Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-02-27
A WARNING TO TEXAS.
What Railway Commission Has Done to De-
populate Iowa.
SA1reprpy TEX Feb o 1889

populate Iowa.
SALISBURY, TEX, Feb Is, 1882
To the Gazette:
notice that the lower house of the leg
islature has passed the railway commits
sion bill and that it may be passed by the
senate. AS a former citizen of a state
cursed by anti-railroad legislation, can
not help but view with alarm the evident
disposition of the Texas legislature to
assume a pateTnal control of private in
terests and particularly strong tendency
to legslate against railroads with the as
sumed purpose of regulating and con-
trolling them Whatever may be said as
to the power of the state to control rail-
roads, the policy of creating commits
sion with arbitrary powers such as are
conferred upon it by the contemplated
bill is extremely problematical. 1T
seems proper at this time
to call the attention of our
senators to the effect of railroad legisla-
ton on the state Iowa This state
created a railroad commission some six
years ago. but at first its powers were
confined to arbitrary questions of dispute
between railways and the citizens of the
state. Acting in this capacity the board
did good work in correcting some of the
many abuses that Will always creep into
the management of corporations of this
kind. About three years ago, however,
the granger element Of the state appears
to have become imbued with the idea that
it would be funny thing to run the rail-
roads itself, and so began a system of
agitation which stirred the whole state
from center to circumference. Under
the fostering care of the Farmers ALI
ance the question grew in importance till
at last an anti-rallroad legislature was
elected and the present arbitrary
and oppressive laws were passed.
The Iowa legislature, like that of Texas,
assumed the right TO control and regu
late the operation of all railroads within
the state, and, TO that end clothed the
railrad commission with arbitrary powers
to fix freight and passenger rates and to
practically take charge of the operation
of all the railroads in Iowa, the same as is
contemplated by the Texas bill. This
legislation was crystalized into law one
year ago and has been in operation suffi-
GENTLY long to be tested by the results.
And what are the results?
The first was the total suspension of all
railroad building throughout the state
there has not been mile of road built in
Iowa during the year The second re-
pensive litigation with the companies
which it undertook to control
and which companies very prop
eIly refused to yield up their
private interests without a struggle.
The third result was to force the roads to
reduce their operating expenses so that
they could maintain an existence at all.
This was first felt in the reduction of the
wages OF their employees and later in the
abandonment of a large proportion of
their train service, thus throwing out of
employment large numbers of men who
are forced TO leave the state to find
work. This is exemplified in the action
of the Burlington and Quincy railway,
which has but recently reduced its train
service at a savingo $50 900 in expenses,
and in the discharge by the Chicago and
Northwestern railway of 200 employees at
Boone, Iowa, inside of two weeks.
Another result which, while not so direct
ly traceable to the railroad legislation,
is without question largely attributable
thereto, is the hard times reported all |
over the state, and the deterioration of
values on property of all kinds, coupled |
with the frantic desire of people |
of the poorer classes to get |
away from the state and find |
better opportunities to maintain exist
ence than does a state which assumes TO |
regulate, by legislation, not only what
man shall eat and drink, but how he |
shall run his business, even to the extent |
of fixing the price of his services and |
him from accepting more if |
he can find man willing to pay it. This |
is what railroad legislation has done for |
Iowa, as any man can find out for him
self by investigation, and it is just what |
it win do for Texas This state cannot |
afford to stop railroad building |
1t cannot afford to place a
barrier against capital seeking in |
vestment, and it especially cannot |
afford to retard the development of its |
unoccupied territory by passing laws
which shall discourage the building of /
the new roads so necessary to that end |
The suggestion of THE GAZETTE that there
should be created a committee of inves-
tigation TO look into the alleged abuses of
privilege by the railways is enimently |
sensible and practical The lawmakers
of Texas can afford to 90 slow before /
taking action on such vital question as
this. n. C. BLANCHARD.