The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1889-03-14

TRENDS OF the bill should not despair OF
good salutary legislation on the railroad
question. He invited them after the
funeral to come to the wake and the OPP
ponents of the bill would help them pass
good railroad laws. He spoke forcibly for
fifty minutes. At the close of his speech
Senator Claiborne rose to question of
privilege. He said that the names on the
petitions he mentioned, that we're taken
from tOmbstones, had so been filched
without his knowledge, and he did not dis
cover it until the petitions had been used
and accomplished their purpose.
Senator Harrison said he was from
principle opposed to all such legis-
lation as that now proposed. He
discussed at length Mr.. Blake's protest
against the railroads, showing how his
prosperity impeached his own argument
1t was marvellous to him that these mon
strous corporations, with their over
shadoWing power and influence, should
not be able to manage their own
affairs, but were regularly going into the
hands of receivers. He did not believe
the creature greater than the creator.
He thought the courts able to attend to
this question.
argument i'll close of the debate. Senator
Pope had yesterday noticed coincidence,
and one had also occurred to him, namely,
that on this day, when the senate
would kill the commission bill, the Consti-
tuition, as if in condemnation of their
action, cut down their pay from So day
to 49, This seemed to him just retribu-
ton, as the friends of the bill proposed So
legislation and the opponents of the bill
SO. He began his argument with pain,
pain for the desertion of the cause by
those who, when the session was new,
favored the commission. The greatest
pain on this score was caused by the de-
sertiOn of Senator Armistead, long time
champion of the commission bill. He de-
clared the Intentions of the bill had not
been answered by its opponents. He
characterized Senator McDonald's speech
asthe Incorporate utterances of an
over earnest advocate of cause. How
many senators had toldtheir oonsti-
tuents, according to Senator Mcdonald,
that the Dallas platform meant only fair
play and nothing more; no commission,
no genuine railroad regulation? He
pointed out the fallacy of Senator
restrictive laws were already upon
the statute book by taking up
these laws seriatim and showing their
inoapacity to remedy existing evils and
those of which complaints are daily going
up. 1t was suspicious thing to him the
utter indifference of the railroads to all
other legislation except that which touches
their revenues. It indicated they did not
fear those laws that simply en-
numbered the statute book. Senator
Mcdonald dwelt upon and rung
the changes on the Constitu-
tional sentence "from time to time" For
his part he thought the "from time to
time" had arrived and the Legislature
should act and provide for the
fixing of rates demanded by
the Constitution. Judge Cooley
has forever settled this question of consti-
tutionallty by declaring the power to fix
rates is not q Legislative power, but a po-
lice power, the delegation of which is no
where inhibited. He challenged any SEN
ator to find in the Constitution the right
of the legislature to delegate to city coun-
oils the power to legislate for cities. 1t
can't be found. But it is done because
this action of CITY councils is not strictly
legislative, but police duty. And the
same reasoning holds in the case of a com
mission law. Every senator who had
spoken against the bill, except Senator
Mcdonald, had declared himself in favor
of restricting the railroads, but tho leg
islature must do il, not commission.
1t seems, then, it is only question of
difference of method. Why, then, should
the advocates of the bill be stigmatized
as demagogues? To carry out the Dallas
platform literally the senate must have
information every senator confesses it
has not. 1t must, for instance, know five
the cost of the railroads;
second, the present rates charged; third,
what is fair classification; fourth, what
the roads now pay their owners; and, fifth,
what would result to the railroads from
Il Legislative classification of freight
charges. The opponents of the bill have
not argued the question fairly. They
have not shown radical defects in the
till, but have begged the question by say
ing they wanted to do the same thing in
another way. He declared the whole tao
tics of the opposition had been to eulo
gize. certain distinguished citizens who
"CiO uSoiboO Dlh, "hliS
drawing invidious distinctions against
others, such as the veteran Captain Faux
ner, whom he would eulogize. AS to the
cost of a commission, why its cost could
be saved alone to the city of Dallas
by securing cheap rates. The democratic
party were cIamoripg for free trade from
abroad, why should we be forbidden free
trade within our state? Take off, then,
the embargo OF high freight rates within
our borders. proposition for a com
mission was never submitted
to the committee on resolutions of
the Dallas convention, and was never
voted down. He had no respect for the |
that the democratic party would |
be injured by the action Of to-day. Ger
tain men might be hurt, but the party |
would live and triumph over all such oc-
casional incidents. For an hour and fifty |
minutes he held the undivided attention |
Of the senate and of his large audience.
He made most brilliant, forcible and ell |
1quent argument He showed most re-
markable knowledge of the Scriptures,
and quoted texts from it with telling and |
,ilencing effect. 1t was one of the very