Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1892-02-13

gubernator1al nomination. It is confidently
expected that there will be at least one
other candidate besides Clark in opposition
to Hogg. A very prominent gentle
man, speaking the other day about
railroad commissions, said that if he
were given the choice of an elect
i've commission or no commission
the latter. The most successful
commission law in the United States is that
of Georgia, which has been in force twenty
years, law that in some respects is more
stringent than the Texas law, and the COM
missioners have always been appointed, as
they have in nearly every state of the
thirty odd having commissions. The one
thing that distinguishes the commission
law in both Georgia and Texas and the only
thing of real importance is the power TO
make rates. All the other features of the
law are only incidental to this one essential
matter. The Georgia law, so long in opera
ton with eminent success, provides that
the rates fixed by the commission shall be
sufficient evidence that they are lust and
reasonable. This is the precise language
of the act, Sufficient evidence" of their
reasonablenesS. The language of the Texas
act does not 90 so far 1t provides that the
commissions rates shall be prima facie ev-
idence only of their reasonableness. The
practical result is, however, the same in
both cases of throwing the burden of proof
on the roads to show that given rate is I'M
just. If the roads complaint be well
founded it has the proof in its own hands
and can easily establish its case. An indi-
vidual or a shipper has no such ev-
idence and could no more establish
in ninety-nine cases out of n hundred that
certain tariff fixed by the road was IN
reasonable then he could take the road on
his back and walk away with it.
MAKING A PILE.
The recent purchase of the Austin and
Northwestern railroad, running seventy
four miles from here to Granite mountain,
Burnett county, by Mr.. Huntington, illus
trates quite plainly one of the many ways
of making pile out of railroad. This
road was built by private capital few
years ago, and was paying handsome in
come on the investment. II was narrow
gauge, and when bought by Huntington
last December or thereabouts, carried only
a nominal debt of S125,000 in certificates,
held by the company itself. The price paid
by Huntington for the road was 800, 600, or
about $500 mile, which was really more,
as have heard, than it cost originally to
build and equip the road. Whether that is
true or not, don't know. After the pur-
chase, the track was widened to q standard
gauge, steel rails laid, and the road fixed
up generally. This may have cost quar-
ter of million, which would bring the cost
per mile up TO about $4,000. Immediately
after buying it and making it part of the
Houston and Texas Central, the road was
bonded for 10000 more. As the bonds
cover the extension of thirty miles 10 Llano,
now In progress, one can see how the deal
is made to net Mr.. Huntington a good
round sum of million or more. Before
its purchase, the road was practically out
of debt, very unusual thing for any rail-
road, but now it is very much in debt and
likely to stay so. Although the deal vas
made so profitable to the purchaser. he re-
fused TO make the extension TO Llano until
that town and Austin put up 100000 anef
procured the right of way for him. THIS
bonus is about one-third Of the sum neede6
for the extension. Austin gave, I believe,
$4,000 TO push the extension, and now in
stead OF being, as she had been before the
purchase, the initial point of the road, she
is a way station only on the line from Hous-
ton to Burnett But perhaps she viii reap
her reward when she gets some iron facs
tories and has the ore hauled from Llano
J. F. Q.