Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1892-03-21

! opened against this commission, but they
| work On and answer nothing, Tor they have
faith that free people viii not turn them
J over to the servants of those very corpora
tons they were appointed to control No,
! even though George Clark has solemnly
| pledged himself to ''reheTe Texas in one
| hour if he is made governor. This IS
i the broadcast promise ever m21e II the
! hunt for q power except once, when dis
| tinguished aspirant, who did not own an
acre of land. proposed TO give the Savior
/ of men the whole world to be recognized as
its governor. The capacity of each aspir-
! ant to make good his promise u IS about
equal We read that this pledge was
! soleInnly made in his late speech and WAS
| applaudcd by the whole tribe OF real estate
and belt-line SPECTATORS. What does TINS
meanl II can mean but one thlng-3
change of railway commissioners. Just
think of that changed Wado, always gen.
tlemanly land said to be accommodating as
lobbyist) would take the place ofiReasan,
and his brother lobbyist, Faulkner, return
ing in his palace car from the Pacific slope,
sit by his side! What pair 10 draw TO
For these men are the familiar gean Of
transportation.
MAGNITUDE OF THE COMMISSION WORK.
Our people should realize the great
work before this commission. The
stocks and bonds of the railways
of Texas they estimate as amounting to
value of all the land and all the farms of all
the people of the state. On this great sum
they seek 10 collect interest in freight rates
from the people. Now. they are instrU-
ments OF our convenience, and Texas and
her commission will not ieopardtZe any
honest dollar which has entered into their
construction. We viii move slow until we
have mastered all the details of their
methods, and found out real values. To do
this the commission required the roads to
answer many questions. The ans wers came
slow-very slow. Let me read you some of
those questions and the answers:
Question 5-What amount OF money would
it require to reconstuct the road bed of said
road at this timer
Answer-'I do not know"
Question 6-What amount Of money would
it require to reconstruct the track of said
railway at this timer
Answer-'I do not know"
Question T-"What amount of money
would it take to reconstruct the depots of
said railway at this time!'
Auswer-'I do not know"
Question S-''Hhat amount of money
would it take to reconstruct the transporta-
tior (eqmpment of said railroad at this
times'
Answer-'I do not know
Question 9-"What amount of money
would it require to replace all the physical
property belonging to said railroad June &c.
1872"
Answer,-''I do not know"
These answers were solemnly sworn to
by Charles Dillingham;. the receiver of the
Houston anG Texas Central railway and by
II. Hall, its auditor, on the Goth of Decem-
Der 1891, and the officers of nearly every
road In Texas have lately made, under oath,
in iden teal language, the very same
answers. This shows concert-who was
their Attorney Think of it Not an
knows how much money it would require
to rebuild his road and replace its physical
And yet each and every one of
these men should know the length of
his line, the price of moving earth, building
bridges, the price of iron rails, the wages |
he pays laber the size of the depots, and
the price of lumber and brick at every sta
ton and if they have sense enough to |
keep books, the books should reveal it. |
This stupendous ignorance, shown in these |
is revealed by the answers of al |
most every company, IN the same Identical |
language. Texas wanted the facts, and the |
roads having at hand the means of calculat- I
ing, ascertaining, and disclosing, refused to |
give them. Now, mark you-these eSti- |
mates are the measures of the true values
Of the road on which they should be per-
mitted to levy tolls on the people to pay in
terest with cost Of operating. Our COM
mission law is the only one in America
set aside $500 to pay for getting it. We
expected delay, and no full relief can come
to the people until this knowledge is OBJ
-ained. When it comes, seven. millions a
year will not cover the saving to the people
IN freight rates fixed by an honest COM
mission.
GEORGIA HAS SAVED IT
With an appolntive commission, and Texas
an do the same if patience can only have
Ter perfect way. The demand for official
as TO how much money would be
needed to rebuild their roads is made in no
commission law except that of Texas. 1t is
distinguishing feature of the law, which
will prove to patient agriculture the babe
n the manger while idolatry is upon the
hroue.
CLAIMS OF THE RAILWAYS.
Pause for an instant and reflect how
nonstrous is the claim made by the owners
# these roads. They claim that we should
i've them freight rates high enough to earn
interest on all their bonds. There are
1000, 900 OF liabilities represented in the
aain by bonds; these constitute their
ebts, and a toll rate to pay interest on
hem is just as much tax on the people as
that tax was collected by the official tax
ollector. Do you not see why agriculture
annot flourish, and what great amount
f money is carried by oppressive freight |
ates every year to Wall street.
HONEST RAILWAY CHARGES.
At the bar of equal justice railroad
hould nave no more rights when in debt /
han free born white man. If you have
iven notes which you cannot pay and haul I
reight for living the law does not come |
0 your relief and compel the people to pay
GU higher rates for hauling in order to Y
ay your debts. Ifyou have built house I
'hich rented for $50 a month when brick I
ost SIS thousend, the law will not compel /
our tenant to pay the old rent c
hen hard times come and houses are built /
heaper by your neighbor. The railway /
as no higher rights. But suppose you Z
ave borrowed money 10 build that house L
nd given your note for twice as much as +
gu have borrowed, what should we think ! S
the law that would compel a tenant to /
ay enough rent to earn interest on the 100 h
er cent Of water in that notel All the +
oney and newspapers in Texas cannot s
onfuse these ideas in the minds of the peo- O
e ard deliver them again, bound hand and {
Tot, Just on the eve of full relief. If you f
innot pay YOUR debts, or live at the old n
mt your debtors sue you and sell your i.
roperty to some one else, who will pay o
IS for 1t, and can roost on lower rent The s
1ndholder of the railway must do the s.
me. To this complexion it must come or V
Sc a seething gulf Of financial ruin is be-
re US. into which we must soon plunge, or r
cape it only through the gate of revolu- Il
on. eI
EXPERTS WILL GO TO WORK 81
The commission. uDahla obtain irfor.- | a,