The Waco evening news. [volume] (Waco, Tex.) 1891-1894, 1892-02-27

but OuulN oudll uNOiuN oSaihob lOu os
soon as the fact is asoertained tina
you have disobeyed the order, whether
the court is of the opinion that it i:
reasonable and Just or the reverse.
Turning to section 1t we find the
obvious purpose of section 5. This
section provides that if any railroad
COM any subject to this act, or its
agent or officer, shall hereafter charge
co lect, demand or re Give from any
person, company, firm or corporation,
greater rate, charge or compensation
than that fixed and established by the
railroad commission for the transporta
ton of freight, passengers or cars,
etc, such railroad company shall be
deemed guilty Of extortlon, and shall
forfeit and pay to the State penalty
of not less than one hundred nor more
than FIVE thousand dollars. Section
IL provides that any railroad which
shall do, cause to be done or permit to
be done, any matter, act or thing, 10
this act prohibited or declared to be
unlawful, or shall omit to do any act,
matter or thing herein required to be
done by it, shall be liable to the per.
sons injured thereby for the damage
sustained in consequence of the viola.
tion, and in case che railroad company
should be guilty of extortion or dis.
elimination as defined, then in add
ton to such damages the railroad
company shall pay to the person in
Jured thereby penalty of not less
than 1925 nor more than $500, to be
recovered in any court of competent
jurisdiction in any county into o.
through which such railroad may run.
And the only defense permitted by
this section to the railroad is that it
may prove that the overcharge was
uuintentionally and innocently' made
through mistake of fact.
So in cases of extortion or discrini.
nation, as defined by the act, private
citizen may sue, not only for the
penalties, and when suit is brought
the rate fixed by the commission is
conclusive, and there is no defense to
the penalty except the defense of
And in addition to the
penalty granted to the individual, the
State also can recover a penalty for
each act of not less than 500 nor
more than $4,000, and these penalties
ire cumulative. The oppression of
he law may be explained thus, so as
% be plain to the common understand.
ng The commission may fix its rate.
This rate may be so low as to amount
o a practical confscation if adhered
% by the company. If the railroad
)beys the order of the comm ssion it
means destruction of the property
lnder the law; if it refuses to obey
md thereby an action inures to a pri-
'ate individual, it may go into court,
tut can make no defense, and penal.
les may be multiplied in this way ad
ntnltum, because each violation SUBJ
ects the road to the penalty at the
Instance of any shipper. If the road,
q its vain search for remedy, should
ppeal to the courts for protection, the
ate prescribed must be observed, re-
ardless of its damage or injury or un.
easonableness; or failing to observe it, {
he road must litigste with the com
Mission and subject itself in case of I
allure, to the recovery OF penalty to
e recovered by the State tor each act I
t violation during the progress of the i
of not less than one nor {
lore than five thousand dollars, which I
leans, IN plain English, that if the {
Dad appeals to the court and disobeys !
ne order of the commission on account
its unreasonableness, and fails in &
s litigation the penalties will sccu. f
lulate so rapidly and so overwhelm /
Ugly as to confscate the property in i
ehalf of the State in case of such I
allure. c
This may be illustrated further by a
he example of public mill OF gin |
mong the farmers. Assuming that a
lie usual charge for ginning is one. d
enth, and that public gins are public '
lstitutions which the State is empow- e
red to regulate for the protection of +
lie people through a commission, or s
l any other way, and the State sees fit c
prescribe that one tenth for ginning e
excessive and extortionate and un- u
list to the people and that cotton "
lght to be ginned for one twentieth. d
he owner of the gin protests that he P
lnnot live and keep his machinery in n