Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1882-03-13
WHEELING w. VA. MONDAY MORNING. 8. 1882

Commissioners, Why not with nrembers o,
the Legislature, Judges, ste.? II We had
the right to doit In one csse, why not in
| any2 Where does the rigft begin snd
where end? Is thi, the case "a Georgia
II so, no doubt we win he fully informed
upon the subject, and why and how it Is
so.
Another feature in the bill slat he
thought was little strasge was thst proyi.
sion that authorizes an aesion to be Brought
and q recoreryto be had in Che cause where
any wrong or Injury on nay person were
inflicted by q railroad Crnipany. Supi
pose it is foreign corporation. how is tae
recovery TO be hsd if they remove the csse
to the Federal Coart, and that is in differ:
ent county? Ifir Is not intended to apply
to such cases, it rseans nothing. Federal
jurisdiction could not be ousteG do not
mean to say that the recovery could not be
had in the Federal Court but Ghen the
plaintiff would be compelled to 90:
Another extraordinary provision is that
which authorizes thee commissioners teinves-
tigate tAe books and papers of all rsisroad
companies. This canfos mean bus one
thing-tsat these Commissioners have q
right to see any and all pspers, otherwfsc it
amounts 70 nothing. It Matters not how
important il may be to The Company that
the contests of paper should be keyt
secret, yet bow would the Commissioners
know that IL had not some cosaection with
the rules and regulations. unless they see
the contents and il COMMISSIONER was so
disposed, ursdsr this authority he could
inform himself as fully aste'sll matters
connected with it financivlT7 sud other
wise as any Oliits officials. In his investi.
cations this Law does not cou6JIe him to
any particular BODY and paper
1t is useless to- discuss q matter IKE this.
Any business man upon moments rehec-
ton can see heT such an ineUisitOrial
power might be sbused and what lnjury
corporation migls suffer by it. He is not
even required to keep secret mstters that
might come in this way to bis knowledge
in an official capacity. nor is he prohibited
from taking advantage of important iufor-
nation that he might obtain.
Again, the net proceeds OF all finss reco~-
cred under the provisions of this act should
bc paid into the treasury. II seemed te him
for benefits of the school fund and hes 70
be for any such purposes as
The Legislature May Provide
Again, il he understood some OF 1ie
sections, they gave the commissioners leg
islatiye and judicial powers. For instance;
they make schedule of rates, etc; now
if more shall be charged than they have
determined upon, it shall be deemed, held
and taken to be violation of article IL, sec
ton 9, of the Constitution, and shall be IL
legal and void. Now they determine in.
the first place what is 10 lie charged; 2d, that
that is reasonable and it is final and con-
elusive, and if any one is guilty ofyiolating
these rules and regulations, the simple
thing to bc proven is that il was violation
and the guilty PARTY is found. No question
can be- made before the court a TO the
Ia nj ha nrin al
charge. there is no appeal from the action
OF the commission, and with full and
absolute power such as is here given them,
how many railroads would be
built in this State, and what
capitalist would invest his money i'll an en-
terprise that might I've at the mercy OF men
who knew nothing about railroads, and
who might to-day have one schedule uf
rates and tomorrow a different one, or who
might conceive that il was to the interest
of the people that one company should be
allowed 50 much for freight and another a
less amount, &c.
Again We have in this State between six
and seven hundred miles OF railroad. Tn
der this bill the salaries of the Commits
Sioners and clerk would be 5000,
besides 500 additional for
Onice Expenses,
etc, and any and all witnesses that might
lie summoned would be entitled To dollar
per day and mileage, and other expenses
would probably run up TO between 5000
and $4,000 year. This it seems to me,
would be considerable outlay
when law passed in Georgia in 1870, in
pursuance, as it is claimed, OF the Consti-
tuition of that State, and which. as far as
had heard has never been tested before the
Court OF Appeals, and in fact has not been
passed upOn hut by Federal Judge who
may hc very able hut not necessarily au-
thority, and with whom every other Judge
in the State might differ and bend as from
a hurried examination made by him OF the
section in the Georgia Constitution would
bear a very different construction from
that in our own Constitution and which Is
ruled open. He stated that he had given
this Railroad Problem some study within
the last few years, but admitted
that he could come to no conclusion
satisfactory to himself as to what II was
hest to do. Efforts had been made by some
OF the best men in the State 10 obtain some
kind of legislation and they had failed, and
he was satisfied in his own mind that either
it would be best TO select three or five able
and distinguished men in the State, ap-
propriating sufficient for them 10
give their time and attention to an
Investigation of the whole question and
recommend such legislation as woulu De
proper and just, or to stop the continual
agitation OF the question. Capital IS what
we want. and 10 get that here there must
be confidence. Agitation and no. law
is injuring US almost as much as bad laws
might do. He had hopes yet that some OF
the gentlemen who have studied this ques-
tion might devise some scheme to get us
out of this Egyptian darkness. Induce
capital to pour in from all sides, encour-
aged by the just, equitable and righteous
laws that may be on our stathte books. and
thus develop this magnificent State so full
OF mineral wealth.