, 1873-04-03
THE STATE CAPITAL,
Tho lIildrup Railroad Bill Considered
In tho House,
Other Speeches by Friends and Oppo
nents of the Bill,

Special Dispatch to Tbs Chicago 1rt6unt,
THE RAILROAD BILLS m TILE HOUSE,
6pn1Nas1ELn. April 2.-rho House took up
tho Railroad bills % the Bpocial order this morn
ing, tho first bill road being tho Hi1drup House
bill No. 517, being Tor nn not to determine con-
ousivoly whnt ratos Of freight tariffs Of tho lif-
foront railroads In this State aro unreasonable.
aud to impose nnos aud ponaltios for domand-
ing, charging, or collecting unreasonable rates, u
Mr. uildrup said this was ono Of Borios Of
bills introduced to rogu1nto railroads, aud to
check their tendency to oncroach upon the peo-
plo and tho Government. There lad always
beon fight hotSoon corporations and tho poo-
plo, and law had always triumphcd ovar
monopoly until this latoBt phase Of its
power. There wero no railroads fifty yoors
ngo. Tho introduction Of railroads had
givon nov impetus to human industry. Thoso
roads wore In possession of woalth alld power.
Tho compa1lios Ind always ucquirod an in1nonBn
amount Of wenltl, boforo single milo Of track
va Vas !aitl, and yosr ~ yoar shoy lo-,od una's.
tho country: Thoy blaokrnailod millione, aud
concentrated power. within themselves Tho in
voatment Of 4 single million in Ponnsylvanin
railroad, forty yoars ago, had grown to three
thousand millions, all over tho country, tho
valuo Of tho roads, with that sspeod did those
aa,id millions of TINT su1n was 1nat1o up Of wnt-
erod stock mud fictitious capital. This wag
another form Of national debt. Tho tlmo
hnd como whom tho usurpationa Of railroad
Of law Or by tho violent ects Of q maddenod
pooplc.. Tho power Of issuing watored stock
was limitlcsB, and would continue, il not checked,
until Il sapped tho foundations Of poltical libor-
for transportation s,t40, 900 Of money, boing
$40, 900, 600 moro than tho intorost on the ma
tional debit, assumed to Bayo tho life Of tho M
ton. It took three bushola Of corn to carry ono
board. Tho cost Of oarrying one ton Of freight
ono milo was 114 per cent, while tho roats charged
ovor cents milo, profit Of over 1926 per cent.
OF tho 100 oSa %Srth Of ra.lIoad
tsS 4sasssaoEs 4s for tsaaton sa o0f'' %hoso
roads claimed TINT under their charters
thoy could charge what thoy pleased, and nlao
hold tlae under the Fedcra1 Constitution tho
State Ind no right to fix rates, on tho ground
discuss tho constitutional question thon. It
waa enough for him to know that tho Consttu-
tion OF tho State commanded tho Legislature to
fix ratea. They had other to do TINT, or Witness
tho wild revengo Of mob-law. Tho railroads
form OF law they should direct tho onorgics Of
tho people md curb tho corporations, md thoro-
by ayort q contest TINT would 10 inevitable, ind
would rotard tho progroas and welfare OF
kAC I+AtN Aux tHGuLf-Afo 3GHEH 4uU EDEpBEH-
tions bud disrosarded tho provisions Of tho now
Constitution mud tie laws passed by the last
Legislature. Tho laws against oxtortion and
unjust discrimination were spurnod, tho rail-
road Com'niasionors had failed to do their duty,
and oil tho efforts made to control tho mouopo-
lies had boon as barron Of results rs the i]g troo
Of Holy Writ. It was impossible for tho indi-
vldual tosproBooute a.war against railroads with
out cortain bankruptcy md ruin. Tho State
had to fight for the people, and should find o
remedy t6at would bring thoso corporations to
terms, and compel tlom to oboy the Inv until
tho Court Of fnal resort ruled that tho State
Constitution waa in conflict with the Federal
Constitution, It aneh calamity should eyor
G5n og g"sa soad H sS sa9 It e bccss frss
people, aud re1 remodel tho tho ] Federal Gonsti- IT.
