Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1872-01-11

]
eral law, upon which the law regulat
ing rates is not in some way violated
nearly every time regular passenger,
or freight, or mixed train passes over
it,
| As to the laws regulating the occu-
patton of streets and alleys by railroad
tracks, the speed of locomotives in
towns and cities, and railroad cross
ings, he says that statutes which he
regards as wholesome, are, lit is no
torious, wholly ignored by some com
panies. and only partially obeyed by
others"
He quotes the laws forhidding rail
road officials from being interested in
fast freight, express and trapsporta
ton companies, and from dealing in
railroad securities, and adds that s'the
violation of these laws is believed to
be very common among railroad Off
cials.''
The Commissioners also gives ex-
amples of "the increase of Watering
of stock'' by railroad companies, and
remarks, ''the foregoing statements are
the more striking in view Of the
fact that the stockholders in the com
pany have been in receipt of regular
sem animal dividends for several years
of from six to ten per cent. per an
num-"
The significance of this remark of
the Commissioner lies in the fact that
the rates which railroad companies
may charge for transportion of pas
sengers and freight may be prescribed
by the General Assembly, whenever
the net profits amount to ten per cent.
on the capital actually invested.
The interests involved are of such
magnitude that all legislation ought to
be based on the fullest and most accu-
rate inform alton which a careful inves
tigation can furnish. l, therefore, rec
ommend that q commission of five cit
izans, of whom the Railroad Commits
sioner shall be one, be organized, with
ample powers to investigate the man
agement Of the railroad companies of
the State, their legal rights, and the
rights of the State and its citizens, and
to report the information acquired,
with a recommendation of such meas
ures as the commission shall deem eX-
pedient.
During the past year the travelling
public has enjoyed in Ohio remarkable
immunity from railroad accidents
According to the reports of the rail
road companies to the Commissioner,
not single passenger has lost life by
the fault of the railroads in tie State
during the year But the number of
persons "Other than pa 5sen9ers" and
of employees who have lost their lives
is quite large. One hundred and fifty
seven persons are reported to have
been killed, and it is without doubt
that many deaths have occurred which
have rot been reported. Many of
these fatal accidents happened in the
streets of towns and cities, and at street
and road crossings. 1t is perfectly
practicable to protect citizens from
these dangers by enforcing proper reg
ulations as to the speed sf trains, and
as tC the occupancy and crossing of
streets and roads. Your special at
teDtion is called to this subject.
One of the most difficult and inter
esting practical problems which now
engage the thoughts of the American
people, is how to maintain economy,
efficiency, and purity in the admins
tratiOn of local affairs, and especially
in the government of towns and cities.
without departure from principles and
methods which are deemed essential to
free popular government. Many of
| the most important functions of gov
ernment are in the hands of the local
authorities. They are directly charg-
ed with the expenditure of large sums
of money, with the protection of life
and property, and with the admins
tration of civil and criminal Justice
These duties, in one way or another,
touch nearly and constantly the in,
terests and feelings of every citizen
Upon their faithful performance de-
pends the prosperity, happiness and
safety of the community. 1t is true
that as yet Ohio is happily in great
measure free from the operation of
causes which in the commercial me-
tropolis of the country recently led to
such extraordinary corruption i'll the
| government of that city. But those
causes do not belong alone to the
great cities of the East. They are al
ready at work in our midst, and they
are steadily and rapidly increasing in
power. No political power is alto
gether free from their influence, and
no political party is solely responsible
for them. We have laws prohibiting
almost every conceivable official neg
lect and abuse; and penalties are atfix-
ed to the violation of those laws which
cannot be regarded as inadequate
The difficulty is to secure their enforce
ment. Those whose duty it is to de-
.tect and prosecute, are often interest
ed in maintaining good relations with
the wrong doers. The contractors for
public work and supplies not unfre
quently have a community of interest
with those who are The agents of the
public to let and superintend the per
Torrance of contracts. Where these
abuses exist, there is apt to be a large
circle of apparently disintcrested citi-
zens who labor to conceal the facts,
and to suppress investigation. What
the public welfare demands is q practi-
cal measure which will provide for q
in every case of suspected neglect
abuses or fraud Such an investiga
ton, to be effective, must be made by
an authority Independent, if possible
of all local influences. When abuses
are discovered, the prosecution and
punishment of offenders ought to fol
low But even ii prosecutions fail, in
cases of full exposure, public opinion
almost always accomplishes the object
desired A thorough investigation o.
) official corruption and criminalty leads
with great certainty to the needed re
! form PubIicitU 10 q tyrnat cOrrectOl