Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-01-29
The Railroad Com m Issloners.

i
in the public press of the state .an at
tack ~on the railroad commissioners
which generally winds up with de
mand that their offices be abolished or
the ground that they are merely sine
cures and of no value whatever to the
| people.
! Those attacks and these demands
generally emanate from parties who
are either wholly or in part Ignorant
of what the railroad commissioners
have accomplished for the people ol
the state, or else are prejudiced against
| them because they have, INF the per.
fornlance of duty, trodden on sensitive
| and tender toes.
Without going into detailed state
| ment of the work accomplished by the
| omnissioners-and that they have
| rendered the people valuable service
and fully earned their salaries, is sus-
ceptible of the plainest and most in-
controvertible proof--we desire to call
attention to the fact that they are q
most hampered and eircumscribed body
of officials. lftheir offices be sinecures
which they are not, by any means
it is because the people of the state,
through their representatives in the
general assembly, have repeatedly re-
necessary to more efficient discharge
of their duties.
The object in creating the board was
not to make it a body hostile to the
railroad interests of the state, but to
give it certain supervisory jurisdiction
over these corporations, SO far as to re-
quire them to keep the road-beds,
bridges, rolling stocks, ETC., in such
manner as to insure safety to life aud
property committed to their care; also
to fix uniform freight traffic rates and
interpose their authority, whenever it
became necessary, to prevent unjust
determinations or Over-charges on tha
parts OF these interpretations, in serv-
ing the public as. common carriers.
The commissioners do not desire that
arbitrary power be conferred upon
them, but only that such power be Civ
en- them as will enable them to dis
charge their official du ties with satis-
faction to the state and justice to the
railroads.
The latter have rights which should
be as sacred from hostile invasion as
those of the people of the state. and no
legislation should be asked, either by
the commissioners or by the people,
which does not recognize this fact.
The trouble SO far has been, that the
people expect the commissioners to
stand between them and all unjust dis
crimination against them in the mat
ter of freight and passenger tariff, and
yet have steadily refused to place in
their hands the power to effectively do
so.
What they ask. therefore, in order to
provide against all unjust discrimina-
tions, either against communities or
individuals" as well as against ..all
preferred rates and rebates is that
1.-THE power of correcting abuses of the
kind specified should be vested i'm the
commissioners.
If the people are too jealous of their
rights to delegate this supervisory and
corrective powerfo the commissioners,
they should not complain, if, with their
hands tied, they are unable to do the
work demanded and expected of them.
1t is evident that the power of conf
pelling the railroads to regard and
obey the Law, should reside some where,
and it seems to US that it can be no bet
ter lodged than in the board of COM
missioners. They are directly respon-,
sible to the people for its use or abuse,
and as they are elected from the people
they are supposed to represent their
will and vishes regarding the railroad
corporations of the state. Heretofore,
though limited and restricted, they
have done the state valuable service,
and those who regard their offices as
sinecures are not acquainted either
with the nature or Importance of the
work done by them every year since
the passage of tire law calling the board
into existence ferson City Tribune.