The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1884-08-15
THE RAILROAD COMMISSIONERS.
Interesting Points in their First Annual
Report-Another Decision.

Railroad Commissioners: -
The Commissioners, have no power
| to enforce an order. They can simply advise
the company in fault of the changes desired
or deemed necessary. To have invested the
commission with the power toenforce its own
orders. It would have been necessary to have
changed the character of the board and the
scope oft OF its functions ana powers at would thd
commission all the powers OF Court OF
Chancery, to be exercised within the scope OF
its Unsigned duties. with such ministerial OH,
necessary to such tribunals, to execute its in
4 functions and mandates. it would have
, rendered il necessary to have instituted
| formal investigation, upon proper complaint
and notice to the company complained of,
and the rendition of a formal judgment and
| decree upon the evidence which should be
| submitted to the board. Manfestly, in such
| case it would have been improper for the
| board to have acted upon knowledge and in
| formation gathered from personal observa-
| ton, Or the eX parte statements of indvid-
uals, as much so as it would be for regul irly
organized courts to act judicially upon evil
dence which has never been disclosed t. the
| opposite party to the suit The SUPERVISOR
| powers of the commission would I'm such case
extend only to such matters as should be
| formally brought before it by complaint, and
no such complaint would be made until some
one had become the suffering victim of some
7 neglect, failure, or other violation of duty on
! the part of railroad company. Thus the
chief benefits which were intended to be Sc
supervisory powers would be sacrificed by i'm
posing upon them those limitations in the ex-
ercise of functions which are necessary to i'm
press upon judicial DEGREES the weight and
, character of impartiality.
Generally, the power to make its require
mcnts imperative through the power of en-
| forcement. is not necessary in order to make
the requests and recommendations of the
board felt and Obeyed. We feel justified in
further observing, that as the irritation the
| friction and the MISUNDERSTANDING which in
eyitably arise from the attempt to adapt an
extensive and well established system of
transportation, involving vast pecuniary in
terests to new and untried system of reglI-
latiOn, imposing restraints at numerous
points where before there existed unrestrained
freedom, shall wear away. all reasonable re-
quirements or advice of the board will come
TO possess the character of commands to rail
road managers. Such has come to be the con-
dition of things, after the lapse of time, and
parties have become accustomed to the new
order of things i'm other States wherein com
missions have been in existence number of
years.
the Commissioners has been the subject Of
criticism. The law provides that the rates
which the board shall decide to be reasonable
and which shall be certified to the corporation
aga INST which complaint was lodged. shall he
accepted and posted up in aconspicuous place
i'm each depot on the line of the company s
road, which shall be designated by the board,
and that such rates shall, in all actions between
the company and shipper, be held to be prima
facie reasonable.
II is quite probable that in practice the ma
chincry already provided for the enforcement
of rates, embraced in a decision of the Com
missoners, will prove sufficient at least i'm all
cases where the Commissioners rates are
reasonable. None are more fully alive to the
fact than managers of railroads, that the Com
missioners are not simply three unarme,l men,
but they represent the majesty and power of
the State. and that their official utterance con-
centratcs the opinion OF a million people. I'm
less the decision of the board upon the ques-
ton of rates should be manifestly unfair or
unjust. these men know that it would not only
be futile tc resist them or refuse to adopt
them, but that to do so would tend to invite
public opinion and feeling which could only
be satisfied by measures of retaliation. and
would result in state of things detri-
mental alike to the interests of both people
and railroads. The burden of proving to the
satisfaction of court and jury that the Com
missoners' rates were unjust to the company
would he an undertaking of such magnitude
and difficulty, at least in the majority of in
stances, as to deter even the rash and pre-
sumptuous. 1t would involve the proving of
a mass of minute and technical details,
which can only be grasped and their signfi-
trained minds. before a body of men pos
scSscd of neither aptitude nor the experience
and training that fitted them for such inyesti-
cation, and with every presumption of law
and fact against the company and with every
interest and prepOsSesSiOn of the triers, the
jury, arrayed in OPPOSITION. Railroad compa-
mics have never courted the verdicts of juries
to any great extent. even in eases where the
jury was entirely free from the bias of inter
est; il is hardly to be expected that they will
tempt them against strong feelings of se,f-in-
terost. Ii factious opposition should be
offered by a railroad company to the proper
orders of the board. an appropriate remedy
could be suggested and applied. In view of
the fact that railroad corporations appeal with
some reluctance 10 courts and that they are
not likely to in the case of Commissioners
rates, unless very good grounds exist for do
ing so, we are not at this time prepared or
deem it necessary to suggest any changes I'm
this respect in the law. As it stands. the COM
pany decided against possesses right to ap-
peal from the decision of the Commission to q
regularly organized court, IA right which in
some form should be preserved as a safeguard
against possible wrongs which either mis-
takes or the abuse OF power might inhict..
REDUCTION IN RATES.
Long prior to the passage of the law Great
ing a board of Railroad commissioners. and
at the time the present Commissioners en-
tered upon their duties, a strong impression
prevailed in the public mind that the rates
charged for the transportation of freight over
the different lines i'm the State were too high
and ought to be reduced. The maximum rate
bill introduced into and passed by the House
of Representatives. which. however, finally
gave place to the act which left the matter of
rates to be dealt with 10y the Commissioners.
created.cOnsiderable disappointment and in
tensiticd the discomfort which already pre-
vailed among Il large class of the people Up
to that time no information existed outside of
railroad offices showing the financial condi
ton of the various railroads operating in
Kansas. their doings in transportation, and
the general syste 1 of tariffs prevailing upon
them. This information existed i'll voumi
nous forms upon numerous records, and was
not readily accessible to the board. Immedi-
ately upon their organization, the board pro-
ceeded to gather. the tariffs of tho differ
forms as would render : them con-
venient for study and use. This, in conncc-
ton with the other work of the board, re-
quired time TO accomplish. Other informa-
ton which the board deemed necessary from
time to time TO an Intelligent understanding
of their work. was called for, to which the
general managers responded as rapidly as
seemed to be practicable. In the meantime
much impatieuce manifested itself at what
some regarded as the slow movements of the
board. The board could not move in the mat
plants coming from the source Indicated:
and in the face of the fact that the railroad
managers maintained that their rates were
reasonable, il became necessary when COM
plants were filed to proceed upon evidence
quite complete and exhaustive. Under the
law il was possible, and Ut that time it APP
peared quite probable. that the value of the
work of the Commissioners, IL adverse to the
claims of the railroads. would be tested in
the courts 1t was obviously unjust TO every
interest involved, and would have lacked com
pliancc with the spirit and intent of the law.
to have entered upon an investigation which
was intended TO affect interests Of great
magnitude, both TO the railroads and the pub.
lie in any but Ia thorough manner. 1t has
been the policy of the board. adopted from
the beginning, in all matters requiring cX-
tended investigation. to bring the parties
complaining and the company complained OF
before the board. and invite the fullest in
curry. to the end that a clear comprehension
of all matters necessary to an intelligent de-
cision might be arrived at, and that the de-
cision when made should possess the weight
of a conclusive Judgment upon the matter.
In S can only obtain after parties have had
full opportunity. TO be heard cxhaustivey,
both rs tn evidence and argument.
RATES AT COMMON POINTS.
Section 10 of the railroad law reads:
mo railroad company shall charge, demand
or receive from any person. company or cor