The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1890-03-04


and Henderson takes the r. & D. cars
at her depot at 6 p. M. and as she goes
into Durham at $50 she meets COM
ing out of Durham the Henderson &
Durham train on its way to Hender-
son, and she has to remain In Durham
twenty-four hours, whereas if the Hen
derson & Durham train had deferred
its departure from Durham only five
minutes she would have made con-
nection with that train, and had no
delay. This want of connection at
Durham shows an utter disregard of
and Indifference to the convenience of
the travelling public, is of no benefit
whatever to the railroads concerned,
is the result of rivalry between the
two roads, and the people are power
less, under the present law, to prevent
it. A proper railroad commission law
would remedy this in short order.
There are many similar cases in the
State, but would take too much time
to refer to them in detail.
AS l believe 1 have said before, it is
a waste oflegislative brain to enact laws
concerning railroads unless there is
some constituted authority to e that
these laws are enforced. AS far back
as 1872 the legislature of our State
passed a law requiring every railroad
company to make an annual report to
the Governor of the operations of the
year showing the amount of capital as
by charter, the amount of capital stock
paid in, the total amount of funded
debt, the amount of floating debt, the
average rate per mum of interest on
funded debt, the cost of road and
equipment, characteristics of road, do
ings of the road in transportation and
total number of miles run, expenses
of maintaining the road or real estate
of the corporation, the earnings from
passengers, freight and other sources,
dividends on stock, payment to sur
plus fund and total amount of said
fund, the number of persons injured
in life and limb, cause of injury, &C.,
and at the same time it was provided
that the general assembly might from
time to time alter or reduce the rate
of freight, fare, or other profits upon
any railroad, whenever the profits
were as much as six per cent. per an
mum on the capital actually expended.
It is easy to be seen that it was the
intention of the legislature to require
these annual reports so as to keep IN
formed as to the true material and
financial condition of each road in
order that such additional laws as
might appear necessary could be en-
acted to correct any evils that might
be found to exist, and in order to so
regulate the freight and passenger
traffic as to relieve the people of unjust
burdens. But from that time to the
bringing of certain suits by DR.. Hodge
in Wake Superior Court to enforce the
payment of certain penalties the differ
ent railroad companies have treated
this law with silent contempt. The
statute further provided that any
railroad corporation which neglected
to make the foregoing report should
be liable to a penalty of FIVE dollars to
be recovered by any person who might
see proper to sue for the same. What
is everybody's business is nobody's
business. And so nobody sued for
the penalties, nobody understood to
enforce the law, and the railroads con
tinued to run political conventions
and manage their own affairs to suit
their own sweet selves. At last after
this statute had been continuously and
persistently disregarded for seventeen
years, DR.. Hodge instituted suits in
Wake Superior Court against forty
different railroad companies to recover
from each one the Eve hundred dol
lar penalty, and in order to test the
Fquestion whether or not the railTo ads
of the State are above all law. The
different railroad companies will, as
usual, contest every inch of ground
in the courts, endesvor to prevent the
plaintiff from recovering Judgment
against them until the coming of the
next legislature and then work for a
repeal of the statute. They have
heretofore shown such skill in the
management of legislatures that it
should occasion no surprise if the
statute was repealed and DR.. Hodge
left with a large bill of costs and
lawyers fees to pay.
If we had q railroad commission it
would require these reports to be made
and the legislature and the people
would be kept informed as to railroad
matters in so far as it concerned them.
In order to show the animus of the
railroads, and to let your readers see
how they undertake to crush any man
who dares to expose their short com
ings or interfere with or oppose their
schemes, I will give you a piece of
history in connection with this matter
as 1 have learned it. The Governor
of the State had, as it 50 happened,
announced his intention of appointing