The record-union., 1893-02-04
The Railroad Commissioners VIII be
Given a Hearing.
SOME ELOQUENT ARGUlENTS.
Senator GeS6rd Loses Himself -RGbuked by
His Colleagues Committee TO
Hear the Matter.

The Senate proclaimed its conserva-
tiveness in a very positive and emphatic
manner yesterday.
The upper branch of the Legislature is
composed of men who know right from
wrong, and do not propose to be governed
by any such spirit of demagogy as
has characterized some of the doings of
the Assembly. The occasion of this little
demonstration was resolution offered by
Senator McGowan of Humboldt proposing
to give the members of the Railroad Com
mission a hearing, instead of ousting
them from Office unceremoniously, as
proposed by the Assembly. The young
statesman made neat speech in support
of his resolution. The consideration of
the Assembly concurrent resolution had
been set for hearing as a special order for
Monday, and in the state in which it was
received by the Senate meant that the
Commissioners fate was to depend upon
the prejudices, one way or the other,
of the Senators, without any kind of
hearing or trial.
Mr.. McGowan said this was not right,
and if he had anything to say no such
high-handed proceedings should disgrace
the records of the Senate. The resolu-
ton he proposed provided that the Com
missioners should appear before the bar
of the Senate on Monday and defend
themselves against their accusers, Imme-
diately after the reading of the journal.
OF course this had about the effect on
the anti-railroad howlers that red flag
would have upon bull.
THE DEBATES BEGIN.
Senator Gesford, who has worked him
self up almost to the belief that the Rail
road Commissioners should be hanged,
moved that the resolution be referred to
the Judiciary Committee, which has al
ready refused to give the Commissioners
a hearing. His motion was ruled out of
order, however.
Mr.. MCGOWAN then moved that his
resolution be adopted, and he said there
were many reasons why it should be. 1t
was part of the history of the present
Legislature, he said, that the Sem
ate Judiciary Committee had absolutely
refused to give the accused Commits
sioners hearing and had reported the
Assembly concurrent resolution back
without recommendation of any kind.
His idea in introducing the resolution
was based on the American principle of
fair play. He believed the Commis-
sioners should be afforded an oppor-
tunity to say a word in their defense. 1t
was hardly necessary, he thought, to
argue the proposition that every man ac-
cused of wrong-doing has the right to
defend himself. While he could not say
that personally he was in love with the
Commissioners or felt the other way, yet
he believed that every man, high or low,
should be
TRIED BEFORE CONDEMNED.
The charge of dereliction of duty pre-
ferred against the Commissioners was a
serious one, implying as it did moral
turpitude. No mans character should be
smirched in this manner without giving
him an opportunity to say something in
his defense. Even achicken-thief, brought
before the bar of the Police Court, was
given a full hearing before he was con-
victed, and it was rather strange spec
tacle for a great body like the California
Legislature-to say nothing of what its
Judiciary Committee had already done
to deny this commission hearing in its
own defense, to give it an opportunity to
defend its reputation. True, the Consti-
tuition gives the Legislature the right to
peremptorily remove any State body, but
the Constitution did not contemplate any
unfairness in such action. 1t was only
American, and in accordance with the
principles of justice, to try man before
convicting him.
Senator Ostrom favored the idea of re-
ferring the resolution back to the COM
mittee. He thought the idea of bringing
the Commissioners before the bar was an
unusual one. A hearing of that sort
would consume too much time, he said
He argued, as an excuse for refus-
ing the hearing, that such a thing had
never been done before in the Senate to
his knowledge.
GEsFoRD SHOWS HIS HAND.
Senator Gesford of Napa, who has here
tofore impressed his colleagues with the
belief that he was a leveI-headed. bright
young lawyer, took the floor at this Juno
ture and made speech that fairly dazed
his hearers, so replete was it with preiu-
dice. bitterness and inconsistency. He
started off by declaring that he was op-
posed to the resolution because he
thought it would consume too much OF
the Senate's valuable time. Then he
branehed off on a TRADE against the Rail
road Commissioners, and as he pro-
gressed worked himself into a veritable
frenzy. He declared that the Commis-
sioners should have no hearing at all-he
would not listen TO any OF their tesu-
mony. Don't permit them to come in
here at all,' he yelled. Throw them
out of the window if they dor
Continuing, he said he didn't care
If his remarks were un-American
and uncivilized = he believed the
Commissioners should go and go in
disgrace. He didn't care anything
about the arguments for justice and fair
ness, but wanted the alleged culprits pun
ished Immediately.
Senator Earl, who is one of the quiet
est and most conscientious men in the
Senate. arose when Gesford had wound
up his TRADE, and said he could not