The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1889-02-28
THE LEGISLATURE.
[Continued from Aixth Page ]
The Senate.
From Tuesdays Daily. !

From Tuesdays Daily
Acknowledgements Wheeler called the
senate to order at 10 o'clock. Roll call
and quorum present. Prayer by Doctor
Smoot, the cha plain.
Senator Woodward excused for the day.
PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS.
Petitions against the railroad commits
sion bill-Senator Burney from thirty
citizens of San Antonio; Senator Allen
from citizens of Collin county; Senator
Crawford from 10 citizens of Gre enville,
Hunt county; Senator Mcdonald from
Al merchants and farmers of Blossom
Prairie, Lamar county; Senator Jarvis
from II citizens of Parker county; Sena-
tor Crawford from citizens of Roberts,
Hunt county; Senator Kimbrough from
81 citizens of Kaufman county; Senator
Ingram from citizens of San Augustine
county; Senator Field from 32 citizens of
Calvert county; Senator Tyler from Is
merchants and others of Hamilton county.
Petitions favoring the railroad commits
zion blll-Senator Upshaw from citizens
of Ellis county; Senator Kimbrough, reso-
lutions of the board of managers of the
State Farmers Alliance exchanges; Sena-
tor Burney from A voters of Bexer
county; Senator Crawford from citizens of
Delta county.
Petitions for the purchase and distribu-
ton by the state of Sayles and Wilson's
Civil and Criminal Digest, Senator
Stephens from county officers of
Wichita county; also, by Senator Stephens
from county officers of Potter county;
Senator Glasscock, from state, county
and precinct officers of Williamson county.
REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES.
Senator Sims for committee on judi
cial Enthusiastically the bill fixing
the time for holding court in the Eighth
| judicial district.
Senator Upshaw, for committee on in
ternsl mprovements-Tha the house
railroad and other bills for regulating
railroads be considered in connection
with Senator Johnson's commission bill.
Senator Abercrombie, for judiciary No.
2-Favorably the Sunday law closing bus
mess houses from 8 a. IN. to p. m. on
Sunday; unfavoraoly the bill preventing
nuisances and leaving carcasses of ami
mails near the public roads; favorably
permitting persons convicted of felony to
withdraw their appeals; unfaVorably filming
persons who may fail to pay their occupa-
| tion taxes.
BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS.
By Senator Abercrombie-Perm
| judges in certain classes of felony cases
to employ stenographers.
Senator ephens-Regulatin railroads
| and express companies.
Senator Mcdonald called up Senator
| Glas5coek's resolution calling for after
noon sessions by the Senate on and after
February 25. Senator Mcdonald amended
| by fixing time of afternoon session at 2:30,
| and the resolution WAS adopted.
Joint resolution fixing the legal rate of
| interest at per cent was made the special
order for Friday.
The special order, Senator Johnson's
commission bill and other railroad bills
to be considered Herewith, was taken up.
Senator johnson moved to substitute the
house commission bill for his bill and
proceeded to argue the house bill. His
to know why the movers of such bill
should be called demagogues? This legis-
lation is not the result of an hour or the
work of demagogues. Why not tax
demagoguery upon the Dallas conven-
ton, as plank in the plat
| form coming from that convention
is the foundation of the present move
mentH He regarded the speech of ex-
Governor Brown in the house the ablest
argument against commission bill that
had been heard. He affirmed it was a
sound principle, that the charter of rail
road company is not such contract with
the state that the state cannot regulate
freights, even if such an express negation
of the states rights thus to do shall be
| contained in such charter. He dwelt long
on the constitutional question involved,
reading from the Georgia Constitution and
those of other states where commission
is in force. He also read many judicial deci-
sions upon states right to egislate as no =
proposed, showing that Texas unquestion-
ably has the right to enforce commits
sion to regulate railroads in aocO rdance
with the pending bill. AS to petitions on
this subject, the great farming classes of
the state have petitioned for the commits
sion, and of those who have petitioned
against the bill will be found the mer-
chants, brokers and large capitalists.
He cited city after city and instance after
instance of rank discrimination in freight
charges, and pointedly showed the need of
railroad regulation and correction. He
declared that the Lane bill classifying
freights would double the burdens on the
people. Illustrating that bale of cotton
from Tyler to Galveston would then be
about IS, while at present 1t costs only
$3.50. He did not believe in a sweeping
maximum for 100 miles. He wanted
three skilled men to devise specific
schedule of rates that will be just to the
prophetic legislature in its Limited SEES
sion cannot possibly do it. He did not
like the idea of boards and such like
bodies, but he had studied this question
carefully, and he could see no other way
of arriving at correct solution of the
question. The bill was doubtless defec-
tive and would not accomplish all in
tended by it. But its tendency was good,