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

| position to II was stronger Still, and able al
/ each successive session of the legislature Il
! defeat any measure that proposed 10 take
| from that body the direct authority Of
! supervising and directing the manner il
| which the roads should serve the people
| Bill after bill was introduced IN the various
J sessions Of the legislature from the Six
| teenth 10 the Tweuty-secorG for the pur
! pose of
+ CREATING \ COMMISSION
! whose sole function and duty should be the
/ better regulat ing OF common carriers. As
| fast as offered these bills We're put 10 death
| by the friends of the roads, who Were
| either too numerous on TOO adroit for the
| advocates of regulation.
The struggle between the two parties
! was long protractcd extending over series
! of years, and was notable chiefly for the
| consciousness OF right, and the untiagging
! zeal for the cause that characterized one
| party. and the stubborn resistance and Dull
| dog tenacity of purpose that acrudteG the
| other. Finally things got to that pitch
! where gcneralship, strategy and adroit
management no longer counted. The DO
! tency of numbers arrayed itself against the
arts of the strategist. and. as it always
! does when properly welded. carried the
| day. with the usual result Waterloo Tor
| the vanquished.
| Why there should have been such 4 warm
and exciting contest over the
CREATION OF a COMMISSION,
! in view OF several circumstances. Is almost
! past finding out. Ii there We're any virtue
| of positive and real nature III Il commits
! sion, what objection could be had
| to it! If there was not aud
! it would prove to be, as It's
enemies declared. a thing utterly worthless
| and vain, why magnify its Importance by
! opposing it so Vehemently. Men don't 20
| forth in armOred pauoply TO fight windmiiis
| and will 'o-the-wisps. ii on the other
! hand it was asserted that a commission
| would do harm, and that it was inherently
! bad and dangerous TO the railroads. the
| friends of 1t could point TO Il score or more
of states in which it proved quite the re-
! verse.
FACTS AND EXPERIENCE
| were dead against that sort of logic II it
| was asserted that the interests of the peO-
pie would be endangered by the consequent
stoppage of railroad building, the answer
would be that of ShylOcll, My deeds upon
| my head" The people who demanded the
law would have brought the evil upon
themselves, and would alone be
chargeable with il. In that
event. what an excellent opportunity
the railroads would have to cry out
upon the sages of the sand hills and the on
| acles of the Alliance.
Most ofthe statutory legislation on rail
road management down to that of the last
session. dates back to 1876. Much of it was
good and apparently such as would meet
the requirements of the occasion. |, di-
rected how railroads should conduct their
business, in such way as not to diScrimi-
nate or practice eXtOrtion on their patrons.
III many ways it directed how the roads
should be operated for the greatest good of
THE GREATEST NUyTBER.
The legislation of that year proving. for
some reason or other, to be Inadequate, was
supplemented from time to time with add-
tionaI clements of fancied strength that
were mainly useful in encumbering the
statute books. Maximum rates were fixed
at 30 cents per 100 pounds per 100 miles,
and the roads were forbidden to charge
more. or to show any favOritism to any per-
son. Consolidating with, or leasing com
peting or parallel lines of road. was forbid
den. and in various other ways il WIS
sought by legal enactment to keep the
roads within legitimate bounds in the con-
duct Of their business. But in spite of the
multiplied laws that had been passed for
that purpose, complaints against them con-
tinued to be heard. The people were not
satisfied.
EITHER THE LAWS
or their execution We're inefficient 1t began
to he suspected that it was the latter, and
that they would never be put into eXecu-
ton until an agency directly charged with
tlldl uutN SIlbuIO uuttildht IL Inc NtGh
and desultorv efforts of the attorney-gen-
eral to execute them accomplished nothing
Of a lasting character, and the lOng-sought-
for relief was seemingly as far
away as ever. Talk of Il rail
way commission began to be
heard in the land and III the Sixteenth and
Seventeenth legislatures bills 10 create
such bodies Were introduced only TO be
slaughtered. The sentiment in favor of d
commission was new and lacking in the
yigor and strength necessary TO cope with
the railroads. which pretended 10 believe
that their very existence was threatened.
At these two sessions, but little trouble
was experienced in putting to death the
WEAK AND INNOCUoCs
measures proposed for the regulation of the
railroads. The legislature was easily per-
Suaded that it ought not to delegate its
sovereign power to any other agency, and to
that extent lessen its own power, and be-
little its character. it had sovereign
power over the roads, and could legislate
against abuses as 1t saw fit. If COM
mission which was but creature OF itself
could accomplish anything of moment. how
much more could 1.-THE creator. accomplish
If on the other hand the legislature could
not satisfy the unreasonable demands of
the people. how could commission be ex-
pected to do sol Plainly. the idea of
commission was wild and visionary, and so
the Sef-Sufnclent ana lOfulE SOl0nS con-
cluded after listening to the seductive
barney of the oily-tongued friends of, the
railroads.
THE EIGHTEENTH LEGISLATURE.
However. when the Eighteenth Iegisla-
ture came together in 1888 il soon developed
that sentiment in favor of the commission
had gained strength in the past two years
Bills for that purpose were introduced in
both house and senate. Judge Terrell, who
was at that time in the senate, offered bill
providing for commission and a state engi-
neer, though what use there was for the
latter, if the commission had car
ried, it is hard to tell. In
the house number of bills for the more
efficient regulation of railways, some of
them having the commission feature. were
introduced. A subcommittee of the COM
mittee on internal improvements. consist
ing of j. Q. Chinoweth, j. n. Stagner and
L. L. Foster, was instructed to investigate
the subject of railway legislation and report
what, if any, further legislation they may
think necessary. They reported a commits
sion bill over which
WARM FIGHT WAS wAGED
in the house. The bill was patterned on the
Georgia law, but gave the commissioners
only discretionary powers, and was mild
in character when compared with the exist
ing law The bill passed to elgrossment