Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1892-03-03
THE tssHE
In the Coming Campaign Will
be the Commission,
SAYS GOVERNOR ]. 5. HOGG.
The People VIII Not be Deceived in Re-
gard to the Matter-The Governor
VIII Address the People
of the State.
Governor Hogg Talks.

Special to the Gazette.
AUSTIN, Feb. 26.-The following inter
| view was had with Governor Hogg today:
Governor, it is now settled that you are
to have opposition, and the people would
read with relish something from you touch
ing the campaign and its issues. Can you
| give me some idea as to the issues upon
which the battle will be fought and when
the engagement will fairly begin2'
Il am not ready to say much about the
campaign now, for my official duties are alb
sorbing my time and attention"
| ''Well, l wish you would give me some
| suggestions on the subject"
"You can say that the leading question
| is, will the people stand by the commission
or repudiate it! ANY attempt to avoid that
issue and sidetrack it for immaterial ones
will hardly deceive the voter of average III
telligence. That this is TO be the great and
final struggle of the railroads against the
commission, the people will readily recog
| nize. 1t is well for commission friends to
| ask any man who proposes to change the
| law, if he, in the last campaign, advocated
a commission. and if he is now in good
| faith supporting one.
During the last campaign l advocated
the appointment of the commissioners by
| the governor for reasons then presented,
among which was that, before the COM
mission could organize and prepare
schedule of charges and classification OF
freight, De IOTccQ lQuO Il pOlIlCdl
campaign; this / reiterated IN my message.
With the exception Of the method of choos-
ing the commissioners, there is no differ
ence among the friends of the commission.
Every commission bill offered for fourteen
years ana every one presented during last
legislature until after the Terrell substitute
was introduced, provided for, the appoint
ment of the commissioners. None of them
that have been able to find proposed an
elective commission until the opposition to
the law offered that feature to the bill as
an amendment. l understood, as did most
all others who observed the contest IN the
legislature, that the elective issue was
raised for the purpose, if it was unsuccess-
full, of creati dissension among the COM
MISSIONS friends, and if successful, of
forcing the commissioners into the cam
paign before they could complete schedule
of rates and classification of treights.
'sWhat we then understood to be trick
has since been fully demonstrated, for, ever
since the commission was organized last
June, it has been under the relentless, con-
slant fire OF the opposition. While the peo-
pie who carried the commission idea to sue
cess have been attending to their private
affairs and official duties, the railway at
torneys, traffic managers and anti-commis-
sion crowd have made the doorway to the
commissions rooms as slick as an otter
slide in their daily visits to the commission,
not for the purpose of aiding IN the work,
but to obstruct, impede and embarrass it.
They have wrangled, protested, argued,
threatened, and published interviews de-
nouncing and miSrepreSenting 1t. With all
this, the commission has been successful
1t is composed of men of extensive public
experience and splendid abilities, having
baekboneS strong enough to resist the forces
that have constantly assailed them. All
the friends of the commission idea who are
informed on the subject are coatent with
ha Low iC
best and most just one of the kind in the
United States. 1t needs no amending, and
none of its advocates have ever suggested
change in it. OF course its enemies want
it changed, as step toward its final de-
Struction
so far as the method Of selecting the
commissioners is concerned, there can be
no issue. The legislature at any time, IN
der the instruction of the people, can pro-
vide for their election as other officers, or
for their selection by the house and senate,
or leave their appointment to the governor.
l shall advise the people to stand by the
law in all respects as it exists, and warn
them against all attempts at this time to
have the commissioners elected. If they
choose, however, TO instruct their repre-
sentatives at the fall election 10 vote for a
bill for the election of the commissioners, so
far as l am concerned, a change in that par
ticular will meet with no opposition. For
the sake of their own interests, and in view
of the fact that the effort to make the
change comes more from the opponents
than from the friends of the law, they
might well postpone any change as to the
selection of the commissioners until some
future legislature.
after the adj urnment of the special ses-
sion of the legislature shall make few
speeches to the people. l believe every
officer should 60 before his constituents
and render them an account OF his work.
1t will be my pleasure to tell them what |
has been done during the past year under
my administration, will be able to show
them that have redeemed every pledge I !
made them during the last campaign; that |
they have the best commission law in the |
United States. executed by three of their |
leading citizens; that 1t is success in |
every particular; that it has not raised the |
rates above those in existence at the time |
the law took effect, but in nearly every in |
stance, so far as the work has progressed, |
it has greatly reduced them; that these |
cheap rates during the hard year have so |
stimulated our domestic traffic that the |
railroads had plenty to do, and no injustice |
has been done them; that the people who |
had to buy corn, wheat, -four, salt and |
other produce have had the opportunity Of |
purchasing Texas produce instead of send |
ing out TO Kansas and other states for |
them: that so far as rates have been fixed |
for them our local industries have pros |
pered, because tney nave oeen given
reasonable rates for the distribution of |
their goods: that the people have been
given lower rates on cotton, cotton seed, |
lumber and other commodities than they |
ever had before; that extortions, dis |
ordinations and rebates have been
greatly diminished and will soon be |
entirely prevented; that additional to |
all this, our taxable values have been in
creased over $40, 000, 900, that current ex-
penses have been paid from the general |
revenue that the laws have been faithfully |
executed, that the public free schools have
been improved, that every department of |
the government has been economically ad- |
ministered, that all the penal and charita-
bic institutions of the state are in health /
f1i and successful condition. that delin- /
quents have been made TO pay their dues 70 |
Aha nrorar,raant that taras hare haar, -