Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1884-03-06

the company, which has been derived.
as before shown. largely from busi-
ness arising on the company's lines in
other States and Territories. and upon
| through traffic between the oceans. IN
other words, the Commissioners assume
the rightly reason of the company's
prosperity, resulting from its enterprise
ana energy, coupled with investments of
mlIlions OF dollars In other States-to re-
! duce its gross receipts. for the purpose of
/ Oenehttlng the State of Kansas. without
regard to the character of the business
from which such revenues have been
derived. If 1t is just and right for the
! commissioners of the State of KansGs
10 make this reduction of 100000. in the
gross revenues of the company. it WouId
/ be equally right and proper for each of
the SeUeH States and Territories in which
the companys lines are operated to make
corresponding reductions, which you will
readily see, would soon put the road in
the hands OF a receiver, If there were any
/ legal right and power to make these re-
strlctions on anything more than local
traffic.
These five orders made by the old
Board of Railroad Commissioners have
been presented by the company to able
! counsel, and have been submitted to the
Board of Directors who directly repre-
sent the ownership of the property.
They believe that these orders made. are
unjust and unwise to the best interest of
] the State, and are indeed without color
OF law, but they have determined that in
Difference to the will of the peoDle. as
expressed by the establishment of the
! Railroad Commission they will comply
with the entire orders which have been
made, except where the said orders
OPENLY CONFLICT with the law made by
the people. Therefore, taking up now
the five orders of the Board, the COMPANY
has determined to do as follows:
! No. l. The tariff ordered was adopted
February 18th for the entire main line.
No. 2. The tariff ordered was adopted
February 18th for the sentire auxiliary
systems in Kansas.
No. 3. The conjoint mileage ordered
with the new mileage rates, was adopted
FEBRUARY 18th for the entire auxiliary sys-
TENS and will be continued until the
leases of these auxiliary roads have
been legally cancelled.
No. 4. The tariff and mileage ordered
for the L., T. & S. w. Railway and the M,
A. q b. Railroad was adopted February
18th, 1884, and will be continued until
the sixty days notice of a change of
rates and mileage has been given as re-
quired by law.
No. 5. The special rates ordered by
the Board for Atchison, LeavenWorth
| and Kansas City cannot be adopted by
the company without violation of section
10 OF the law, quoted above, which ex-
pressly forblds the making of such rates
within the State. If we adopt them we
shall be subject to suits all over the line
and incur the penalties prescribed in
of suit, and a reasonable attorneys fee,
to be affixed by the court; and if an APP
peal be taken from the judgment, or any
part thereof, it shall be the duty of the
appellate court to include in the judg-
ment an additional reasonable attorneys
fee for services in appellate court OF
courts.
Sec. 20. Any railroad company or in.
dividual willfully violating or evading
any of the provisions of this Act not
otherwise herein provided for, shall for
each offense forfeit and pay penalty Of
/ not less than one hundred nor more than
| five thousand dollars.
And the adoption of such special rates
! having been enjoined in a proceeding
| brought for that purpose by the Eastern
stockholders of the company, the COM
pany is prohibited from adopting such
special rates until after the question of
their illegally has been judicially deter
/
Earnestly, respectfully and firmly have
we protested against the five orders above
made by the old Board Upon every
point we have been overruled by the old
Board. If the railroad company were to
refuse to adopt the rates made by the old
Board, the people would perhaps believe
that the railroad company was opposing
the law merely for their own special in
terest By the adoption of the rates, the
people will in the course of year be
better able to determine whether rail-
road can be better run by Board of
Commissioners with an ironclad tariff, or
by the owners of the properly with full
power to manage their own affairs, sub
ject to supervision from the State, and pro-
Vided they comply with the common law
requirements Of common carriers.
Other States have found the last plan
to be the best; Kansas may not be an
exception.
We have always believed in the inner
ent desire for justice on the part of the
people. The feeling ofsuspicion andsome-
times of animosity which they entertain
'Nward corporations arises largely from
the difficulty of obtaining information.
This is added to by the false representa-
lions designedly made by interested per-
sons, in order to obtain office, or for 9th
er wrong motives. We desire as far as
we can to correct erroneous ideas, and
give truthful information which may
lead to better understanding between
all interests. It is impossible for the
heads of our different departments, in
addition to their other duties, to give
this subject the attention it merits. We
have therefore made the following ar
rangement for our own good and for the
benefit of the people on our line:
Mr.. Norris L. Gage, prominent citi-
zen of the city of Topeka and a member
of its Board of Trade, and entirely I'M
connected with any railroad interest in
the State, has been engaged to give his
1 entire attention to furnishing the people
sections 10 and ~ herewith gwen:
SEC. I9. Any railroad company which
shall violate any Of the provisions OF
this act shall forfeit for every such Of
Tense. to the person.- cOmnanY or corno.