The Cairo bulletin. [volume] (Cairo, Ill.) 1872-1878, 1873-04-27

great variety of complicated facts
which only the company has, 1t Is nee
essary to devise means to compel the
company to furnish such facts. Ii we
cannot do this the people are hopeiessly
in the clutches of the railroad compa..
MES. They have all the rights OF
common carriers, and common car
rier has the right to charge reasonable
rates. IT. as the supreme court says,
"a reasonable rate OF freight over
railroad is at best mere matter OF
opinion, depending on great variety
of complicated facts, which but few
persons could intelligently investigate,
and which it would be wholly in the
power of the company to furnish or
withhold it must follow that the
opinion of the company determines
the reasonabeness Of the rates, provided
the company does not charge less or
the same to place where there Is a
competing line, because there is there
competing line, than it charges for
shorter distance.
the BURDEN OF PROOF SHOULD BE
SHIFTED.
How then can the people compel the
company to produce the facts necessary
to determine the rcasonableness of
rates can think of but one way, and
that is to change the burden of proof
to the company, make it prove its rates
to be reasonable And this may be
done without doing any violation to
justice. 1t is the theory of the law
that the party should furnish the cvi,
dence who has it most convenient. If
a citizen is indicted for selling liquor,
the people having made the charge,it is
presumed they have the evidence on
which they found the charge, and the
burden is on them; but if the citizen
saws in defense, that he has the license
Of the people TO sell, it is presumed he
has the proof convenient and the bur
den is on him.
WHY THIS CHANGE SHOULD lie MADE
Why the burden Of proof should be
shifted from the shoulders Of the PEG
pie to the shoulders of the corporate
common carriers--will be apparent to
any one who will study the history of
the law III its application to common
carriers. The time was, and the mem.
ory of living men runneth back to it,
when the carrying trade was done, in
great part, in stage coaches and lum
bering wagons when the Elder Wei
lers cracked their whips and their
jokes, aud the jolly men Of the road
robbed the slow-going merchant and
drank hot punch at the inn by the way.
side. The good old times. All time,
are good when old. Then the citizen
could 20 into court, and could, without
difficulty, prove, if such were the case
that the common carrier had charged
more than reasonable rate. He
knew-all the country knew-what
was reasonable rate of freight over .
turnpike or dirt road and the victim
of extortion could, without great diff
Guilty make out his case. Then the
reas onableness of rates of freights wa.
not a mere matter Of opinion, depend
ing on great variety Of complicated
facts, which but few persons could in
diligently investigate, and which il
was wholly in the power Of the com
mon carrier to furnish or withhold
After the invention by Stevenson, o
the locomotive, there took place
WONDERFUL CHANGE.
The Wellers of the stage coach anc
freight wagon placed each his nois les
whip upon the mantel piece Of his ia
: vorite inn, and, in a disconsolate way
slipped his punch and wondered wha
had gone wrong in this world. The
lonlad with cupid wonder at tn
coaches drawn by monsters that noi.ho
eat nor tired. AT the chariots,' a
Nahum, Of the Bible, hath it, prophe
cying the railroad, that ragged in tn
streets and jostled one against anothe
in the broad ways that seemed lik
torches by night and ran like the light
nings.' Wilderpesses, in which ro
streams and heard no sound save the
u own dashings, became crowded citi
Il and fertile fields, in which lived con
merce and agriculture, and throua
u which ran railroads, crowded with ca
: filed with freight and passengers. II
old rule of the stage coach time st
' prevailed, aud these common carrie
would not charge more than reason
able rate, but the courts held tn
what was reasonable rate Of freig
'e over q railroad had at best come to
or mere matter of opinion, depending on
'e great variety Of complicated fac
~ which but few persons could intel
Ut gently investigate, and which W
y wholly in the power of the compal
H. to furnish or refuse In other word
a. the changed condition Of the casryir
u trade has made the
RAILROAD COMPANIES THE SOLE JUDO
& OF THEIR OWN RATES.
w They may rob the public, and the publ
10 must suffer patiently, because our supren
10 court has said that reaSonableness of ra,
"a | of irieghts carried by such companies IS
- matter of opinion, based upon cOmplicat,
VI facts in their own possession. The o
" rule stands yet, but the citizen cannot
,w benefited BY it. lie cannot prove eXto
@, ton when tho ratio OF freight can oL
no be determined by the invest cation OF fac
90 which the extortionist has in his own 20
W session. We have, therefore, tho form
~ the common law on this subject, but u
OF substance is gone.
r WHAT the CONSTITUTIONAL coSvESTlo