject Is older and probably better
understood than In America, the
necessity Of legal control Is fully rec 7
OgniZed. In France the late govern Z
ment managed the railroads, and In .
Belgium government not only man
ages but owns them. In England the
three lords Of her Majesty's Privy Z
Council are the Railway Commission 4
ers, and have almost absolute power. 4
IL q railway il abOu, 10 be built the
plans and specifications must first be I
submitted to and approved by them, |
and after its completion the work I
must beexamined and accepted before I
IL can be opened for traffic; aud from /
this time forward it Is under their .
control in all matters from the most I
important to the most triv via, although I
the power Is never exercised except I
for the protection Of the public OF to I
redress the grievance Of the indiyid1- I
al subject.
To exhibit the effect In one Of its 4
phases OF the two systems, the super /
visOry and the nOn-supervisory, I I
have carefully compiled from official !
reports q statement of accidents \
occurring under each, which shows !
very large per cent. in favor Of the |
supervisory power. In thisstatement I
/ have compared Great Britain with I
Ohio for the year 1861, and these are +
the 6gures: In that year England 4
and Wales had I0.O37 miles Of rail- !
way, Scotland had 2,2S2 miles, and .
Ireland had ,92S miles, making ia all 1
a total Of IL, s49 miles OF railway in the Z
kingdom. The total number Of killed I
during the year was go, Of which 4
number only I9iWene passengers, the
remainder being plaFes. OF trespass-
ers on the tracks mainly the latter
From these figures the simple process
OF division shows that there was one
fatal accident Tor every 6S.f7 miles of
road. Ohio had in the same time 3, 81 Z
miles Of road. The number killed I
during the year was los, or one for ev-
cry $3.50 miles Of road. It viii thus
be seen that only about One-half as
many. accidents pFopOrtionately Oc-
Cured under the supervisory system /
exercised In q densely populated
county in which the hazard must be
greater, as in q comparatively sparse
Iy populated country where the law
assumed no control. Now, sir, this
statement, Ii seems 10 me, furnishes
alone an almost overwhelming argu-
mentin favor of = resort to the sUPer-
visory power, and in proportion as We
value human life the argument APP
peals 10 US. Couple this statement
with the principle that il is the duty
Of government 70 protect its citizens
In life, limb and property and you
have an unansWerable Argument in
support Of the proposition upon which
this bill is based. h
90. CONCLUSION. Il