The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1886-01-27
4 RAILROAD COMMISSION
Editor Dem0cdat

for legislation in this State regulating
railroad traffic and railroad matters
generally. The first and most impor.
tant matter which engages public at
tention is the killing of stock by the
railroads. The State Supreme Cour,
has decided that the burden of proof
is on the owner of the stock to show,
as condition precedent to the recove'
ry of the value of the stock killed
that the railroad is at fault in the kill
ing. This ruling grants, practically,
perfect immunity to the railroad. An
attempt was made at the last session
of the Legislature to reverse this rule
by statutory enactment. 1t failed, as
all attempts at railroad Legislation
failed, because the railroad companies
all combined and their influence was sui.
ticieut to stiAe the voice of the people
1t was also attempted to pass a bill
requiring the roads to fence thei,
tracks or to erect suitable cattle
guards. This failed too. Still anoth-
er effort was made to pass till re.
curing the company delivering freights
to settle with the local merchant for
shortages and damages. This failed
like all the others and the railroads
came off scot free. They had agents
at Baton Rouge during the entire ses-
sion, and when the bills were up for
consideration the President of the New
Orleans Pacific and agent Of the Tex
as Pacific was present in person. l
remember that in the discussion of the
bills in the House, / warned him that
his influence might be, as the result
proved it was, sufficient to defeat those
bills, but that the people were mighty
and they would at some time elect a
Legislature which would obey their
commands.
1t is notorious that passes over all
the roads in the State were freely CIV
sn to and used by many members of
the Legislature. Members accepted
them saying that their having the
passes would not influence their votes.
The fact is that when the railroad
bills came up for passage in the House
the railroads had strength enough to
defeat them. The system of giving
and accepting passes by public Off
Gals is pernicous and healthy pub
lie sentiment ought to prohibit the
practice.
There can be no doubt whatever
that the purpose of the Gould system
is to build up St. Louis at the expense
of New Orleans, and that there is such
a discrimination in rates upon snch sta
| pie products as meat, -four, wagons
and agricultural implements generally
as to practically shut out New Orleans
from the trade of this section. Near
ly, if not quite all, the flour and meat
used in this Parish comes from St.
Louis and never sees New Orleans at
all. New Orleans houses which in
years past sold thousands of barrels of
-four and hundreds of boxes of bacon
and barrels of pork, now sell none
here. The steamboats, which were
wont to come here laden to the guards
with Western produce, are few and far
between nowadays, and the few that
come depend upon the down freights
Of cotton and cotton seed from the cas-
tern bank of Red river.
The local merchant is right to buy
his goods where he can buy them the
cheapest: but if the cheapness consists
in difference in tfeights, and that Diff
ference is because of discrimination in
favor at city hundreds of miles fur
Their away than NewUrleans, then such
discrimination becomes oppression, and
such oppression should be regulated
and suppressed with the strong arm of
the law. There might be some excuse
for this, if there were two competing
lines and this was the result of bust
ness rivalry, but as it is here, there is
bnt one line and that line is evidently
being run in the interest of St. Louis.
'The sugar is beginning already to go
the ether way, and it will not be long
before the cotton will 60 the same way
under the impetus Of this discri,nina-
ting policy, and in a few years the
travel will follow the trade, and this
section will have, practically, no COM
munication at all with New Orleans.
The remedy for this condition of af-
fairs is a Railroad Commission, fairly
constituted, with ample power to en-
quire into and correct abuses, and com.