rights said tho Legislature could pass no
effective 1aws, but ho beloved tho podplo wore
masters Of tho situation, and would bring tho
State in tic form Of law to maintnip their
rights. The railroads brought superior phyHical
forco against tho citizor, and, ii he went to law
they used Legal strategy to worry him from tho
contest. Gould they not 800 the necessity of
powor Of the corporations morcilossly exercised
against them !? As tho citizon could not staud
against the railroads, noithor could tho railroads
staud against tho powor Of the State persistent
So adq haze Poys tt fssn aas t'T to % ey
aidoration Of tho bill. ho rojocod tho House lad
refused to abolish the Railroad Commission, for,
though 1t hnd not accomplished oil that
was expected, the, report It compiled waa
It had dono nothing eiso Under the.bill, addition
nj powers were conferred upon the Commission.
ALI that oyer had boen done toward roduciugr ratos
Lad been done by commission. A pliable powor
In the hands Of tho Commission to regulate ratos
mud apply tho law to suit particular cases was
tho procrustean bod i'll which the railroad cor
porationB should DO mado to lie. In Belgium
the railroads wero bottor regulated aud con-
trollcd than IN any other country, and
law Austria had undertaken to control railroads
through tho conrte. England had up
pointed a commission to regulate faron,
aud Switzerland Ind begun to. waho
rnroas up to G ,s1 n9sessty a Of controlling
means Of commissions and laws to control rail-
road rates, why ahond 1t not bo done In Illinois?
Undor the frat section Of tho bill, litigation was
optional with the railroads, aud if they reduced
mands Of tho Commissioners, they escaped
trouble. Tho rulo was elastic and flexible, mud
would meet oyory emergency. It was no absolute
and iron rule, but waa based upon the inmut-.
ablo principles Of Justice, and in the fact tte.
Legislature had tho power to lcgislato for th.
common good in spite OF writton contract.
Tho first section provided for testing tho reason-
ablenoas Of tho rites by 5udloial, proeeoding. 10
mak0 1uHt1Co speedy AH we'll AH Ruro clScB
Of tho kind had priority OF al othors
in court, and tho verdict Of tho jury WAS not to
DO subject to review on matters Of fact. Tho
rights Of tho individual wore made subordinate
to tho public welfare, and n change Of yenue
was to be 1onicd without conHont Of both partios
80 TINT Justice should 10 complete without
donial, prompt without delay. This was nocos-
gary to prevent railroads from rosorting to thor
old tnctics and postponing decisions. TLe
provision wn8 but inserting o restrictive clatidS
In gonornl law which affected equally both nar-
tics, and was fair to all. The necessity OF able
counsel to represent tho peoplo WAS urged, and
also tho uocoysity Of allowing the law to 60 into
effect Immediately. That bill rolatod to freghts
only. kThero wAs Oh tho Btatuto-booka a law
regulating passenger tariffs, which should Te-
main until adjudicatod upon.
Tho subjects Of oxtortion and unjust dlBcrim-
nation wsre totally different antl Biould bo pro-
yidod for in separate bills, Ihero waB a bill
prohibiting unjust discrimination before tho
House which ho bolioyod superior to anything
TINT could DO drawn upon tho ea1no subject.
Tho excitement among tho pooplo, tho colli-
elun between the pooplo and tho railroads vas so
imlnlnont that tho stocks Of the roads lad fallen,
and capital WAS locked up that would not bo iu-
yoated until tllo passion OF tho people was al-
laycd aud tho problem bud rocoiyoda satisfactory
solution. He had boon informed and beloved
that many Of tho prominent railroad men in tho
State woro roady to mako concessions aa goon as
thoy found aomo authority lko tho Commission
with whom to front. The Legislature was not
the cnomy OF railroads, but tho friend OF tho
pooplo. Tho corporationu like tho Citizen,