Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-09-01
FEE REguRLrcAs aIA1roRM.

stltuSe ratEer monument OF Dlind lgnOr-
ance, malice and injustice. than of the in
telligence and equity of the body which
framed it. There is fair Sunday law
resolution, and there is a resolution in favor
of Civil Service reform, though, curiously
enough, that subject is not expressly men,
toned. The bulk OF the platform, how.
ever, is taken up with a series of anti
railroad resolutions, and in them every
principle of equity, every moral ccnsidera-
ton, every consideration OF the rights of
the citizen, is shameiessly trampled upon,
ignored and repudiated. The Convention,
with fatuous inconsistency, begins by de.
claring" that railroad companies, the same
"as individuals, should be dealt with in
fairness and without injustice ;" and it
then proceeds to pledge its nominees for
the Railroad Commission to series OF
propositions which involve the utter deg.
radiation of their judicial functions, and
which contravene the provisions of the
organic law at every step. The Constitu
ton has defined the duties of the Railroad
Commissioners, and has required them to
proceed only upon careful and thorough in
vestigation. The Convention, coolly ig.
noring the Constitution, demands that they
shall proceed to regulate" fares and
freights in the absence OF the necessary
knowledge, and this body of so called
representative men has no more sense than
to believe that honorable and sell. respect
ing men can be got TO accept such infamous
and disgraceful pledges.
The proposition looking to the regula-
lation of the railroads evinces an ignorance
Of the science of transportation which even
Tom Fowler might envy. The Commis.
sioners are to be pledged to fix the tariff
of charges upon the basis of "cost of
service with reasonable allowance
for interest and repairs as above indi-
Gated, instead of the mercenary exaction
" of all the traffic will bear" This
is a proposition to abolish classification
in freight rates, and we do not hesitate to
assert that it is thoroughly imbecile
proposition, and wholly against the public
interest. The classification of freight is
absolutely essential to the full develop
ment of the transportation business, from
the standpoint of public interest. 1t is a
system under and through which railroads
are enabled to carry low priced goods at
almost infnitesimal rates. 1t is only
because it is possible to charge high
maximum upon costly goods that rail.
roads can carry corn and wheat and wood
and coal and lumber, and low class freight
generally, at minimum rates. If classified.
ton was put an end to; if the cost of
service was made the standard of
freight charges, no railroad would any
longer be able to carry low. priced freights
long distances at minimum rates. The ap-
plication of the Conventions stupid theory
would have the effect of diminishing the
usefulness of every railroad in the State by
compelling them to charge such rates for
low class freight as would be prohibitory
and as low-class freight forms the bulk of
the aggregate freightage carried, the pro.
ducer would be the first to be injured by
the change.
The ninth plank in the platform, which
is delirious and preposterous piece of in.
vective against the railroad contract sys.
TEN, is in the same general line. Whoever
drafted it did not know what he was writ
ing about. The denunciation Of the con.
tract system is simply silly. The state.
ments made concerning it are simply false.
The talk about enslaving the commerce
"snd trade of the whole coast is unmiti.
gated nonsense. The truth of the matter
is that the contract system is neither more
ncr - than an application of we'll estab-
nod aud familiar hns;ness principles,
which every merchant practices in his own
lines, Nobody is obliged to make con.
tract. Nobody does 50 unless they see
that it will be to sSeir advantage. All
who have done so have bsen benefited by
it. And the only opposition to the method
has come from certain merchants who, by
their own confession, resented conditions
which were intended to secure their faith.
full performance of their obligations. The
Convention pledges itself to prohibit the
making of such contracts Ky proper
legislation, to the extent, if necessary, OF
making the same public offense. In
saying this the Convention has written
itself down an ass. No such action can
be had. Or if Legislature were found
sufficiently thick-headed TO pass such a
law, it would at once be declared unoonsti.
tutional by the Courts.
We are ashamed to find Repu blican
Convention thus exposing its folly and
shortsightedness, and basely STOPPING to
the lowest tricks of the demagogue in Or
der to surpass the Democrats in favoring
the confiscstion of corporate property.
We are still more ashamed to see that such
able and convincing expositions of the
iniquity and wrong of these anti-railroad
pisnks, as were made on the floor of the
Convention yesterday by McShafter, John.
son, Mcfarland, Pixley and others, had
absolutely no effect in persusding the ma
jority that they were about to commit q
great blunder. When the Convention de-
clared that "The people should be pro-
"tected by law from any abuse or unjust
"exacticns. Unjust determinations against
individuals or localities should be pro-
hibited. Equal service upon equal terms
Ito all persons should be enforced" it
covered the whole ground, To see that
these ends are attained is the special
function of the Railroad Commissioners,
and if proper persons were nominated for
that office the rights and interests of the
public would be sufficiently protected
But by exacting the most wild and mon.
strous pledges from candidates whose fuuc.
tions are in large part Judicial, the Con-
vention has invited demagogues to come
forward in candidature for these positions
and has in effect declared that it will only
give the nominations to such q, are willing
to promise in advance to decide causes
in particular manner.
rcypT