Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1892-03-15

former, the people are to be crushed; if the
latter, they will be scandalized and held up
| in scorn to the people of the world as dis
honest. 1.-THE payment of these bonds i'm
| poses such burdens upon commerce as to
destroy the fruits of labor and the just
| profit due to capital for its legitimate use.
| For the past seven years there has been
| issued on an average annually over $50, 0O0,
! 600 of these bonds and stocks. During the
past year, without much improvement or
| extension of the roads, there was issued
over $4,000, 900 of them. It may be con-
tended tlsat with such dealings the public is
not concerned. This is fallacious and un-
tenable for the reasons: l. That the public
| is always concerned in fair dealing; 2, that
| these corporations are creatures of the law
and 1t is the duty of the state to keep them
within their charter limits; 8, if these Sc
curities are paid it must be out of the reve-
| nue. derived from traffic charges collected
from the commerce of our country.
To contend that mortgages placed upon
the railway property of this state to secure
interest bearing bonds issued and sold by
the corporations in no way concerns the
public can have no less purpose in view
than deception. Are they ever to be paidl
If not why are they issued and sold2 If
they are to be paid, how and from what
source must the money therefor be raisedl
BY traffic rates levied on the commerce
hauled by the railways, of course. Before
the present railway commission had pre-
pared or proposed schedule of rates to
govern the railroads an elaborate argument
was printed and filed before it by cor
porate representative protesting against the
reduction of transportation charges upon
grounds that plainly show the necessity of
the state protecting the people while it can
against fictitious issuance of such bonds.
He commended for and submitted decisions
of high courts in support of the following
proposition:
'The commission cannot constitutionally
establish a tariff of rates which will de-
prive the railway companies of the power
Of earning their operating expenses, inter-
est on bonds legally issued and some divi-
dend on their steck.H
Suppose this rule should be established
by the highest court of our state or of the
United States, in what condition would
Texas be placed with the enormous amount
of $40, COG, 600 of railway bonds and stocks
to be paid or supported by revenue collected
from the traffic of the country by trans
portation chargesl How soon, unless halt
is called by just laws, will it be until the
railway will have $1,000.000, 900 of stock
and bonds issued2 As there is now no
legal check on them, the pleasure and con-
Yenience of their owners and directors
can alone be consulted and their answer
given or refused to the question. If the
companies can, without restraint, issue mil
lions, what prevents them at pleasure iSsu-
ing billionsl Nothing; they are absolutely
free in this respect. Since they have been
deprived of maintaining the highest rates
which the traffic could bear, under the old
method, they will resort to the convenient
plan of issuing bonds and demanding rates
of the commission high enough to pay the
interest on them. Further liberation of
this course presents forecast of the fut-
ure ofTexaS thatcan not be misunderstood
by the most ignorant. While the constitu-
or hall
sue bondsior stock except for money paid,
labor done or property actually received,
and all fictitious increase of stock or indebt-
edness shall be void,' and while statutes
have been passed substantially in the same
language, yet no method has been pre-
scribed by which violation of the consti-
tuition may be exposed or prevented. As
remedy for the evil
LAW
embodying the following features is hereby
respectfully recommended to your honor
able bodies:
for other than the purposes mentioned in
the constitution, and the amount thereof
limited.
9. That they shall not be negotiated or
sold until the railway commission or the
attorney general has certified that they
have been issued for the purposes and in
obedience to the provisions OF the conStitu-
tered by the comptroller.
3. That all railway property placed in the
hands OF receivers under foreclosure pro-
ceedings shall be sold to satisfy the debts
within given time.
4. That the charter of any corporation
violating any Of the provisions of the law
by Issuing fictitious bonds or stocks or
otherwise fraudulently incumbering its
property shall be forfeited.
8. That it shall be the duty of the state,
acting through the attorney general, TO
enter any court of justice having jurisdic-
ton Of the case ana contest the validity of
such stocks or bonds and to enforce the
laws with respect to them.
A law of this kind will protect the public |
against oppression, prevent cheats from the
sale of such fictitious securities, and encour-
age the investment Of honest capital in rail- |
way Improvement
In addition TO the Just protection. Of COM |
merce from these unjust burdens, we are |
due it TO foreigners and strangers abroad, |
il not to our own self-respect TO keep them |
from being deceived and swindled by cur |
corporate creatures. If we are to have |
cheap, honest capital visit US, we must as |
sure 1t that fictitious debts and frauds of |
every kind affecting trade are prohibited |
and made impossible in Texas.
Livestock Quarantine.
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