The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1892-08-25
RAILROAD COMMISSION.
A TEMPORARY INJUNCTION GRANTED
BY JUDGE MCCORMICK.
He Finds Rates Imposed Unnecessarily Low
and Confscatory and Threaten Destruc-
tion Of Railroad Properties-Al
Relief Asked for IS Granted.

Special to The Statesman
DALLAS, Aug. 22.-Following is thu
full text of Judge McCormick's decis
ion in the famous railroad commission
case:
A glance at the public history O.
!, railroad interests in Texas will hell
us to see the true state of the issues
joined in these suits, with some trifline
exceptions. Near the Gulf coast
Texas has no navigable waters. The
need for railroads was, therefore, early
: felt. When, by the compromise OF
her claims to the Santa Fe territory
she received fund which she dedi.
Gated to the support of the public free
schools, she adopted the policy
of loaning this fund to aid
in the construction of rail-
roads, taking a first mortgage
lien. She also passed a general law
extending donations ofland to aid and
!, encourage these necessary highways,
and on February, 1854, she passed a
general law providing, among many
things, 'tIt shall be lawful for the leg
islature at any time to prescribe rates
to be charged for the transportation
of persons and property on any such
roads should they be deemed too high
and may exercise the same power
every ten years; provided, that no re.
duction shall be made unless the net
proceeds of the company for the pre-
vious ten years, the expenditures of
the company being bon aide, and not
with view to defeat the operation
of this section, shall amount to sum
equal to II per cent per annum
upon it's capital stock and then so as
not to reduce the future probable
profits below the allowed per centum"
These enterprises were in measure
suspend during the civil war but i'm
mediately on it's close the people of
Texas, in the constitution adopted in
1866 ordered a we'll regulated system
of internal improvements calculated
W uONOlOp lOoOulCOS VI Uhc SUdIS
and promote the happiness and pros
perity of the people. "Theretore the
legislature shall have power and it
shall be its duty to encourage the
same and the legislature shall have
power to guarantee the bonds of rail-
road companies to any amount not
exceeding in any case The sum of
1000 per mile" Operation under
this constitution was suspended |
by the passage of the reconstruction
measures in 1867 and the constitution
itself was superseded by the new con-
stitutiOn, which went into full effect
on the 30th of March, 1870.
The provision quoted from the con-
stitution of 1866 was not retained in
the new constitution. Touching this
subject, it provides in article 10, Sec
ton 5, "All public lands heretofore
reese rived for the benefit of railroads or
railroad companies shall hereafter be
subject to location and survey by any
genuine land certificates"
"Sec. 6. The legislature shall not
hereafter grant lands to any
person, nor shall any
certificate of land be sold at the land
office, except to actual settlers upon
the same, and in lots not exceeding
100 acres This was speedily amend
ed so as to authorize the legislature to
make grants of land for purposes of
improvements, not to exceed
twenty sections of land for each mile
of completed work in aid of it's con,
which may be granted"
Until Aug. Is, 1876, there was in
Texas nogeneral law providing for the
of railroad corporations.
and up to that time such corporations
could only be created by all act Of
the legislature. Upon the complete
restoration of our Federal relations in
1876 many active individual and as
sociated promotions of railroad enter
prises pressed their projects on the
legislature the field was new and
large and many grants were obtained,
some of which were afterwards deem
ed improvident.
In 1871 general act was passed to
authorize counties, and towns to aid
in the construction of railroads and
other works of internal improvement
and the same or like active promoters
as those who have solicited tn
legislature secured donations, loans or
subscriptions to stocks to their pro-
jects from many counties, cities and
towns in the state, said aid taking the
shape of bonds, as provided for in this
act and in subsequent acts. These
bonds of the counties, cities and towns
as we'll as the bonds of the railroads
themselves were negotiable and came
to be held largely by the citizens of the
states or by aliens. There was no law,
no prohibiting (Champerty) in the
state (Bentick VS.. Franklin, SO Texas,
1851, and the rule in suits
for damages against railroads was
that the attorney for the plaintiff had
only contingent fee, generally half
in the amount he could re-
cover, and in such trials before juries
in all the domestic trial courts the
argument of counsel assumed that
tone of eloquent accusation reasonably
to be expected from such conditions.
On Jan. IA, 1891, in the Twenty
second legislature, and on the 2lst day
of that month, the governor in his
general message addressed them
this language OH the subject
of federal officers "In her independ-
ent autonomy Texas should be SOW
ereign and free in the management of