The Waco evening news. [volume] (Waco, Tex.) 1891-1894, 1892-05-03
SENATOR TYLER,
How Hogg Defeated a Commission
Law in 1889
HE DIDN'T NEED A COMMISSION.
Then but only wanted IA Law
Against Trusts as Long rs His Fin
ger-An Original Commission Nan
wants clark For Governor
From the Dallas News.

Bolton, Tex, April 2S.-Refer
ring to the report OF Judge Clark
speech at Bolton as appears in the
News aud other papers in reg I'd to
Gov. Hogs attitude toward the
commission during the twenty.tirst
legislature ClSo0, | desire to state ex-
actlv what | have said and still say
upon that subject.
1t will be remembered that the rail-
road commission bill passed the house
of representatives and came to the
senate, where after debate lasting
several days and in which nearly all
the senators participated, the whole
matter was postponed to April 2, 1889,
which action amounted to the defeat
of the bill The vote en- the motion
to postpone was Is yeas and II nays
Counting pairs), the friends Of the
bill voting against and the opponents
of the bill voting for the motion to
postpone. la the debate the follow
ing statement substantially was made
by senator who sed the bill:
Your attorney.gCneral, Mr.. Hogg,
says that ii you viii pass short
bill known as the trust bill,' no
longer than your finger Cat same
lime measuring with his index finger,
which authorizes the attorney general
to bring suit against trusts and com
bines, he will control the corporations
OF your state. He will break up
pools and combinations and competi.
ton will do the rest aud you will not
need any commission" etc
These are very near if not the ex-
act words used by the senator. The
sense, | know, is the same. Other
senators in the Twenty first legisla
ture will, doubtless, recall the circum.
stance The statement was openly
made in debate on the floor of the sen
ate and was never contradicted or
questioned by Gen. Hogg to my
knowledge.
What influence this attitude of the
then attorney-general had upon the
votes OF the senators, | am unable to
say, bat it is reasonable to presume
that his prestige was great enough to
influence at least four votes upon
question about whicht here was then
much doubt, perplexity and conflict
of opinion. At the beginning of that
session it was understood that ma.
jnrity Of the senators favored the
commission and something caused a
change of sentiment with several sen.
ators.
As for myself, 1 was then a com
mission man, went down with the
minority in defeat and have not so
soon forgotten the circumstances
under which it was accomplished, l
am still a commission man, aud no
one took more pride than did in the
splendid viudication accorded by the
people in 1890 to the minority OF
1889, though somewhat surprised at
the sudden conversion of some of the
leaders in that campaign Vn the
twenty. Legislature / heartily
supported the bill that became the
law upon our statute book, except that
| voted to make the commissioners
elective instead of appointive, and l
had some doubts as 10 whether the
bill provided for the due process of
law" as required by the federal con-
stitution, and ,hst question is still
open for the courts to determine.
As commission man | see no
merit in the cry now being raised that
the commission is in danger. lis the
law of the lapd, spoken into existence
by the people. No one is opposing
it on the slump and no legislature or
governor iii dare to disturb it un il
It's usefulness is fairly and fully tried.
Gov HOgg claims to have cham
pioned the idea in the last campaign,
but tony vision, then and now, he
did only what every candidate in the
stage from governor to constable did,
regardless of race, color or previous
oondition-whether previously for or
against the oommission-he saw the
commission coming as a great tidal
wave, set in motion by the people, he
FASTENED to get on the wave and was
thus swept into office.
If he and othels had not held up
their trust bills and other side issues