Daily Los Angeles herald., 1883-08-31
The Brigazoo in the Democratic Par
" Anent the Extra Session An
Interview Between the Messrs.
Carpenter and Humphreys and
the Editor of the Herald.

Carpenter and Humphreys and
the Editor of the Herald.
DEAn HERALD: have passed without
mention the fraoas in the Democratic
State Central Committee over the un-
wise proposition to call an extra session
Of the State Legislature for tho purpose
Of removing Railway Commissioners Car
penter and Humphreys from office. ]
should be happy indeed II there existed
no occasion for noticing the matter at
all. A large portion Of the Democratic
party look upon this whole movement
rs tho Trojan horse which may over.
throw the citadel of the California De-
mocracy after direct Republican assault
had failed They have deprecated an
agitation which many Of them regarded
as premature, many more as unjust, and
still Others as a stupid playing into the
hands Of the Chronicle. As between
one faction and the other, Democrats
who desire the success OF their party
feel like exclaiming. with Mercuti o,
"a plague o. both your houses. 1t
Is now generally conceded that the extra
session movement has fallen still.born.
From conversation which ! had with
Governor Stoneman, tho other day,
am satisfied that no win only call an ex-
ira session upon an exigent public neces-
sity or demand Of a majority Of the
Legislature, and that in his opinion
neither contingency is likely to arise.
With reference to the olamor from GER
tain quarters, he added that he did not
propose to go to his enemies for advice.
He also adverted to the dissatisfaction
which was being expressed all over
Pennsylvania as result of the extra
session now being held there.
SOMETHING ABOUT TmE COMMISSIONERS
AND THEIR WORK.
As the action of the Railway Com
missioners is matter of general public
interest, more particularly for Demo
Gratis, who elected that body, respond
ed to an invitation which | had
received from the President, Mr..
Carpenter, to go to the rooms Of the Com
missionors and see just what they had
done. Upon arrival ] introduced the
conversation by saying that | intended,
as nearly as possible, to reproduce the
leading objections which had appeared
in the newspapers, notably the Exam
iaer and Chronicle, which had been the
life Of the agitation. / had not met Mr..
Humphreys before, and found him to be
gentleman who would be set down by
people anywhere. from his physiognomy
and manners, as frank, honest and mag
netic. Mr.. Foote was absent. l pre-
faced the chat by remarking that they
were of course aware that they were
credited with having acted officially in
the interest OF the railway company,
rather than in that of the people. To
this both replied with great warmth that
they were simply doing their duty as
they understood it. They both claimed
that, in their previous career, public
and private, they had never been known
to violate pledge, and they did not
propose to do it in this instance. In the
course of the preliminary remarks it be-
came quite apparent that both fully
reciprocated the hostility OF the ErGm.
iner, the course OF which paper they
denounced as unfair and even treacher-
Gus. called their attention to the fact
alleged by the leading journals in the
agitation that the reductions made by
the Commission
IN FARES WERE A SHAN
And intended to throw dust in the eyes
of the people, quoting the statement 50
frequently made that the large reduc-
tion, for instance, in the fare from La
thrcp to Fresno, from 5000 to $500,
was Of no avail, for the reason that there
was hardly any travel between those
points. / adverted TO the Chronicles
article, which called Lathrop an insig.
nifcant point in swamp, and inquired
whether the passenger who bought
a ticket from San Francisco to Fresno
got the benefit of this large reduction
from Lathrop, an intermediate point, to
Fresno. They replied that he un.
doubtedly did. This fact, l may say en-
PEASANT, the Chronicle has studiously
RETAINED from letting its readers know,
preferring to create the impression, in
reinforcement OF its diatribes, that the
whole thing was juggle of no material
consequence. MIR. Humphreys then
claimed that they had made very large
reductions between some sixteen hun.
dred OF tho upward of two thousand
railway stations on the Central Pacific
Railway, these reductions often running
up to forty-fve per cent. and more. The
Commissioners claim that great relief TO
the people will accrue from this amend.
ed fare schedule. Falling back again
upon the hostile newspapers, ! asked
why they had not reduced the fares be-
tween such points as San Francisco and
San Jose. The reply was that they had
not done SO for the simple reason that,
in their judgment, and in that of near
ly everybody, they were already low
enough. A local problem was next in
order, and / asked why the rate to Los
Angeles had not been more largely
reduced. At this question Mr..
Carpenter got up and procured a copy
OF the report to the l,egis-
lature of the Messrs. Stoneman, Smith
and Doyle, Gov. Irwin's appointees, in
which those gentlemen say that they do
not recommend any reduction between
competitive points because those rates
were already low enough, and competi.
ton would regulate them. / again
quoted the journals upon the Commits.
sioners TO the effect that the reduction
in fares which had been made by them
would not diminish the railway cons
pany's revenue sl00,0O0 a year. Mr..