Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-11-22
THE RAILROAD COMMISSIONER.

| 1A1 4t6I61tOA0
What He Told the Farmers Board O
Trade Last Week.
IGov. Marshall feeling that the report of hi
remarks before the Farmers Board of Trad
did him injustice by its omissions, we give be
low full abstract OF his remarks. ED
GLOBE.
The history of the legislation of this Stat
in regard to regulating railroads may not b,
familiar to members of this board. 1t Is
more full than is generally known. In 1871
the legislature, after exhaustive investiga
ton by Joint committee of both houses
passed an act fixing the rates of freight and
passengers on all the railroads. 1t was un-
der this act that the famous suit of Blake
against the Winona & st. Peter railroad
originated. The supreme court of the United
States In that case and other cases from Wis
consin and Illinois, decided that the power
existed in the States to control the rates of
railroads. 1t was an invaluable decision,
setting at rest the question that the power
existed in the people represented in the leg
islature to restrict and regulats railroads as
common carriers. This act of 1871 served
| no other purpose than to
make case for this decision. It
| was never enforced or obeyed.
| The railroads pleaded that it was wholly i'm
| practicable to do business and live under the
law. 1t was repealed in 1874, and a law
passed creating board of railroad commits
sioners required to establish maximum rates
for freight and passengers on the railroads,
with power to change these rates at any
time. The difference between this law and
the one of 1871 was that instead of rates fix
ed by the Legislature. that could not be chang
ed until another legislature should act, the
board of commissioners could at any time
modify and change the tariffs they establish
ed. Under that law Gen. Edgerton, j. j.
Randall, of Winona, and myself were sp-
pointed commissioners, and with
the aid Of experts prepared schedules
of rates which went into effect
the first of August, 1874. The railroads did
not adopt our rates, pleading that it was
impracticable to comply with the pro rata and
other features of the law. The legislature
met in few months and repealed that law,
and enacted in the place the existing law
which has been in operation now nearly six
years, and has on the whole given reasonable
satisfaction. With my experience and obser-
vation l cannot see that it would be wise to
60 back to either of the systems that were
tried and abandoned in 1871 and 1874.
Commissioner Marshall read from the law
of 1876, now in force, the important provis-
ions, prohibiting railroads from discriminat-
ing as between men or places or favoring
any one or allowing rebates or drawbacks,
requiring Just aud equal rates to all,
specifically requiring railroads to furnish
cars to all shippers alike without favor or
delay, etc. etc. The penalty for violating
any of these provisions is three-fold DANA
ges to the aggrieVed party.
1t is made the duty of the State railroad
commissioner to inquire into any violations
of the law. The commissioner said that in
all cases where complaints had been made
to him of violations of the law he had dill
gently investigated the matter, and the
abuse complained of had been remedied, or
it had been shown n OF to exist. Not unfre-
quently complaints had arisen from msap.
prehension of facts. He found the railroads
sensitive to public opinion and official in
vestigation and ready to correct anything
wrong.
There were undoubtedly many inequali-
ties, and exceptional abuses, but these
seemed no more than inherent in all i'm
perfect human institutions and large busi-
ness operations.
The inequality of rates between compet-
ing points and noncompetion stations was
one that presented difficulty and seeming in
justice. Why should Mankato and ST.
Peter have lower rates relative to distance
than Belle Plaine, where there was no com.
peting railroad? The answer of the railroad
officials was that if they did not take freight
from Manhato at such rates as they
could get in competition with the
the Winona railroad, they would lose what
ever small profit they had on this small bus
iness, and would then have to charge Belle
Plaine and other non n-competing points
higher rate in order to make their line pay.
The commissioner knew no satisfactory
answer to make to this statement of the rail
roads. Mr.. Peterson asked the commission
er if rates established by law uniform at
competing points and proportioned to rates
at non competing points would not remedy
the inequality?
The commissioner answered that the law
might fix rate for both roads at Mankato
in excess of which neither road should
charge, but if one road-the Winona for
instance-saw fit to reduce the rate one-half
less than the maximum fixed by law, what
help would there be for the Sioux CITY
road but to carry at like rates or forego all
business from that point. 1t would not do
to compel a road TO constantly charge the
highest rate allowed by Law. 1t has been
found that by competition and by better
economy in the operation of roads, rates
have been steadily reduced They are now
lower than were fixed by the act of 1871.
or by the commissioner in 1874. 1
do not see any way to deal with this question
of lower rates at competing points, than to
encourage the multiplication of lines of
roads, SO that the great body of the producers
may be in reach of competing lines.
The commissioner believed that a higher.
broader view of this whole question would
seek to encourage capital to build more
roads, until railroads should become almost
as numerous 80 wagon roads. Minnesots
was the first Northwestern State to repeal
what was deemed by the railroads oppres-
sive legislation, and she was the first to en-
| Joy renewal of railroad extension and had
kept the lead of most of the neigboring
| States.
There was no danger of all the railroads
being owned by one great corporation.
Witness the great competition lines in this
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