The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1889-05-07
FROM ONE OF THE BEST THrNK-
ERS IN THE STATE.
From the ReidsviIle Weekly Review

From the Reidsville Weekly ReviewJ
The State owns the controlling in
terest in the Atlantic and Northern
railroad. One of the. most potent
arguments made in the recent Legis-
lature against a railroad cozs,n.sion
was, that the principal railroads, by
reason of special provision in their
charters, could not be affected by q
commission, which would onlytend to
cripple the weaker roads, among them
the Atlantic and North Carolina, the
only one in which the State is pecunf>
arily interested. That in the interest
OF this road a commission should not
be established.
The only roads which connect, di-
rectly, with this road are two of the
roads which are above Legislative
control" Now it so happens, that
before the Legislature had adjourned,
it was found absolutely necessary to
pass an act, providing that in the fut-
ure these powerful corporations should
no longer discriminate against the
States road, as they have been doing
in he.past. The only trouble about
this act is there is no adequate reme-
dy for its enforcement, no n whose
duty it is to see that the States inter
ests do-not suffer by these unjust dis
ordinations. Here it appears by the
action Of the same Legislature which
refused to pass. a railroad commission
bill, for fear of injuring the weaker
railroads. chat a commission of some
kind, or at least Legislative action, is
absolutely necessary to protect the
States, weak road from the unjust dis
ordinations against it by the power
full corporations. r.. LII.
We understand that the manage
ment Of the ''Mullet road" as it is
sometimes ~facetiously called, made
arrangements sometime since, by
which, having the advantage of water
communication, it could transport
heavy groceries, etc., over it's road to
Goldsboro, and from thence to Raj
eigh, at a much cheaper rate than such
goods had been formerly brought to
our capital city, by the Associated
Railways of the Carolinas. The Raj
eigh merchants taking advantage of
this, had their heavy groceries hauled
over the States road, and paid local
rates from GoldsborO to Raleigh.
So soon as the great corporation,
which is above the Legislative control
ascertained what was being done, it
raised the local rates from Goldsboro
to Raleigh so high, lin the interests
of the weaker road, in which the State
owns the principal interest, we pre-
sume) that the Raleigh merchants had
to discontinue p~atronizing the States
road and continue to aid the non-tax-
paying above Legislative control rail
roads. Is it a wonder that no past
management of the Atlantic and
North Carolina railroad has been
able to pay the State any dividend on
the States stock, and in this way les
sen the taxes of the whole Slater
Still some sincere, good persons say q
railroad commission is not needed In
| North Carolina.
In the reports of the discussion Of
the railroad commission bill in the
Legislature, we saw it frequently sta
ted, that legally, these non-tax-paying
roads, could not be affected by a rail
road commission, but during the
entire discussion, no one was so bold
as. to say that practically they could
not bes teached. 1t is because of this
ldistfnctfon that these non-tax paying
above: Legislative : control railroads
spent money enough to pay the ex-
penses= 6f.1,a railroad commission for
nearly a decade, in maintaining SO
effective a lobby against the bill. The
people are opening their eyes as'to
these things.
RAILROAD COMMISSION.