Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-04-21
APRIL RECORD no DAVE.
STATE vs.. RAILROADS.
Does the State Discriminate Against the
Railroads?

Does the State Discriminate Against the
Railroads?
To the Gazette.
Some days ago I undertook to answer
the challenge made by Hon. T. J.
Brown, for any man to point out a law
of the state that Disseminated against
the railroad corporations or capital, by
citing chapter 10, title lxxxiv., of the
| Revised Statutes.
The Evening Mail endeavored to an
swer this by what lawyers would term a
plea in avoidance. 1t admits that pre-
sent a correct definition of the word
discriminate, - as used in this conneo-
ton, and endeavors TO "beg the ques-
ton by the assertion that ''iI is true
that the state does not enact the same
law for the railroad that it does for the
peanut stand'-and "does not visit the
same punishment upon the murderer,
that it afixes to petty theft. -
The Mail resorts to the usual tactics
employed by those who oppose railroads
by avoiding the issue and addressing it
self to some question entirely foreign to
the discussion.
The issue " as plainly put and plainly
met. Does any law of the state discrim-
mate against railroad corporations? That
Is, does it require anything of the rail-
roads that il does not of corporations of a
like character receiving benefits or privi-
leges from the state by rea-
son Of its franchise? That seems
to me to be the issue, Invested of all
subterfuge. There ia no comparison be-
tween railroad and a peanut vendor.
But q comparison between a railway
md ion
railway, a gas company, and other
corporations that are permitted to
take property, public or private, and to
charge tolls for work performed, or SER
vices rendered, would seem to me to be
consistent.
The state requires railway corporations
to make detailed reports of their bust
ness and Its results, the amount of its
capital stock and where owned, the
amount and nature of it's indebtedness,
the rate of interest allowed and whether
or not the same is paid, the amount and
nature of the freight hauled, the num-
Der of miles Its trains are run, the num-
Der of employees and their salaries, the
number of its houses, cars, etc. etc.. r,
down to the minutest detail.
Gas and water companies are
allowed to enter upon and tear up
streets, lay their mains and charge such
tolls as ''the traffic will BEAR The
same is true of street railroads, which
are common carriers, as railroads are,
and are permitted to charge tolls as rail-
roads do, and no questions are asked.
Their capital may be much or little, or
nothing at all. They may issue bonds
for such sums as they please, and pay
their interest or not at their pleasure, so
far as the state is concerned. In short,
no notice Is taken Of them by
the laws of the state. Street rail-
ways, gas and water companies,
and electric light and telephone COM
panies will receive benefits from the state
that individuals do not, yet none of these
are subjected to the same rigid supervis-
ion that is exercised oyer the railroads.
The question whether this supervision
is legal or not, was not presented by
Mr.. Brown, and does not belong
to this discussion, so that the
quotations from the organic law of
the state, as made By the Mail, were not
german to the subject, nor was the ar
gument as to the rights Of the state to
exercise the supervision it does The
sole question is, does the state by its laws
against the railroads. 1 |
think have shown that 1t does.
b. B. PADDOCK.