The Brookhaven ledger. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1882-02-02

GAFs l,aErx and tho AaiisSad
: Regulators.
Vicksburg Herald
The new Governors Judgment
and firmness will, in oil probability,
soon be put to the test. 1t will soon
appear, whether he meant what he
said in his inaugural. or whether
his words were intended to conceal
his purposes. He explicitly stated
in his first official public declaration
that he would do nothing to dis
courage the development and pro-
gress Of the State; that he favored
its railroad enterprises on a basis
just alike to The railroad men and
the citizens of the State. With his
declarations the railroad men and
those who had invested their money
in railroads were entirely satisfied,
for they ask nothing but fair play.
On the heels of his inaugural the
lower House passed a railroad law
that is endurable only for what it
says the Railroad Commission may
not attempt. 1t says the new roads
shall not be molested for ten years.
That is the only part of the bill
that is in accord with the Govern
or's inaugural. While he may con-
slstently approve that portion OF it,
he must, il he remains steadfast as
just arbiter, veto the balance of
the law.
The bill attempts to regulate the
entire business of the railroads
within the State. 1t provides for a
Commission to take charge of the
books, the contracts, the rate of
freight and passage, the improve
ments, and all the details of railroad
work in thNkM.ss-- Govrnor Lowry
has only to inform himsdif whether
such law will or will not encour-
age railroad building in the State.
He has only to put himself in the
place, SO to speak, for a moment of
some railroad investor. He is a
good business man. Would he in
vest thousands and millions of dol
lars in State, and give up the con-
troll of it to political creature to
be called into existence by the Mis-
sissippi Legislature? There is a
chance that such a creature might
not do any harm. Such a creature
exercises authority in few of the
other States and has done no par
ticular harm, but it is worthy of
note that when it exercises the least
authority it does the least harm.
1t, however, has the power to do
vast harm, and that is what makes
it so Objectionable to those lnves-
ting thousands and millions of dol
lars. They take risk enough in
building railroads without building
them for hungry Railroad Commits,
sions to control.
In this State there are some four
or five railways. If the new law
can abrogate charter, it can affect
one of them. The termini, or the
terminus Of all the others, are out
side OF the State. and the Commits
sion can only control and regulate
them as to their improvements and
by an impertinent interference with
their contracts with other roads. Ii
the State proposes to annul the char
ter of the Vicksburg & Meridian
road, it can take charge of it, make
it's rates, order it to build other de-
pots, tanks, bridges snd. so on to
suit the Railroad Commission crea
ted by the Mississippi Legislature.
Of course the Regulators will de-
clare that is not the purpose of the
law. No matter what they say,
that is the spirit of the law, and
the Commission is clothed with
power to do just that. The essence
of the law is that an individual or
corporation that has built a railroad
in Mississippi costing one million
or five millions, shall give it up to a
creature of the Mississippi Legisla-
tnre. 1t is true that creature may
kindly allow the owner or owners OF
the road to select its officers and en-
joy it's profits, If there are any, but
it is equally true the creature is
clothed with power to prevent prof
its and ruin the property if it sees
fit.
1t is therefore plain the Govern
or, to be just to all. and true to his
own public declarations, must, if
the measure is presented him as it.
passed the House, veto it.