Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-05-20
The Railroad Commission Of Georgia.
Albany Ne,os and Advertise,

Albany NetCs and Advertiser.
The Railroad Commissioners of Georgia
are made by the act of the Legislature Gre
ating them officers OF the State, and as such
their official acts are proper subjects of dis
cussion and criticism. and yet we have hest
tated to pass judgment upon their last pub
lie paper (for it cannot be called reporl)
until 1t was completed.
In the Atlanta Consultation of April 2Sth
the first installment of this remarkable
document is given to the public, and now,
after an interval of fourteen DAYS, the
second installment, more remarkable than
the first, makes its appearance, still In a
state Of incompleteness.
In one respect 1t reminds US Of the stories
in the New York Ledger, which end abrupt
~ by the statement, ito be continued in our
next" but here the analogy ends, for, I'M
like the stories referred to, 1t does not in
spire the reader with any great desire for
the conclusion.
In our issue of the LIST inst. we took occa-
sion to express our surprise at the character
of the SO called report, so far as it then
went, but were inclined to suspend our
Judgment upon its merits and await its
completion.
We suppose, for the same reason, the
press of Georgia have withheld any com
meuts upon 1t, and, like US, have been ex-
pecting report from the Commissioners of
their official acts, with such recommends
tions for additional legislation as their
official experience might have suggested 1t
seems to us that we have waited long
enough, for chapter second of this remark
able document is still further removed
than the first from anything and everything
that should have been contained in a report
of this character. Section IA of the railroad
law of Georgia reads as follows:
"That 1t shall be the duty Of the Commits
sioners herein provided for 10 make the
Governor semi annual reports of the trans
actions or their office, and to recommend
from time to time such legislation as they
may deem advisable under the provisions Of
this act"
This section Is easily understood and
clearly defines the object, character and
scope off the semi annual reports provided
for, and the public had the right to expect
that the Commissioners, In the performance
OF this duty, would have complied with the
law.
Instead of the Commissioners giving us
the transactions of their office" and recon-
mending any additional legislation, chapter
LIST is devoted to a learned discussion
of the constitutional features of the
present railroad law of Georgia and an elab-
crate disquisitiou upon the great question
of transportation from the days of Adam
down to the present.
law was defective or needed amendment
II such was ia their opinion the case-they
make labored argument to satisfy the Leg
islature that they had the constitutional
right to pass the law. In other words, the
creatures are devoting columns of news
paper to satisfy their creators that they not
only had the right, but ought to have Gre
ated them.
AS matter Of history, it NAV be inter
esting for the public to know that the father
of one Of the Commissioners travelled on
horseback from Savannah to New York, or
that the grandfather of another Commits
siouer carried load of cotton to Philadel-
phia all the way in wagon, and brought
back load of goods. but yet we scarcely
expected to find this Information ia a public
report to the Governor of Georgia, made
under the present law.
The constitutional argument may have
been good and proper before the conven-
ton that made our last constitution, or be-
fore the Legislature that passed the law
carrying the constitutional provisions into
effect, but we submit that It is waste of
time and learning to discuss these subjects
now.
We are prepared to admit that ever since
the reign OF William and Mary It has
been conceded that common carriers were
subject to legislative enactment and control:
that the right Of "eminent domain" remains
in the State, and can be exercised where It
does not infringe upon vested rights. These
are admitted propositions, but what the
public desires and expects from our Railroad
Commissioners is to show US the practical
effect of the present railroad law and its
effects upon the material interests of the
| State.
1t will be remembered that the Commits
sioners In their first report alluded In no I'M
certain terms to the large powers with which
| the Commission was clothed, and referred
to it as ''thumbserews tightening with the
! grasp, making litigation to test questions
| dangerous" In the first report they speak
of their powers and authority as so plain
| and comprehensive as to make them shrink
| from the exercise of them, and vet. In this
their next semi-aDnual report, they charac-
terize the Commission as an advisory board,
| and that they have no authority to enforce
their decisions, and speak of their decisions
| in fact as having no force until passed upon
| by some court.
Why, we would ask, has this "change
| come over the spirit of their dream?D Ia It
because what they regarded as large and
| dangerous power at first become by fsmili-
arity with 1t and its exercise small natter
| Other reasons for this remarkable change in
| their views IS to the law under which thew
| hold Office might be assigned, and would
naturally occur, but we might do injustice
to them by referring to them, which we do
not desire to do.
| 1t may be true, as stated In chapter I'd of
! this remarkable document, that officers and
directors of railroads are often unscrup u !.
lous and selfish, disregarding the interests
| of stockholders to subserve their own, and
by means Of proxies, vote In and out whom
they please, and yet, we must express our
| surprise and dissent as a matter of taste
from these statements appearing In such a
report as this. The view we take of 1t is,
that it is not within the province of our
Railroad Commissioners to create distrust
between stockholders and managers of rail-
roads, but to show in their reports wherein
| they have earnestly endeayored under the
law to benefit both railroads and people.
That instead OF exciting prejudice and
| alarm by imaginary pictures OF gigantic cor
| porations and combinations "more power
full than governments" and vague illusions
| to the dangers of false bookkeeping. it
would have been better to have given the
people the facts (f they have discovered
any to warrant such statements, and the
remedies they proposed for such evils
The spirit and letter of the present rail-
road law of Georgia is, as we understand
and construe 1t, perfect fairness and Justice
both to railroads and the people, and If It
| cannot be so administered the sooner & Il
repealed the better. However large or I'M
doubted our legislative power NAV be. we
| cannot afford to do Injustice To anv iptarast