Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1876-01-19

!, lection OF an innocent person accuse
{ of crime, and am confident they al
often the means by which guilt
, parties escape conviction and punish
{ mcnt.
4 The question of cheap transports
ton is one Of great importance to on
! people. Our surplus products ar
; generally bulky and heavy in proper
tion to their value, and the cost O
transportation makes a large percent
lage Of the price we receive for them
Before the advent OF railroads all til
: internal transportation and travel o
J the country was done on common
highways, tnrnpikes,navigable river,
J and canals. All these were open I,
all. Any person could place on tn,
land-lines his wagon, or on til,
water-lincs his boat. and engage il
the business of carrying persons ant
property. Since the building o
railroads all this has changed. Nov
a large part of the internal transpor
tation, and substantially all th,
travel of the country are done by rail
land undoubtedly better done ant
more speedily than by the old method
But with the new system another i'm
4 pOrtant change has been brough
laboui. Combination has taken TIA,
place of competition. No one is al
lowed TO engage in carrying person
and property over the railroads ex
cept those who own or lease the lines
Il while those who own or lease wha
i should be, and what were intended
to be. competing lines. by combin.
ing among themselves, destroy com.
petition. The result is, that, unless
the people can in some way prevent
| II, the companies controlling the
main through lines OF railroad have
/ 1T in their power to fix the price oi
carrying persons and property, at
just such sum as, in their own jtidg.
ment of what is to their own interest.
seems to them proper. To-day. four
gentlemen in Chicago. representing
the four through lines from that city
to the Missouri river can. at their
own will and pleasure. add to or take
from the value of every bushel OF
grain. and of every head of live stock
in the State of Iowa. The same con-
dition OF affairs obtains in Chicago
with the four main lines leading to
Baltimore. Philadelphia and New
York.
This state of things. the knowledge
TINT this power was claimed and ex-
ercised by the railroad companies. has
for a few years past challenged the
close attention Of the country; and
Legislation has been invoked TO pro-
tect the people from thf abuses and
extortions practiced by these eorpor-
atiOns. At the last session OF the
General Assembly OF this State law
was passed intended to limit and
control to some extent. the privi-
lcges and powers Of railroad compa-
mics.
The purpose of this law is TO iix
rates, beyond which they shall not
charge for carrying passengers and
freight; but, as understand, the law
was only designed to operate within
the limits of our own State. because it
has been supposed the State has not
the power to limit or control the
charges for CARRYING outside the State
limits.
The States Of Illinois. Wisconsin,
and Minnesota. have passed similar
laws. In this State some of the rail-
road companies have promptly COM
Piled with the requirements Of tln
law. Others have resisted it and
carried the matter into the United
States Courts. claiming that the State
had not the power to limit, even
within its own boundary their charges
as carriers, and similar suits have
been brought in the other States
named.
These suits have i'm all cases. be-
.licyc, decided in favor of the validity
Of the State law--ccrtainiy so in this
Statc.--and are now pending for final
decision and soon Ia be decided in
the Supreme Court Of the United
States.
The law of this State must of ncccS-
sity have been TO great extent ex-
pcrinental. The subject was new
one il involved many difficult ques-
tons and much OF detail. recon-
mend to YOU careful examination
of the law in the light ofthe expert
cnce Of its effects since its adoption.
If you shall find that in any of its
provisions il works uniustly and un-
fairly to the railroad companies. or
that il fails to afford to the people that
degree of protection to which they
are fairly and justly entitled. such
effects should be remcdied. | do not
recommend the repeal Of the law. On
the contrary. advocate its retention
on our statute-books with such
amendments as Your wisdom may
suggest as calculated 10 do justice.
both To the people and to the railroad
companies. also recommend to
you a careful examination OF the
question whether you cannot by law
prevent the combination among what
should be competing lines. to which
have already alluded.
Ialso recommend the appointment
ofa board of railroad commissioners.
whose duty, among other things, it
shall be to collect and lay before the
General Assembly ut each regular
session such information in regard to
the railroads of the State as will cna-
BILE future General Assemblies to act
with reference to them with a knowl-
edge Of many particulars that cannot
be otherwise obtained. Think ii inn
portant that the question of the pow
or of the States to limit the charges
Of railroad companies within their
respective boundaries. aud the power
of Congress to limit such charges OH
inter State trade. shall he settled by
the Supreme Court Of the United
States, so that, III case this power
shall be held to reside i'm the State
and national authorities respectively,
We may go on and perfect such lcgis-
lation as may he found necessary and
proper for ourselves, and the Federal
congress be urged to exercise lis au-
thority in the prevention of abuses in
the great CARRYING trade of the conn.
try.
Various modes have been sngges-
ted by which the public interest can
be protected in this regard, ii il shall
be found we cannot dos0 by statna-
tory enactment. Among these, the
opening up, by the general govern
mcnt, of lines OF water communities
ton through the country. and the
building of one or more trunk lines
of freight railroads the use OF which
shall be open 10 all, have been advo-
Gated. Either of these plans would
involve thcexpcnditnrc OF more mon
ev than our government is now well
prepared to spend. But ii in no other
way the end can be gained, this diff.
Guilty will be overcome.
Let us examine this question in all
its parts, calmly and carefully, with
out passion and without prejudice.
Our people are not hostile to rail.
roads or railroad companies. On tho
contrary, we appreciate fully and
concede freely the great benefits our
state has gained from these works,
and we have always contributed free
ly of our means to their prosecution.
We know too. that our future pros
perity depends largely upon their
maintenance and success. But To the
claim of their managers that they,
like other business men, must be al
lowed to manage their business their
own way, without interference or
dictation by the state. We answer
First, that their business so directly
and vitally affects the interest of eve
ry citizen. that ii is the duty Of the
state to see to it flat the privileges
granted TO them for the public good.