Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-06-15

for it. Thus died II, commits sion
biz III The house TcrTcil'S bill. in iac scll-
ate never got out of the co:GmitteCe room.
Ii is claimed that the state engineer bill,
which passed and became law. was noth-
jrS more than shrcwd dodge to defeat the
commission bill T. was absolutely worth
less, ana one % the most frivolous and
stupid attempts at legislation conceivable.
y conyocation Of school boys could not have
devised SltiIcr or more useless appeudaEe
toStatc government. James II. Britton OF
Sherman was the tirst and only state engi-
neer, who,
DISGUISED WITH HIS OFFICE.
resigned il, and recommended in Ia report
that it be abolished. The engineer mad
supervisory powers over railroad lines with
the right 20 inspect their hysica. condition,
and report 10 the attorney general any vio-
lation OF the law of which they might be
guilty. When he resigned, the law became
dead letter, as no successo or was ever APP
pointed, or no appropriation made for
one. That law Is still unrepeaied
and under the terms of tho
commission law now in force, which au-
on the books for the regulation of railroads,
Il may be put into operation it thought de-
slrablc, which is not very probable.
IN the Nineteenth legislature the Senti-
mcnt in favor of a commission does not APP
pear. from the records. 10 have been aS
strong Us at the previous session. Repre-
sentative Alexander introduced a COM
mission bill in the house, but il soon
WENT BY THE BOARD.
The creation of The state engineer at
the previous session had. for the time
being. quoted the popular Clamor. While
waiting FOR results that never cane, the
people lost sight Of the commission. and
when the Nineteenth session arrived they
had no' yet fully realized the fdrcjCIl char
dctCr of the engineer law gwen them NJ the
suggestion, and with the permission.
of the railroads themselves. Senator
kilgore offered b.. Ia regulate
the railroads, bat II lacked the commission
feature, and Senator Pope introduced Il bill
which passed both houses, requiring the
encouragement TO bring suit against IA
way corporations violating section >, article
10 of the constitution, which fprDIdS con-
solicitation with. or Gac purchase OF lease of,
any competing or parable! lines OF railroad
by any other road.
IN THE TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE
the current began % set in again more
strongly il the direction of 4 commission
At this session Cone Johnson championcd =
commission bill with IN apPOiutIvc clause
in the mouse. His bin was substituted il
seems by the committee ON intcruI. IN
provcmentS for another by Representative
Alexander. II had 4 hard struggle in the
house and was finally passed by q vote or
fifty-six 70 thirty-cight IL wcIt TO t1,
senate and was favorahy reported
By the committee. II vas or
dered 10 lie on the table, from
whence it never rose.
IN THE rwENTY-FIR LEGISLATURE
the demand for Il commission had grown
stronger than ever, and the popular Cldmor
louder than before. Then bills for that
purpose We're sprung upon the house by
Representatives Jenkins, Nelson and
Strong. The committee on internal i'm
prOvcmcnts threw them all into Il hotch-
pOtch and produced theTefrOm u substitute
bill over which that body wrdnGled Tor
weeks. Col. Brown. who was chairman of
the house committee ON internal improve
ments. took leading part IN advocating
tine passage of the bill, which finally passed
in the house by : vote of is 10 81. lt
went to the senate, where it WAS met with
the objection, raised also in the house, that
there was no constitutional warrant Tor
such legislation. and that If
adopted, it would be declared void
by the judiciary. That cry had
NET WITH LITTLE FAVOR
in the house. but it became all-pOwerfUl
with the constitution eXpounders in the
senate who, to save the bill from an
dtrociOus death at the hands Of the law
courts, quietly Strangled it among them
selves. But something had to be done
Things could no longer 90 on as hey had
been doing. The people We're up in arms,
and the frightened sOlOus felt the necessity
for doing something TO still the clamor out
Of-doors. The friends of the railroads in
the legislature opposed successfully the
creation of commission on the grounds
that II would be a violation of the constitu-
ton. Fix it, " said they, so that it won't
trench upon that sacred instrument, and all
will be well; we will be with you They
We're taken at their word. and Joint resolII-
tion was offered for an amendment to tha
constitution permitting the creation of l.
commission. The dose
WAS BITTER ONE
but they swallowed il. At the election last
fall that amendment carried at the polls by
IN overwhelming majority, and the last
session of the legislature. after hot fight,
gave il force and effect by creating a rail-
way commission and clothing il with ample
powers 10 do what the people have long
been calling for. The history of the strug-
gle on the part of the friends of the rail-
roads in the house and senate TO defeat the
Brown-Terreu bill is too recent in the
memory of The GAZETTE's readers to call
for i TCcapitulatIon of it. Suffice it to say
that the bill encountered but feeble opposi-
ton in the house, but was less fortunate in
the senate, where the hold-over senators
and q few others tried hard to emasculate
it and make it a thing of shreds aud
patches. Contrary TO all precedents and
10 the practice of those senator's
who had themselves introduced at the
last ana at previous sessions, bills making
the
COMMISSIONERS APPOINTIvE.
it was souoht-and the effort prevailed in
the senate-to make the commissioners
elective by the people. The house, which
saw through the thin disguise, refused 70
recede from its position on that point, and
rather than Kill the bill, Us so many others
had been slaughtered, the senate backed
down, and let it become a law. The public
has been fully enlightened as to its pro-
visions, which is believed are all that could
be desired.
The commission that is to put the law
into execution. organized on the 10Th in
stant and is now at work getting things in
shape for regulating the railroads in the
manner contemplated by the law, and in
accordance with the expressed wishes OF
those who support the roads. judge
Reagan. who is as well and as
favorably known in Texas as Sam
Houston was in his day, is chairman
of the commission. He is of Irish descent,
as the name indicates, and is patlve OK
Tennessee, where he
FIRST SAW THE LIGHT
in 1918. He has filled many offices in Texas
since he came into the state early III the
30's, and was elected for several terms,
both before and after the war, to congress,
and resigned his seat in the United States
senate a month or two ago, in order to give
the people of Texas the benefit of his ripe
experience and widely extended knowledge